Arizona Trail Backpacking Passage 37, Grand Canyon Sout Rim
AZT Day 10-14
Trans-Arizona/Utah Day 17-21
In the land of Arizona
Through desert heat or snow
Winds a trail for folks to follow
From Utah to Old Mexico
It’s the Arizona Trail
A pathway through the great Southwest
A diverse track through wood and stone
Your spirit it will test
Oh, sure you’ll sweat and blister
You’ll feel the miles every day
You’ll shiver at the loneliness
Your feet and seat will pay
But you’ll see moonlight on the borderlands
You’ll see stars on the Mogollon
You’ll feel the warmth of winter sun
And be thrilled straight through to bone
The aches and pains will fade away
You’ll feel renewed and whole
You’ll never be the same again
With Arizona in your soul
Along the Arizona Trail
A reverence and peace you’ll know
Through deserts, canyons, and mountains
From Utah to Old Mexico
-“The Arizona Trail,” Dale R. Shewalter
South Rim Triple Zero
My late arrival the other night meant that I wasn’t able to make it to the majority of the gathering, but I did still get to see some people. I was then able to spend a few days conducting post-hike job interviews, resting, resupplies – my main reason for the extended stay; I arrived on a Friday and the post office isn’t open again until Monday – and catching up with friends.
But ultimately, it is time to head out again.
South Rim-Tusayan East
Unfortunately, after about a week of good weather since the strong winds that came through on the North Rim, the weather is taking a turn for the worse. In the next few days the temperature will drop to 16º. After a final night, I’m heading south from the South Kaibab Trailhead. I saw a coyote last night on the Rim; this morning brings an elk and its calf as I start the journey south to Flagstaff. The trail winds through the woods for a quarter mile or so, then crosses Desert View Drive before heading towards the south entrance road. There’s some confusion in this segment since it clearly has recently been rerouted and differs from my map.
But I do sort it out. The trail runs on a dirt road on the east side of the South Entrance Rd for a while; this stretch brings the first snake sighting on the trail, a Great Basin gopher snake. Bull snakes, a subspecies, are among the longest snakes in North America (up to 8 feet). It’s not venemous. The trail crosses the entrance road and follows the Tusayan Greenway through the ponderosas to the park exit, then crosses the road again on the north side of Tusayan before curving to the east of town, entering the Kaibab National Forest and running through rice grass meadows among ridges of Kaibab Limestone, ponderosa pines and gambel oaks.
The fall foliage that started on the North Rim with aspens continues here on the South Rim with gambel oaks, which look particularly good in evening light. Just north of FR-302, in a sheltered grove of ponderosas, I make camp for the night. It’s chilly, but the full brunt of the cold snap isn’t here yet, and hopefully won’t quite get here for a couple days. Here is hoping.
For my other entries on hiking the AZT in Grand Canyon, check out the following:
Amazing, Stunning Arizona Trail: Grand Canyon North Rim-Roaring Springs – Aspen’s Tracks (aspenstracks.com)
Amazing, Spectacular Arizona Trail: Grand Canyon, Roaring Springs-Ribbon Falls – (aspenstracks.com),
https://aspenstracks.com/arizona-trail-day-8-grand-canyon-ribbon-falls-to-bright-angel-campground/
Amazing, Spectacular Arizona Trail – Bright Angel CG (Colorado River)-South Rim – (aspenstracks.com)
For the National Park Service official advice on day hiking and backpacking below the rim at Grand Canyon, including on the AZT, check out the following:
Introduction to Backcountry Hiking (nps.gov)
Day Hiking – Grand Canyon National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)