My uncle and I did a week in Grand Canyon National Park last week and I was amazed by the size and beauty of that place. We did a 4 day trip hiking down from the South Rim via Tanner Trail. My uncle, an avid hiker, avoids the "super highways" of Bright Angel Trail and Kaibab Trail due to the amount of people on them. Instead he chose Tanner Trail due to the difficulty level and that there is hardly anybody at all on this trail.
It is roughly a 8.5 mile hike down to the Colorado River via the Tanner Trail and we saw 4 people along the way. We camped on Tanner Beach two nights and watched rafters go by and did a day hike along the river. We camped the third night just above "The Red Wall" halfway back up the canyon.
If you've never experienced hiking and camping in the Grand Canyon I highly recommend it. I'd strongly suggest avoiding the highly used trails and opt for the unmaintained trails like Tanner. It's much tougher but well worth it to avoid the crowds.
I would think this is one of the better times of the year to go (mid May). The lows were in the 40's at night and the highs were in the 70's. I wouldn't want to go during the summer for sure. Obviously the only water available can be found in the river. So be sure to plan a hydration strategy (plenty of people don't and have died).
I'll post some pictures below.
My uncle towards the beginning of our hike down the canyon on Tanner Trail.
Shot of the trail on the way down. It's a single track trail that requires some path finding along the way.
Our campsite at Tanner Beach next to the Colorado River.
My uncle taking pictures along the way.
Rafters on the river. To raft the entire park takes a minimum of 14 days.
Camping while watching the clouds on the canyon walls.
Here I am out our second campsite just above the Red Wall.
Using the panoramic feature of my iPhone. This size of this place blew me away.
It is roughly a 8.5 mile hike down to the Colorado River via the Tanner Trail and we saw 4 people along the way. We camped on Tanner Beach two nights and watched rafters go by and did a day hike along the river. We camped the third night just above "The Red Wall" halfway back up the canyon.
If you've never experienced hiking and camping in the Grand Canyon I highly recommend it. I'd strongly suggest avoiding the highly used trails and opt for the unmaintained trails like Tanner. It's much tougher but well worth it to avoid the crowds.
I would think this is one of the better times of the year to go (mid May). The lows were in the 40's at night and the highs were in the 70's. I wouldn't want to go during the summer for sure. Obviously the only water available can be found in the river. So be sure to plan a hydration strategy (plenty of people don't and have died).
I'll post some pictures below.
My uncle towards the beginning of our hike down the canyon on Tanner Trail.
Shot of the trail on the way down. It's a single track trail that requires some path finding along the way.
Our campsite at Tanner Beach next to the Colorado River.
My uncle taking pictures along the way.
Rafters on the river. To raft the entire park takes a minimum of 14 days.
Camping while watching the clouds on the canyon walls.
Here I am out our second campsite just above the Red Wall.
Using the panoramic feature of my iPhone. This size of this place blew me away.