Grand Canyon in the Snow

February 4, 2004

This was a spur of the moment trip to the Canyon when I woke up and heard there had been snow in Flagstaff. One of the things I wanted to do during my sabbtical was to visit the Canyon when there was snow on the ground. So, I punted work for the day, and headed up I17.

At the park I took a few pictures from the Rim and then took a hike down the Bright Angel Trail to the 3 mile Resthouse. Rested (!) there, and then hiked back out to the rim. A 6 mile roundtrip, losing and gaining 2000 vertical feet. A pretty solid day hike! The canyon was beautiful, and was its usual overwhelming self, but it was not as spectacularly pretty as was Bryce Canyon in snow.

The trail was snow covered, but no ice and my instep crampons were not needed. The snow cover continued down past 3 mile resthouse. The snow was light and fluffy, and it was actually easier than normal to go downhill, as the "steps" were evened out a bit. I thought the same hiking back out, until near the top when I was pretty beat, and it seemed harder than usual! On the pictures you can sometimes spot the trail as a relatively straight line in the snow, say against a ridge.



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