South Rim

In mid September, 1989, I met my brother Pat, his wife Julie, his son Bill, and my sister Mary in Utah.  They had driven down from MN; I flew in from Portland.  Pat, Bill and I had made arrangements to hike the Grand Canyon, rim to rim, starting at the north rim, overnighting at Phantom Ranch at the bottom, and hiking out at the south rim the next day.  The ladies would drive the car from north rim to south rim and pick us up there.  We spent a couple nights in one of the quaint log cabins on the north rim before the hike.  There was frost on the ground each morning but it was 90 degrees at Phantom Ranch when we arrived there mid afternoon. 

If hiking's your thing, put this one on your must-do list.  It's about 24 miles: 14 miles from north rim to the Ranch, 10 miles from Ranch to south rim.  You descend 5800' going in, ascend 4800' coming out.  You can backpack it, taking your own food and sleeping gear but I gotta recommend Phantom Ranch: comfortable beds in dorm-style cabins, great meals and interesting folks to chat with.  And, of course, a lot less weight to haul around.

Trish and I are doing an RV trip later this month, staying on the south rim 3 nights and another 3 nights at Dead Horse Ranch State Park near Cottonwood.  I've stayed on the north rim 3 times, have never stayed on the south - just spent a couple hours there after the hike.  The south rim didn't float my boat: too touristy, too noisy, too busy.  Compared to the quiet, idyllic setting of the north rim and Phantom Ranch, the south rim was just a shopping mall with a view. 

It's been 23 years since my initial south rim exposure.  I'm wondering: will I like it better this time?  It's a relative thing because, after all, the GC is my favorite natural wonder of the whole world.  Even with all the tourists and retail bustle, it's a fantastic place.  To be continued.