I’m not one for lying in the sun. I am more relaxed and get a better buzz but doing something. So my travel breaks generally involve doing something.
I love adventure travel breaks that maybe more adventurous than some but not as out there as others.
I especially love my short walking breaks.
One walking break I enjoyed was hiking down into the Grand Canyon.
The Grand Canyon is awe-inspiring and can be overwhelming at 277 miles long 18 miles wide and over a mile deep so you have to pick and plan your trek carefully.
When I did the trek I was told going down is optional but coming back up is mandatory.
I wanted a day’s walk so decided on going down the South Kaibab Trail across the Tonto Trail and then back up the Bright Angel Trail. The total length of the trek was around 13miles.
I set off at daybreak with all the right gear, plenty of water and food and a clearly mapped out route.
It’s better to hike down the Kaibab, as it’s mostly uneven earth steps all the way, and there is little shade or water so hiking it in the morning, when it’s cooler, makes sense.
The South Kaibab Trail is a dramatic ridgeline descent, which gives wonderful panoramic views of the canyon from the start. You have to be a bit careful on some points on the ridge because the wind can be very strong and the ridge can be fairly narrow!
Just beyond where the trail joins the Tonto trail there are toilets. When I did the walk I had to queue to use them because a horse riding party, on their way back up from a nights camping, had stopped for the toilets a minute before me. It was handy for getting someone to take photographs of me next to the Tonto trail sign.
The Tonto Trail is a flat walk across a plateau but it is easy to lose the track as flash floods and wind etc can erode the path and it’s easy to get of course and follow a dry riverbed rather than the track. There are also a couple of places to stop in the shade, which is very welcome as the heat builds.
On the way down I met a few hikers but on the Tonto trail I met no one. If you get lost you could be in trouble because if you lose the trail it would be very difficult to find it again.
When I joined The Bright Angel Trail at Indian gardens there was a lot more people, because this trail is the busiest hiking trail down the canyon. Popular for hikers, campers and mule trains. A well-maintained sloping path, emergency phones, with regular drinking water and covered rest houses all the way up, it is said to be the safest trail in Grand Canyon.
Being able to talk to others on the way back up made it a more pleasant experience and the time to get back up to the rim didn’t seem so long.
How did I feel the next day … fantastic!
And now as I recall the thrill of the Grand Canyon I still feel fantastic.
If you have ever thought of doing this.
Stop thinking and just ,,.
GO DO IT!
I’m glad I did.
Access useful information about the topic of luxury vacation home – study this page. The times have come when concise info is really within one click, use this possibility.