Hike #28 - South Kaibab Trail, Grand Canyon, AZ

The best thing about living in Arizona is being close to the Grand Canyon!  Over 5 million people visit the Grand Canyon annually. According to our dinner hostess at Phantom Ranch, the majority of visitors spend only 17 minutes gazing at the canyon from the scenic overlooks.  Less than 1% actually hike down into the canyon and appreciate all that it has to offer. My friend Susie Kaufman from Hutchison, Kansas joined me May 3 to hike down the South Kaibab trail to Phantom Ranch and the Colorado River.  We both had hiked this trail before with the Grand Canyon Field Institute thus we had a guide that told us everything we ever wanted to know about the geology, plants, animals and history of the canyon. We started our descent at 7:50 AM.  I was reminded of the geologic layers which contain valuable minerals that have attracted prospectors for hundreds of years. Native Americans collected red and yellow ochre for medicine as well as salt from caves.  The Spanish searched for gold but left empty handed.  American prospectors found copper and asbestos but found it too costly to extract and ship to market.

"The South Kaibab Trail was constructed by the National Park Service in the early 1900's to compete with the privately owned Bright Angel Trail and offer tourists a free access trail to the inner canyon and the Colorado River."  http://www.bobspixels.com/kaibab.org/bc/gc_tr_sk.htm

The trail is steep and slippery in places.  We carried plenty of water and snacks.  There are restrooms at 2 stops along the way.  After an hour or so we were shedding our long sleeve shirts since it gets warmer as you descend.  It was a clear day with lots of sun but we were in the shade for at least half of the trip.  The distance of the trail is approx. 7 miles to Phantom Ranch.  We started at an elevation of 7260'.  We stopped at the first rest area, Ooh-Aah Point, approx. .9 miles and elevation 6660.  The next rest area is Cedar Ridge, 1.5 miles and the last rest area is Skeleton Point, 3 miles. The Colorado River is at elevation 2420' - 4780' below the rim.  My knees started bothering me about 1/2 way down.  I slowed down, took Ibuprofen and stopped more frequently and we still made it to Phantom Ranch by 12:30 PM.