We all bundled up! Can you tell who they are behind the mask? [photo by Li]

The sun is just risen! Tom, Li, Deb, Barb and Mike on South Kaibab Trail. [photo by Li]

I have been fascinated with the Grand Canyon and have admired its rare beauty since the first time I was in the park. The solitude of the inner canyon is seemingly untouched and makes me feel like I am on a different planet, the roaring Colorado river so powerful and magnificent carving through the vermillion-colored canyon walls changing the course of the landscape and tracing the Grand Canyon in its grandeur.

Yet the bridges over the rivers showed how resilient humans can be—no matter how harsh the environment, we can survive and succeed.

Every year I would hike at least one or two trails at the Grand Canyon, since I started hiking five years ago. I had hiked rim to rim and stayed at Phantom Ranch, and south rim to river and back to the rim, and last year I led the Plateau Point hike.

However, I had never been on Tonto Trail to cross between canyons although I passed Tonto Trail signs many times. So I decided I would do an exploratory hike this year. Five of us decided to go, which was to my surprise since I expected more interest. The weather was much colder (19°F to 50°F) than I expected at this time of the year. It became more concerning with the shorter daylight. We needed to plan well so we would not come up the rim on a cold and dark night.

A few of us stayed at Tusayan while one member stayed at Bright Angel Lodge and the arrangement proved to be perfect. We started at 7:30 AM after taking a shuttle together to the South Kaibab Trailhead. There were a few travelers and hikers on the shuttle in the very cold morning. We all bundled up to keep ourselves warm so we could comfortably hike down.

After a group picture, everyone went down quickly. There was no ice on the trail, although some of us brought crampons just in case. South Kaibab starts at 7260 feet elevation and is beautiful in every way. The trail descends fast and steeply, and after 0.8 miles, we reached Ooh Aah Point. This was Deb’s first time hiking the canyon she was more excited than the rest of us. We took many pictures before leaving this spot. The next stop would be Cedar Ridge where there is a composting toilet. The view before reaching Cedar Ridge in my opinion is the most beautiful and grand of the entire canyon, especially with the sunrise in the morning.

Deb at Ooh Ahh point. [photo by Li]

Mike is happy to hike Grand Canyon again! [photo by Li]

Fast and steep descent! [photo by Tom]

The views here are the most beautiful ones! [Li]

The view before Cedar Ridge. [photo by Li]

Within no time we all arrived at Cedar Ridge. Some of us shedded a layer before going down to Skeleton Point which was about another mile away. After passing many switchbacks with 2,000 feet in 3 miles of descent we reached Skeleton Point. More layers were shedded as we reached the Tip Off, since the sun was out for a while and the trail was getting warm. We took a small break and then made a left turn onto the Tonto West Trail. At this point, we had hiked 4.5 miles and descended about 3200 feet. From here about 3 miles down is the Colorado River, and to the left is the Tonto West Trail which connected with Bright Angel Trail on the other end.

We are close to skeleton point. [photo by Li]

Sunrise on South Rim. [photo by Tom]

We appear so tiny in front of the canyon wall. [photo by Tom]

Tonto West and Tip-Off Junction. [photo by Tom]

A lot of people have incorrectly assumed that the Tonto Trail is boring. In my opinion, it is a less explored trail and the beauty and unobstructed panoramic views of the inner canyon are gorgeous and incredibly beautiful! A mile and a half in on the Tonto Trail, we went up and down small hills and crossed two steams. The first steam had enough water that it could be filtered. The second one was broader and had less water and more plants in the creek part of the canyon. After passing two more miles we reached an open field where the canyon was wide open and the magnificent color of canyon walls and miles and miles of views of the rock formations and canyon walls came into our view.

Did you see the temple? [photo by Tom]

The beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Tonto West. [photo by Li]

Fall color on the Tonto Trail. [photo by Tom]

Cliffs and creek on Tonto Trail. [photo by Tom]

We stopped and soaked in the cool breezes and enjoyed the grandeur of the Grand Canyon and lost ourselves in this desert paradise. We regrouped again from here and continued heading to Indian Garden after a break.

After another mile’s walk, the yellowish-colored cottonwood trees appeared in front of us, and we could hear the water trickling along the trail. We knew that we reached Havasupai Gardens. The name of Indian Garden has been changed to Havasupai Gardens, but for now the signage has not yet changed. The temperature was 58° at Havasupai Gardens, which was so much better than the 108 degrees last September when I was here. Two months apart and what a big difference! The huge cottonwood trees over the benches in Havasupai Gardens had been removed in December 2020 and only the stumps stood there to tell the story.

I remembered how happy I was a few years ago staying under the huge shaded trees which provide sun relief and cool air for hikers and visitors. I was very sad when the trees were gone and I hope that the small trees now planted can grow faster so people who hike through here could feel the coolness and happiness I felt years ago. One big change in Havasupai Gardens this year was that we did not see any squirrels like we always did. Only a mother deer was laying on the ground next to the pump-house chewing her food and calmly watched us pass by. No mule trains or wranglers were there either. It was quiet and peaceful yet looked barren and had lost its beauty.

We took a lunch break, refilled our water and were ready to climb up the Bright Angel Trail after about a 45 minute break.

Going up was much tougher since in 4.8 miles we had to climb more than 3,000 feet vertically of vermillion-colored cathedral-like walls before reaching Bright Angel Trailhead. After leaving Havasupai Gardens campground, I told myself not to look up since it would be too much for me to think of, although I had done rim-to-rim and rim to river a few times. I felt that every time was challenging. Tom seemed to take it very matter of fact and was not worried. My knees started hurting so I took two ibuprofen and started our endless journey up. After a relatively flat part, we got to Jacob’s Ladder that takes you up the Redwall Limestone to Three-Mile Resthouse. The endless steep switchbacks ahead of us made going up seemingly impossible, but I knew we did before and we could do it again.

Mom deer watching us pass by. [photo by Li]

We have to climb up that high. [photo by Deb]

Li and Tom in a tunnel.

Bighorn sheep on the top of the trail. [photo by Deb]

I focused on walking each stair and did not notice any bighorn sheep nearby. We did hear some noise that we thought were mules but there were no mules ahead of us or behind us. Later Deb showed us the pictures of big horn sheep standing on the top of the trail and I guess it must have been them who made these noises. Passing two gates/tunnels we were close to the trailhead. There were quite a few people on the Bright Angel Trail. Barb finished first, and when Tom and I got there she was there waiting for us. We took a picture and went to the Bright Angel Lodge to celebrate the successful hike. The server, Lawrence, was so enthusiastic and made the environment inviting and friendly. We had a good conversation with him and enjoyed the cool beers and drinks while waiting for Mike and Deb to join us. They arrived 30-40 minutes later. Everyone was elated with the hike. Cheers for the GC hike! We will be back again soon for more!

We finished at Bright Angel Trailhead. [photo by Li]

Let us celebrate a successful hike! [photo by Tom]