I woke up without much of a plan. I had a route and timeframe planned out for this section of the adventure, but after seeing the Grand Canyon I knew I had to see more of it. I was up by 5:30 am to hike down the rim trail and see the sun rise. After one amazing moment checked off the list, I went further west down the south rim to enjoy some more viewpoints. I got there before the crowds and got to ponder life’s questions while looking into the massive abyss. I met a guy, Dan and we explored a couple more viewpoints before I knew what I wanted to do, instead of taking my intended route, dropping a bit into the canyon, paralleling the Colorado River and then ascending again, I knew I wanted to descend all the way into the canyon. Actually, I wanted to cross the river at the bottom and hike along the other side, passed Phantom Ranch and up a plateau on the other side. I went to the ranger station, presented my idea, and walked out with a permit. Other than the campground near the ranch at the bottom, there is nobody camped or hiking this far out, it is incredible. I dropped 5k’ down on the Kaibab trail and turned off on a side trail recommended by some experts via social media and I am so impressed. Despite hiking miles the wrong direction and spending well over a day exploring and only adding miles I have to walk south, this is an incredible experience and I recommend everyone give the Grand Canyon a try. I am loving it!
Miles 29
Total miles 6616
#greatwesternloop #JeffGarmireGWL #GreatWesternLoopfinishers #whatdoesGWLstandfor #howmanypeoplehavedonetheGWL #whohasdonetheGreatWesternLoop #Thelongestthruhike #JeffGarmireGreatWesternLoop #whatstatesdoestheGWLgothrough #WhatistheGreatWesternLoop #WheredoestheGreatWesternLoopgo #thelongestbackpackingtrip #whohasdonetheGWL