In this episode of Exploring the National Parks, we are back with another Mail from the Trail episode!
We are diving into your burning questions about the national parks. Join us as we discuss hiking the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim, hiking trip necessities, how we decide which parks to visit, and more!
In this episode, we discuss:
- How to hike Rim to Rim in the Grand Canyon and the best time to do it
- The must-have necessities for safe and fun hiking trips
- The national parks we haven’t been to yet and why
Thank you so much for all of your questions today! We really appreciate hearing from you. If you have any questions, send us some mail from the trail by going to our podcast page. We would love to hear from you and answer your questions!
In this episode, we mentioned a couple of things that you might want to look at: The 10 Essentials for Hiking and the Master Reservation List.
Listen to the Full Podcast Episode:
Question 1: Hiking Rim-to-Rim at the Grand Canyon
“I’d love to hear about how to hike Rim-to-Rim at the Grand Canyon. Where should I stay? How do I reserve campsites along the trail? When is the best time to go?”
Thanks for your question, Judy! The Rim-to-Rim Trail at Grand Canyon National Park is iconic. We have yet to go from the North Rim to the South Rim or vice versa, but we have gone from the South Rim all the way down to the Colorado River and then back up the South Rim.
My advice is to hike the South Kaibab Trail down, camp at the bottom for a night or two, and then hike up the North Kaibab Trail. The South Kaibab is the king of all trails at the Grand Canyon, and we love it. However, it’s the steepest trail to the bottom of the canyon, and we think you’ll want to avoid hiking up it.
South Kaibab has stunning views that change constantly. To save your feet and joints, we recommend hiking down South Kaibab and up North Kaibab, the latter of which is slightly less steep. You can catch a shuttle from the North Rim back to the South Rim.
You could do Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim, which involves hiking down South Kaibab, up North Kaibab, back down North Kaibab, and up Bright Angel. Unfortunately, you might have better luck winning the lottery than getting all the permits needed to complete this feat of a hike. Phantom Ranch is notoriously hard to get a reservation for, but getting a permit for a backcountry campsite is a little easier!
No matter which hike you do, you have to prepare your body the same way marathon runners might. It’s a physical strain, but it’s worth it to see how incredible the Grand Canyon is below the rim.
The Grand Canyon’s backcountry permit system is extensive. If you want to stay at Havasupai Gardens, the bottom of the canyon, or along the North Kaibab, you have to start six months in advance of your trip. You’ll enter an early lottery that allows you to make your reservations before everybody else. It doesn’t guarantee you’ll get what you want.
Permits open for the public three months before your planned stay, but expect most campsites to be gone. There is a waitlist if you arrive in person at the backcountry center at the Grand Canyon.
If you’re going to Phantom Ranch, it’s a lottery system that starts 15 months before your trip.
Avoid hiking into the Grand Canyon during summer at all costs. When we hiked the South Rim in May, temperatures started at 60°F at the rim and rose to 90°F by the Colorado River by 9:30 AM. Many people start hiking out of the canyon around 3:00 or 4:00 AM to avoid the hottest part of the day. Spring and fall will be your best options.
Make sure you get ice cream when you make it back out!
Question 2: Ten Essentials for Hiking
“While I think I’m a hiker, I’m not when it comes to taking necessities on a hike. I broke every cardinal rule when in South Dakota. I did not know the length of the hike or the difficulty, no flashlight, phones low on battery, no snacks, one water, etc., and ended up getting pretty scared as it began to get dark and we couldn’t find the path. Luckily, I climbed up a huge rock and was able to spot the path. How do I avoid all that happening again?”
Christine, I think we’ve all had moments when we realized we’re unprepared, so don’t feel bad. We’ve all been there!
When you first start hiking, it’s hard to know exactly what to bring or what you might run into on the trail. We wrote an article to help you prepare for your hikes: The 10 Essentials for Hiking. There are links to my current gear and the ten essentials I keep in my pack.
If you use your phone for navigation, make sure you have a paper map as backup. You can usually grab one at a visitor center or entrance station. I like to use the National Geographic maps. Learn how to read a topographic map before your hike – it could save your life!
Always bring more food and water than you think you need. Bring food that fills you up, like protein bars, peanut butter pretzels, or sandwiches. Graham crackers aren’t enough for most hikes! We’ve run out of water before, and it was scary. I carry a small water filter now, which is linked in our 10 Essentials article.
Our 10 Essentials list also includes an emergency shelter and emergency bivy. Having one of these in your pack could save you from the elements, like a sudden heavy downpour. It could also be a shelter if you can’t find your way back to civilization and end up spending a night in the wilderness you weren’t expecting.
Headlamps with extra batteries are a must to save battery power on your phone. If you get service to call for help, you don’t want to have used all your power on lighting.
Other good essentials are a firestarter or waterproof matches, sun protection, a multitool or knife, and insulating layers like a jacket.
What’s great is that most of these essentials should last you a long time, so it’s worth the investment upfront to have the best time on your hikes for years to come.
Question 3: Which parks have you not been to yet?
“Which parks have you not been to yet? And of those, which are you most eager to get to?”
Great question, Carrie! This may be surprising, but we haven’t visited every national park yet!
We’re all about quality over quantity. We visit the biggest national parks repeatedly to keep our itineraries up-to-date for your adventures.
All the parks we have left are more costly or difficult to get to. We’re waiting until our sons are a little bit older so we can all appreciate the isolated parks more.
We have about 13 parks left – Samoa, Virgin Islands, Isle Royale, and some of the more remote Alaska Parks. Bush planes in Alaska often won’t take children. When we go, we’re looking forward to spending a month hitting the last Alaska parks we have left.
We almost made it to Isle Royale to stay in the lodge, but we had to cancel so John could get surgery. We hope to make it there soon!
Check out our Master Reservation List to see when campsites and lodges like Isle Royale open up!
Thank you for your questions! Head to our podcast page and let us know what questions you’d love us to answer on our next mailbag episode!
Links mentioned in this podcast episode:
- Backcountry Hikes at Grand Canyon National Park
- South Kaibab to North Kaibab
- Grand Canyon Backcountry Permits
- 10 Essentials for Hiking
- Master Reservation List
Are you hoping to visit all of the national parks? Sign up for your FREE NATIONAL PARKS CHECKLIST so you can easily see where you’ve been and where you still need to go!
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