If the first day at the Grand Canyon had been phenomenal, jaw-dropping and mythical, Day 2 was from another planet. While the “awe” factor had worn off a bit, nothing had become dull, and as I knew from plenty of previous hiking experience, each new trail, each fresh hike, brings a different perspective and a whole new inspiration.
First, there was the sunrise. I awoke at 5:45 in the warm lodge room in no way ready for the weather outside. Despite bundling up in a long-sleeved shirt, fleece, windbreaker, winter hat and gloves, I was still cold. It was about 24 degrees. Every time I took my gloves off to snap a picture, my hands froze. It reminded me a bit of my Michigan hiking experience.
But that was Michigan in February. This was Arizona in late March!
About 45 minutes later, I was cold, but I was also once again in awe — this time by the reflections of light on the castles and temples and buttes — as they’re called — down below in the Canyon. It was a beautiful early morning sight as the sun rose.
Despite the frigid temperatures.
The sun, thankfully, wasn’t going anywhere, and by the time we were ready to hit the trail around 8, the gloves and winter hats could be put away — although it was still a bit brisk. We took the red shuttle bus to Hermits Rest, which is the farthest stop on the west end of the South Rim. (Note: During March-October, visitors aren’t allowed to drive on the rim roads — Hermits Rest to the west and Desert View Drive to the east — which I think is a great system, considering the buses run every 15 minutes, are always on time, and make stops at every possible point you could want to get off at.) We took in from the bus the incredible and different views at each of the stops between Grand Canyon Village and our stop. Some of the stops, we were told, had views of the river.
And then, after about 30 minutes, we arrived at our destination and began another 6-mile round trip hike, this one to Dripping Springs. I had read about the hike in my Arizona hiking book and it seemed like a moderate trek that would bring different perspectives from our Day 1 adventure.
That couldn’t have been truer.
As the sun heated up the Canyon, we began a twisting, somewhat steep descent of over 1,000 feet to a campground. We were hiking in a small offshoot from the main basin of the Canyon, which provided an interesting, somewhat narrow view to the north and the wide expanse of buttes, castles and temples. To the southeast, large, towering rock walls provided a backdrop for the hike.
Once we reached the campsite and then an intersection at which the Hermits Rest Trail headed down into the Canyon and we stayed left on the Dripping Springs Trail, we were on a ridge for the majority of the hike.
And what a ridge it was!
As we walked on an extremely photogenic red-clay trail, we skirted the edge of not one but two canyons that dipped precipitously some 2,000 feet directly below us. Imagine hiking a backward 3 with the insides of the numeral those canyons. That’s what we did, and the views were astounding. In the morning light, huge shadows were cast on the ridges of the red rock, providing us with ample photo opportunities to showcase how the puzzles of the canyon fit together or complemented each other.
I’ve done some incredible ridge hikes in New Hampshire. This was right up there with them.
After completing the backward 3, we turned due west and hiked through a desert landscape replete with all kinds of cacti toward this infamous Dripping Springs. The trail seemed to go on forever and we were starving for a hearty lunch, but when we finally reached the spring, tucked underneath a rock wall hundreds of feet tall, it was all worth it.
As I would remark several times in the days after, it was like we were in a movie. Beneath a carved out mini cave in the red rock, an antiquated wooden sign read “Dipping Springs,” and from the overhanging rock 11 feet or so above it dropped a slow, very light cascade of water drops. The sign was surrounded by a small circle of golf course-green grass.
Yes, straight out of Hollywood!
It was the perfect resting spot, the impeccable lunch location, and as we munched on delicious rice cakes topped with sunflower seed butter, we were joined by a butterfly that flapped his or her wings up and down in the sand just in front of us.
The hike back wasn’t the novelty it had been on the way in, but the ridge didn’t lose its awesomeness and we sure weren’t taking our footsteps — one in front of the other! — for granted. The hike back up from the campsite turned out to be a beast of an ascent that seemed to go on forever, as we felt the burn in our calves and stopped often to catch our breath.
When we reached the trailhead, finally, at 6,650 feet, we knew it had been another complete hike full of hidden jewels.
On the bus ride back to the village, we stopped at Mohave Point to take in views of the Colorado River for the first time. It was pretty cool to have a perspective of the winding, narrow river some 4,000-plus feet below us as it wended its way between the massive rock formations throughout the Canyon. I climbed over the guardrail and sat on a rock on rim’s edge overlooking everything.
I could have stayed on that rock for hours, but probably not to sleep … as I tend to roll over.
This trip was just an introduction to the Grand Canyon, a small look into all that it has to offer. From the rim, to the Canyon, from the plants, to the multicolored rock walls, from the views to the precipitous drops, it truly is a treasure that I plan to visit again soon.
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