Utah Fall Shoulder Season Vacation – Oct 25th – Nov 4th 2010
Grand Canyon – South Rim
words and photos by Sharon Bader and Lee Lau unless otherwise noted.
We’ve been to the East side at Lee’s Ferry. North Rim. Time to visit the South
rim. We booked a room at Thunderbird Lodge. We decided to stay in a hotel this
time cause they tend to be right on the rim, unlike the campsites and we thought
it would be a lot colder, but it wasn’t. Here we did our yearly hike – down
the South Kaibob trail to Skeleton point, 650m below the rim.
Interior of the Watchtower. One of the first view points into the Grand Canyon as you drive in from the East.
Yup, its Grand!
Inside the South Rim Visitors Center.
Getting ready for the sunset on the south rim. Great
use of the MEC Reflex Jacket!
Kolob Studio.
View of the Tonto plateau which goes from 2091m at
the top to 1140m at the Plateau. The river
is at 776m. There is a trail on this plateau that connects Bright Angel to
Grandview trail.
El Tovar in the distance. South Rim’s first luxury lodge.
Lookout Studio.
Deer at Sunset in front of Thunderbird
Lodge where
we stayed.
and Sunrise!
Sunrise
Monday we did our yearly hike down the South Kaibob
Trail. We hiked down to Skeleton Point.
Exerpt from:
http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/upload/South_Kaibab_Trail.pdf
The South Kaibab Trail is a modern route, having
been constructed as a means by which park visitors could bypass Ralph Cameron’s
Bright Angel Trail. Cameron, who owned the Bright Angel Trail and charged a
toll to those using it, fought dozens of legal battles over several decades
to maintain his personal business rights. These legal battles inspired the
Santa Fe Railroad to build its own alternative trail, the Hermit Trail, beginning
in 1911 before the National Park Service went on to build the South Kaibab
Trail beginning in 1924. In this way, Cameron inadvertently contributed much
to the greater network of trails currently available for use by canyon visitors.
Locations/Elevations
Mileages
Rim (7260 ft / 2213 m) to Cedar Ridge (6120 ft / 1865 m):
Cedar Ridge (6120 ft / 1865 m) to Skeleton Point (5220 ft / 1591 m):
Skeleton Point (5220 ft / 1591 m) to the Tipoff (4000 ft / 1219 m):
Tipoff (4000 ft / 1219 m) to Bright Angel Campground (2480 ft / 756 m):
Rim (7260 ft / 2213 m) to Bright Angel Campground (2480 ft / 756 m):
1.5 mi (2.4 km)
1.5 mi (2.4 km)
1.4 mi (2.3 km)
2.6 mi (4.2 km)
7.0 mi (11.3 km)
Maps:
7.5 Minute Phantom Ranch Quad (USGS)
Sky Terrain Trails Map, Grand Canyon (Sky Terrain)
Trails Illustrated Map, Grand Canyon National Park (National Geographic)
I guess we could have taken the Mule option…
Amazing trail building!
ooh aah point!
Cedar Ridge
Back up to the South Rim for another sunset!
This time we took the Free
Shuttle Bus to Hopi Point and walked back to the South Rim.
Powell Point
Yup its steep!
Bright Angel Trail
pano
On our way back to Vegas we decided to take a helicopter
tour with Maverick Helicopters.
We’ll worth the trip!
Boaters thousands of feet below!
Buffalo on the North Rim.
Kaibob Plateau
Easier then hiking!
Flight over the Grand Canyon from Lee Lau on Vimeo.