Today by the Numbers:
Number of miles walked and hiked: 6
Elevation to hike out of the Grand Canyon from Ooh Aah Point (our destination): 762 feet
Number of quarters it takes to do a single load of laundry at this campground: 22
Grand Canyon Hike Day
We left camp at about 9am and decided that we were going to hike part of the South Kaibab Trail. Afterall, we couldn’t come to Grand Canyon and not hike below the rim! The line to get into the park was quite long and after parking along highway 64, we walked about a mile to the trailhead. We were not the only ones who decided to hike today! We began the hike at 10:14am. Our goal was the Ooh Aah Point, a mere .9 miles into the canyon. The hike down was quite steep in some places and the farther down you hike, the warmer it gets. Trivia Question for Today: How much does the temperature rise with each 1000 feet of elevation loss? Read to the end for the answer!
As we hiked down, the folks making their way up were huffing and puffing. We were not looking forward to the 2nd park of the hike. We reached the Ooh Ahh point in 25 minutes and waited our turn to get the money shots. The perspective of the canyon from this vantage point looking up was so much different than looking down into the canyon.
We began the hike back up at 10:51am. We took our time and took lots of photos and videos. There was very little shade and when there was shade, we took small breaks. We made it back up in just 44 minutes and it wasn’t as hard as we anticipated. In hindsight, we wish that we hiked farther down at least to the next lookout point (Cedar Ridge), just another .6 miles down. Next time!
Video of part of the hike up South Kaibab Trail. Can you spot the chipmunk? 🐿️
We boarded the shuttle and went to the visitor center to buy the obligatory sticker to commemorate our hike. From the visitor center, we walked along the Rim Trail from Mather Point to Yavapai Point. Although it was only a mile, we decided that we were done. It has been a busy, fun-packed vacation and Jen is now coming down with a cold. We crammed about as much as we could in the past 17 days, and we are looking forward to our next stop: a spa resort in Sedona!
Views walking along the South Rim Trail
Once back at camp, we got cleaned up and did a load of laundry. Dinner was pulled pork tacos and the cocktail was Old Fashioneds. We did some pre-camp takedown and plan on sleeping in tomorrow!
Trivia Answer: As you hike down into the Grand Canyon, the temperature will generally increase by 5.5 degrees for every 1000 feet of elevation loss.
In the video of the South Kaibab Trail hike, the chipmunk is at the 29 second point. 🐿️
What a trip so far!! Spa days are well earned! Thanks for the trail snippet videos, I love those 🙂