Grand Canyon National Park
WHO
Our family of four hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back out over the span of three days in 2016. Averhy was 12 and Eden was 9 years old when we did this hike.
Despite the hesitant expression on Averhy’s face at the start of our hike, both girls did AWESOME and we all said we would do this hike again.
WHAT
Packing for this trip was very different than most because we needed to bring food, water, and camping equipment with us, in addition to clothing and my Nikon D850 with the Nikkor 28-300mm lens attached. We purchased three Camelbak backpacks with hydration bladders for this trip, and borrowed one larger hiking backpack and two sets of trekking poles from Sky’s dad. I did not yet have the BlackRapid cross-body strap when we did this hike, but I would definitely use it if we did this hike again. We rented two 2-person pop-up tents and 4 sleeping pads from Babbitt’s Backcountry Outfitters in Flagstaff. We brought our own sleeping bags, and used their carrying sacks stuffed with dirty clothes as pillows. Also, because we were hiking in July, we bought some lightweight hiking clothes to protect us from the sun. Our backpacks and gear were divided up to allow Eden and Averhy to carry less, but our individual packing lists were as follows. I’ve included links to items similar to our individual pants/shirts/hats and backpacks because we each had different gear (and the exact styles are not all available now).
Sky:
1 tshirt
Swimsuit
3 pairs socks & underwear
Hiking tennis shoes
Flip-flops
Sunglasses
Allyson:
3 tank tops
Swimsuit
3 socks/unders/bras
Hiking tennis shoes
Flip Flops
Sunglasses
Averhy:
3 tanks or tees
Swimsuit
3 pairs socks & underwear
Hiking tennis shoes
Flip Flops
Sunglasses
Eden:
3 tanks or tees
Swimsuit
3 pairs socks & underwear
Hiking tennis shoes
Flip Flops
Sunglasses
In addition to those individual clothing items, we brought shared travel-sized toiletries, emergency toilet paper, extra water bottles, a LifeStraw water purifier, sunscreen, hand wipes, wilderness-safe soap, and camping food like tuna packets, dried fruit, trail mix, CLIF bars, rehydrate electrolyte packets, and beef jerky.
WHEN
We took this trip in July 2016, in spite of the incredibly hot summer temperatures and warnings from the National Park Service… but we felt comfortable doing so because we were prepared and did not hike during the heat of the day. Hiking the Grand Canyon in the summer CAN be very dangerous, so we would advise everyone to hike smart, be aware of the signs of heat stroke, and don’t do anything stupid! On our way back out of the canyon, when we took a 6 hour break to avoid the sun and heat, we overheard another group talking about feeling nauseated and dizzy during their break - that is NOT OK. If you are not up to the hike, or start feeling bad during a hike, it is NOT worth pressing on… get in the shade, drink some electrolyte-rich fluids, rest and recover… you can try again another day.
WHERE
We camped the first night at Indian Garden Campground, half-way to the canyon floor. The second night we camped at Bright Angel Camp, at the bottom of the canyon. Staying at these campgrounds requires a Backcountry Permit, which costs $10 plus $8 per person/night. You can find apply on the National Parks website. We hiked all the way out of the canyon on day 3, and stayed at a motel in Flagstaff.
We chose to hike the Bright Angel trail down and up because it has more shade than the South Kaibob trail.
WHY
We are typically not a “camping” family, so that in itself made this a very memorable adventure for our family. The many hours of difficult hiking (about 14 hours in total) taught our girls lasting lessons about perseverance and hard work, and taught Sky and me some lessons in patience and flexibility. On top of that, I think the sheer magnitude of the Grand Canyon is best appreciated when you’re standing on a cliff a thousand feet below the rim, looking down another couple thousand feet to the floor. Overall, this hike is incredibly rewarding, and definitely checked a box on our bucket list.
HOW
Day 1: South Rim to Indian Garden Campground
We started our day at Sky’s parents’ house in Phoenix and drove to Flagstaff to pick up our rental gear. We were prepared for hot weather, but we hit rain about 30 minutes outside of Flagstaff and the temperature dropped from 104* to 66* in just 10 minutes! A good reminder that elevation plays a big role in outdoor temperatures. After picking up our gear, we had a big lunch and drove to the Grand Canyon entrance, arriving at 4:30pm. We parked our car at the Backcountry office, got a map, used the bathrooms, and took in the view before starting to hike at 5:30pm.
By starting this late in the day, the trail was almost completely in the shade. We kept up a good pace, stopping any time the girls needed a short break. There are a lot of switchbacks in this section of the trail, and two small rock tunnels.
Sky and Averhy led the way and made good use of the trekking poles. We dropped about 3000’ and covered 4.8 miles of trail in 3.5 hours, arriving at the Indian Garden Campground at 9pm.
Day 2: Indian Garden to Phantom Ranch
We didn’t sleep great, mainly due to the sounds of critters like lizards and mule deer walking through the campground, so we got up at 5:30am. After stretching our legs, eating breakfast, and packing up our gear we were back on the trail by 7:30am.
The landscape in the canyon is much more diverse than we expected! There are creeks and tall grasses in addition to the steep cliffs and desert landscapes.
As we hiked deeper into the canyon, we found more of the steep cliffs and red rock formations that I typically think of when picturing the Grand Canyon. However, the sheer scale was surprising!
I was also very aware of how steep the drop was beside the trail, and I always made sure Eden was hiking closer to the cliff wall while I was on the outside of the path.
We helped the girls overcome the difficulty of the trail by singing songs, counting lizards, and taking breaks anytime the path crossed the creek. There we would soak our hats and shirts with water to help us stay cool.
We arrived at the Bright Angel campground at 10:45am, which meant we covered 4.5 miles and dropped 1500’ in just over 3 hours. We set up our tents, put on swimsuits, and played in the creek for a few hours to stay cool.
Around 2pm we walked over to Phantom Ranch to get some sack lunches. It was 110* in the shade and 130* in the sun. Lemonade and cold beer never tasted so good!
In the afternoon we spent more time in the creek, Eden earned a Junior Ranger badge from the park service, and we listened to a park ranger presentation on “night critters in the canyon”. After a supper of tuna, trail mix, and beef jerky, we played cards for a bit.
After the sun went down, we could feel the heat of the day radiating off of the rocks all around us. We were thankful for the sleeping pads to break up that heat coming up from the ground, so we could sleep better. We wish we had brought battery operated fans though!
Day 3: Bright Angel Campground to South Rim
Once again, we got up around 5:30am, packed up our tents, and were on the trail by 7am to avoid the heat of the day. Hiking up is harder than hiking down, so we kept our minds occupied by counting lizards (21) and steps (560+) as we started up the Devil’s Corkscrew, a steep series of multiple switchbacks. You can see part of it in the bottom left side of this photo.
We passed a rattlesnake in the trail at one point, but otherwise the hike was steady and uneventful. We arrived at Indian Garden Campground at 10:15am, happy to see that our pace hiking up was about the same as hiking down!
After cooling off in the creek, we decided to hike all the way out of the canyon today so we could eat a full meal tonight and sleep in a real bed. So 11am-4pm was all about rest and relaxation in the shade.
At 4:45pm we loaded up for the final trek out of the canyon, this time with Eden and Allyson leading the way. We reached the 1.5 mile marker at 5:45, so we were happy with our pace and hoped to reach the rim before dark.
It was encouraging to pass familiar landmarks, and we continued to take breaks to hydrate and eat Clif bars as needed.
We finally reached the rim right after sunset, at 8:15pm. After dumping our stuff in the car, we ate dinner at the lodge, then drove to Flagstaff to find a motel for the night.
This photo shows how we felt about completing this awesome adventure… and you can be thankful it doesn’t show how sweaty we SMELLED! Haha!
Final Tips
Be prepared, no matter what season you choose to do this hike. The extremes of nature are no joke.
If we did this hike again, we would bring more food, more ibuprofen, and a small battery-operated fan.
The average person only spends 17 minutes at the rim of the Grand Canyon, which is just sad! Even if you aren’t planning on hiking all the way down, at least take an hour to hike part of the way in and out - the views are worth it!
Have you ever hiked the Grand Canyon? What did you love? Let us know below!
