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Backcountry
Permits
You
have to have a backcountry permit to camp overnight in the GC.
No, there's no way around it. Mike Mahanay, an awesome, veteran GC hiker,
told me that hikers actually get tickets and go to court when they're
caught without a permit ... and I can guarantee you'll be too footsore
after a hike down to outrun any rangers.You'll probably get chased by
helicopters (hee hee). A ranger came through our campsite when we camped
to check permits.
I don't recommend, however, applying in advance unless you're applying
exactly 4 months ahead. I know -- crazy, huh? The reason is, I think,
there are lots of outdoor tour guide companies that buy up a bunch of
permits as soon as they become available (4 months in advance). And
if you apply, be as flexible as you can be about your campsite, number
of nights, and dates, so they can't turn you down. The other alternative
is to try to book accomodations at Phantom Ranch, which has some cabins
(over $100/night) and men's and women's dorms (you can't share a dorm
with members of the opposite sex ... I don't know why). The ranch is
quite impressive -- built in the 1920s, most of the lumber required
was carried down by hand or on mules! It is right next to the Bright
Angel campground, and sells meals and has a cantina with snacks and
drinks. The best part about this method is that you don't have to pack
down much ... just clothes, etc. You also do not need a permit if you
stay at Phantom Ranch .The same extreme, plan-ahead principle applies
though, for lodging at Phantom and for meals.
If
its already too late for you to apply this far in advance (hellooo!
who can plan that far ahead anyhow?), take heart. The park reserves
a handful of camp sites at each major campground for last-minute-ers.
In peak season (April - June), show up when the office opens(at 8:00
a.m.) or earlier. If you don't , and other hikers beat you to it, you
may have to get on a waiting list, and I hear you might have to wait
a couple days on the rim for a permit. Yuck!
I
say this because we had applied for a backcountry permit three times
starting in February (for a late March trip), and each application got
more and more open to changes, but to no avail! And
each permit application cost a non-refundable $20! We were really nervous
that we wouldn't get to camp in the canyon at all ... which would mean
we would have to hike the whole thing in one day. Yikes. And on top
of it, when we got to the GC village, it was lots more crowded than
we expected, and there were hardcore hikers everywhere threatening to
steal our spot.
Full
of worry, we stepped up to the counter at the Backcountry Office (in
the Maswik Transportation building in the GC village) and were greeted
by a really friendly ranger-type person. "What are the chances
of us getting to camp in the canyon tomorrow night?" I asked, heart
rate speeding up. "Lessee ... Yep! There's a site in the Bright
Angel Campground ... will that be for two?" answered the ranger,
typing on her computer. Phew! Great sigh of relief. She designated Jack
as the trip leader and I think the boy scout in him like that. She told
us we got the last available permit that day. With permit in hand, we
skipped over to the Yavapai lodge to rearrange our room reservations
so we'd stay one night before and one night after our big trek. Staying
on the rim the night after the trek was more important than staying
the night before ... we were so tired after our hike out of the canyon
we would not have been safe drivers that night. Basically, expect to
claw your way out of the canyon and drag yourself to the nearest hot
bath.
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The
Trails -- South Kaibab and Bright Angel:
The
trail down, the South Kaibab, is six-point-something miles of rugged,
mule-thrashed, super-steep, arid, solid-rockiness semi-trail; you see
lots of amazing sights, but Jack did it at Mach 1, so I had to keep making
him stop to look around, give my ankles a break, and take photos. We got
the last permit available for that day (we were so relieved) and slept
at the bottom in the Bright Angel Campground. The campground has a canteen
with snacks and drinks (you can get meals but you have to reserve them),
real bathrooms, and the Phantom Ranch -- a series of adorable stone cabins
you can rent or board in if you're lucky. It was built in the '20s (every
beam carried down on foot) alongside a tributary stream of the Colorado
River, so you hear rushing water just feet from your tent all night. You
reach it by crossing a suspended metal bridge that spans the Colorado,
and leave the campground by another one. The bridges were also made with
material carried down on foot or muleback. Truly amazing. The hike out
was actually easier -- the Bright Angel trail isn't as steep or mule-pounded,
and you can stop at Indian Gardens for water, shade, and waterfall/oasis
scenery. But I was so weak from the tramp down that I pulled my hamstring
at the heel and couldn't walk well for several days after. |
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Gear
Clothes:
I wore long
pants and a t-shirt, and carried a long-sleeve shirt, shorts, silk long-johns
(ultralight and effective in cold weather), a rain/wind breaker, a Polartech
fleece pullover, and two changes of socks. Jack wore those cool zip-off
pants that transform into shorts, and a T-shirt. He packed extra socks,
a tank top, similar long-johns, and a rain/wind-breaker. Both of us
wished we'd packed extra t-shirts. We got pretty skoded and didn't have
a fresh shirt on day two. Also, tank tops don't work under back packs,
which can chafe sweaty skin. Yuck.
Boots: We were really
glad for our hiking boots; high-top ankle support was crucial when we
got really tired and clutzy, and the soles stuck to ice and rocks like
glue. We wore fairly heavy mountaineering boots -- 'just a tad lighter
than those monsters you wear for the Alps. These all-leather monsters
were really stiff, and took weeks to break in; they virtually immobilized
our feet, which was rough for me as a dancer, but that immobility prevented
sprains, strains, and overuse on long hikes like this one. Balance was
hard on rocks, but great on mule-thrashed trails. Jack wore Merrell's
and raved about them. He has low-volume, low arch feet and never complained.
I wore Raichle's. They were a little too stiff in the ankles for me
-- and may have contributed to the strained hamstring I got towards
the end of our trek. But they were tough, waterproof, and better than
anything else I've worn hiking. For warmer weather and shorter hikes,
I might experiment with more nimble low-tops. We also had "Superfeet"
insoles, which rubbed my insteps at first, but helped me distribute
weight on my feet better. Also, I have really low volume feet, so they
filled up my boots.
Packs: Our packs weighed
a ton with all the liquids we needed, and we could see from other hikers
that the trail was hard enough for folks without packs. I carried less
weight -- about 25 pounds, so I used a cheap internal frame pack by
Mountain Gear ($10 at Ross). It had padded shoulders and a broad, padded
waist belt. Unfortunately, I found out that when loaded, all the straps
were too long for me and I had to keep tightening everything as we hiked.
By the end of our downhill hike, my pack felt like it weighed about
a million pounds. Walking around the bottom without it felt like floating
in comparison. Jack carried a North Face, mid-size, hybrid internal
frame pack -- about 40 pounds with drinks, his clothes, most of the
food, our four-pound two-man tent (Sears, $20), his sleeping bag and
pad.
Sleeping Gear: We attached
our bulky-but super-light Coleman closed-cell sleep pads ($4) and three-pound,
+25-degree sleeping bags ($35 at Target, called "Grand Canyon," ha ha)
to the outside of the packs with short bungee cords. Our bags were even
warmer than we needed, and the pads were ideal.
Note:
When buying gear and planning what
to pack, beware of camping supply stores that try to sell you too much
stuff. Every ounce counts with this kind of hiking. When in doubt, do
without. We saw other hikers on the trail that had obviously fallen
prey to "outfitters" that sold them on more stuff than they needed or
should be carrying. If you are new to backpacking, all the weight can
be a real shock. We skipped cooking equipment, stools, heavy camera
gear, and cold-weather supplies and were still shocked at how much the
packs slowed us down. We saw newbie canyoneers loaded with half their
wieght or more in camping pillows, stoves, folding chairs, etc. Don't
make this mistake -- you may end up having it duffeled out for you.
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Pictures