(April 27 – May 3, 2019) When sun heats the trees and soil in the campground in the Grand Canyon, I feel as if I am in a spa scenting Juniper and pine trees. Getting up in the morning is tough; I didn’t want to get out from my down sleeping bag (made for 25f degree sustainable). It was 37f degrees this morning just before 6 am.
The Grand Canyon is for the people of all ages from around the world. It offers hikers the opportunity to visit the canyon vertically and/or horizontally (Rim Trails). Some visitors take shuttle buses to and from different points of the canyon. You can also see the Canyon from a helicopter, a small plane, a mule, whitewater rafting, bicycle ride, train ride, backcountry camping, hiking, or simply walking.
My favorite part of the Grand Canyon is hiking from South Kaibab (going down) to Tonto (side) to Bright Angel (coming up) Trails. It was a total of 14 miles and took 7 hours for me. I met a young girl from Holland on the trail and went along with her plan. The view coming up the Bright Angel trail was really beautiful and green. It was cloudy which made hiking easier. I also got rained on during the hike. It was much better than hiking with direct sun-busted heat. Another day, I hiked the Hermit Trail. As the name says, there are less hikers on the trail which I liked better. I wanted to hike all the way down to Colorado River. However, I was told “Not”. Too Risky for a day hiker. One day, I saw a California Condor from the rim. It might have been 10 feet from wingtip to wingtip.
The Grand Canyon Village offers people many conveniences. Prices in the general store are reasonable. In the Mather Campground, there is a nice shower facility ($2 for 8 Minutes) and a laundromat ($2.50 for washing and $1.25 for drying). There is no dish-washing facility in the campground though. My T-Mobile didn’t work well in the park. For Internet access, I visited “Grand Canyon Community Library” in the park. I carry a solar charger but it was easier visiting the library and charging my electronic devices. In the campground, I often hear campers talking different languages from many different countries. It seems like lots of foreigners rent an RV from Las Vegas and visit Zion, Bryce, and Grand Canyon National Parks (Grand Loop Route?). It reminded me of sailing in the Azores where lots of people charter a sailboat and cruise the Azores Islands.