November 12

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Grand Canyon
Part A

Grand Canyon
Part B

The next day (11-12) was a hiking day. I decided that I needed to go down into the canyon to really experience the park. I selected the Kaibab Trail, which goes from the rim to Phantom Ranch along the Colorado River. This trail was built by the National Park Service between 1924 and 1928 after years of frustrating legal battles over use of the Bright Angel Trail (a man named Cameron claimed ownership of part of the trail through mining rights and charged visitors $1 to pass through "his" land). There were numerous warnings against trying to hike all the way to the river and back in one day, so I decided at the onset that I would take 2½ hours to hike down and leave myself 4 hours to hike back up. After 2½ hours, I was about 6 miles (and 4300 feet) down the trail, and to a position about 700 feet straight above the river. That was good enough for me. I could readily see the rapids and the two suspension bridges over the river, and more importantly, I could hear the roar of the river in the canyon.

Other than getting to (or close to) the river, the other good reason for going into the canyon is that the appearance of the scenery changes dramatically. From the rim, the mesas and bluffs all seem to blend into each other; from inside the canyon, each takes on a shape and color of its own. For me, and I’m sure others as well, the presence of scenery both above and below is far more interesting than just seeing scenery below as I did from the rim. Oh yeah, one more thing, if you go into the canyon you might get to see a mule train or two as I did.

Bottom line, this park is a canyon, not just a rim. To fully experience Grand Canyon, you should see it from both the top and the bottom.

I think I finally got a good answer today as to why Grand Canyon did not become a National Park until 1919. While Arizona was still a territory, the Grand Canyon area was homesteaded by many people, and a number of private enterprises were established on the rim. Additionally, many more people had mining claims within the canyon. It simply took a lot of time for the Federal Government to negotiate and settle with all of these people in order to acquire the land for the National Park Service.

I had dinner at the Café Tuyasan (in Tuyasan, just south of the park) after asking if I could bring my computer and plug it in at an out-of-the-way table. They were very happy to accommodate me. I had dinner there once before, and breakfast twice. Everything I had to eat there was outstanding, especially the Tuyasan Omelet. The two owners, Eric Gueissaz and John Quinn each spent some time with me talking about bicycling and National Parks. They invited me to have breakfast "on the house" the next morning.

As I think about leaving Grand Canyon tomorrow, I can only feel that this park certainly deserves its reputation as one of the top five National Parks in the country. Come here and spend at least two days – one to see all of the rim sights and the other to walk down into the canyon. Then on the third day, you can go to the North Rim. It’s only 10 miles away, or 200 if you want to drive your car. Here are some of my favorite Grand Canyon National Park photos:

G.A.S.P.

(Great Adventures to Scenic Places)