An Intro to Backpacking Grand Canyon

The Bright Angel Trail is Grand Canyon's most popular hiking trail. One reason for this is because its beginning is located right in the Village at South Rim. What most people do not realize is that the Village is there because of the trail, rather than the other way around.

Today's Bright Angel Trail is a modern and well-maintained version of a route that has been used by humans for thousands of years to access wild game, perennial water, and arable land within the Canyon, and in fact, Havasupai families made their homes at the area known as Havasupai Gardens as recently as the 1920s.

Since the early days of Grand Canyon tourism, when local legends like Pete Berry and Ralph Cameron were getting their start, the Bright Angel has been used as a major thoroughfare, leading hikers and mule-riders into the Canyon to places like Havasupai Gardens and Phantom Ranch. The tourism potential of the Bright Angel is what lured the Santa Fe Railroad, and ultimately led to development of the Grand Canyon Village into the tourist destination it is today.

For more information visit:

http://grandcanyonhistory.clas.asu.edu/sites_rimtoriverandinnercanyon_brightangeltrail.html

https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/upload/Bright_Angel_Trail.pdf

The South Kaibab Trail (originally referred to as the Yaki Trail or Tillotson's Trail), is one of the three well-maintained corridor trails at Grand Canyon National Park. It is a popular and famous trail, because of the overwhelming views available almost throughout its length and the "ridge walk" route that it follows down to the Colorado River.

The South Kaibab is different from almost all other established trails at the Canyon, in that it is not a modern version of ancient Canyon routes. Rather, this unique trail is the product of the years-long power struggle between the National Park Service and Ralph Cameron, a legendary local business entrepreneur.

Since his prospecting days, Cameron held control of the Bright Angel Trail, which he developed into the only trail that offered access to the bottom of the Canyon, the Colorado River, and the burgeoning tourist destination that came to be known as Phantom Ranch. After a number of failed attempts to wrest that control away from Cameron, the Park Service eventually decided to simply bypass the Bright Angel and construct its own Rim-to-River path just a few miles to the east.

Today, the South Kaibab is a major thoroughfare for hikers and mule-riders.

For more information, visit:

http://grandcanyonhistory.clas.asu.edu/sites_rimtoriverandinnercanyon_southkaibabtrail.html

https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/upload/South_Kaibab_Trail.pdf

The North Kaibab Trail, as the third corridor trail and the only maintained trail that leads from the North Rim to the Colorado River, is a perennial favorite because of its varied scenery and dramatic construction.

Around the same time as the completion of the South Kaibab Trail in 1925, the National Park Service, in the interest of increasing tourist development and consolidating their influence over that area of the Canyon, began construction on what is now the North Kaibab Trail. This trail replaced what locals called the "Old Bright Angel" Trail, which is not at all related to today's South Rim Bright Angel Trail, but was referred to as such because it followed the Bright Angel Fault and Bright Angel Creek from the North Rim to the Colorado River. This old trail was never really formalized or fully constructed, and involved miles of nightmarish bushwhacking and nearly 100 stream crossings.

Today's North Kaibab Trail begins near the North Rim Lodge, ranger station, and other facilities located at Bright Angel Point. The trail descends through Roaring Springs Canyon, past the water source for North and South Rim facilities, down Bright Angel Canyon, and ultimately terminating at Phantom Ranch. The Black Bridge and Silver Bridge then make it possible to easily cross the Colorado River and continue on the South Kaibab or Bright Angel Trail for completion of a Rim-to-Rim trip.

For more information, visit:

http://grandcanyonhistory.clas.asu.edu/sites_rimtoriverandinnercanyon_northkaibabtrail.html

https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/upload/North_Kaibab_Trail.pdf

The Hermit trail was once the finest and most modern example of trail design and construction anywhere in the Grand Canyon. Like almost every designated trail in Grand Canyon, the Hermit generally follows ancient routes used by wildlife and Native Americans to access water, wild game, and/or arable land.

Financed by the Santa Fe Railway to access the interior of the Canyon and a planned commercial tourist camp, the Hermit trail exhibits thoughtful planning and excellent craftsmanship (most notably along the Coconino switchbacks). Much of this quality construction has held up extremely well, particularly considering that the trail has not been comprehensively maintained since it was abandoned by the Santa Fe more than 80 years ago.

Today, the Hermit is a popular alternative to the more heavily-traveled corridor trails, although it is a much more rugged and challenging trail than any of those three maintained trails.

For more information, visit:

http://grandcanyonhistory.clas.asu.edu/sites_rimtoriverandinnercanyon_hermittrail.html

https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/upload/Hermit_Trail.pdf

The Grandview trail is a perennial favorite for Canyon regulars, and an enduring testament to the toughness of the miner, tourism entrepreneur, and local legend Peter Berry. This trail is similar to the South Kaibab in that it does not follow preexisting and prehistoric routes. However, instead of having major resources at their disposal like the Park Service building the South Kaibab trail, Pete Berry and his early mining partners scratched out, blasted out, and built up a trail where craftsmanship and bold routing will still grab a hiker's attention today.

Originally intended only as access to the mining claims that yielded the rich copper veins of the Last Chance Mine, the Grandview soon became something of a tourist attraction where Berry and other miners doubled as tour guides. The constant flow of donkeys laden with ore sacks was somewhat displaced by tourist traffic, until the whole area was mostly abandoned around 1913.

Today's Grandview has seen some replacement and maintenance by the Park Service, but still retains the very rugged and challenging characteristics from its mining origins.

For more information, visit:

http://grandcanyonhistory.clas.asu.edu/sites_rimtoriverandinnercanyon_grandviewtrail.html

https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/upload/Grandview_Trail.pdf

The New Hance is considered by many sources to be the most difficult established South Rim trail at Grand Canyon. "Captain" John Hance, after giving up on his washout-prone "old" Hance trail, constructed this "new" trail around 1894. By 1907, Hance had shifted his focus to the tourism traffic at the new Grand Canyon South Rim Village further to the west, where he shared his unique mix of experiences and fabrications that made him such an enduring historical figure. His trail was slowly abandoned over the next several years, and has hardly ever seen any Park Service maintenance at all.

Today, the New Hance is an exercise in mental toughness, physical strength, and keen attentiveness, plunging 4,500 feet (1,370 m) in less than 7 miles (11 km) from Rim to River. Hikers proceed with caution.

For more information, visit:

http://grandcanyonhistory.clas.asu.edu/sites_rimtoriverandinnercanyon_newhancetrail.html

https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/upload/New_Hance_Trail.pdf

Named for the prospector and Mormon scout Seth Tanner, this trail is the easternmost established South Rim trail at Grand Canyon. At nearly ten miles (16 km) in length, it is also the longest established Rim to River trail. With its lack of a single water source for the entire length and its deteriorated and unmaintained condition, it is recommended for experienced backpackers only.

For more information, visit:

http://grandcanyonhistory.clas.asu.edu/sites_rimtoriverandinnercanyon_tannertrail.html

https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/upload/Tanner_Trail.pdf

This trail is one of a number of routes improved and maintained for a time by the Hermit himself -- Louis Boucher. Boucher, an immigrant from Quebec, was one of the early prospectors at Grand Canyon. All things "hermit" at the South Rim of Grand Canyon (Hermit trail, Hermit Creek, Hermit's Rest, etc.) are named for him, even though he never referred to himself as such. Throughout his time at Grand Canyon as both prospector and tourist entrepreneur, Boucher had dealings with numerous tourists and regional historic figures like Daniel Hogan, the Cameron and Kolb brothers and Pete Berry. Today's Boucher trail branches off of the modern Hermit trail, but is in an even worse unmaintained condition.

For more information, visit:

http://grandcanyonhistory.clas.asu.edu/sites_rimtoriverandinnercanyon_bouchertrail.html

https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/upload/Boucher_Trail.pdf

William Wallace Bass is a memorable historic Grand Canyon figure, not only because of his very cool name, but also because he was one of the most prolific trail builders of the prospecting and early tourism era at Grand Canyon. His North and South Bass trails, connected by a suspended cable crossing that he built over the Colorado River, offered the very first Rim-to-Rim trail passage at the Canyon. Today, the South Bass has benefited from rehabilitation and some re-routing of significant stretches by the Park Service. However, it is still a less popular trail because of its ruggedness and difficulty, and because of its remote location several miles west of Hermit's Rest.

For more information, visit:

http://grandcanyonhistory.clas.asu.edu/sites_rimtoriverandinnercanyon_southbasstrail.html

https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/upload/South_Bass_Trail.pdf

The Tonto trail is the longest trail within Grand Canyon by far, slithering and contouring, mostly atop the Tonto Platform, for over 80 miles. The Tonto is the modern homogenized version of routes that prehistoric peoples used to travel long lateral distances within the Canyon. The broad Tonto Platform, whose foundation is the relatively resistant Tapeats Sandstone, provided this thoroughfare for early humans, and later for livestock, and then for touring visitors. Today's Tonto trail is typically utilized as a connector between any of the South Rim's Rim-to-River trails, allowing for a variety of "loop" itineraries that can last for several days.

For more information, visit:

http://grandcanyonhistory.clas.asu.edu/sites_rimtoriverandinnercanyon_tontotrail.html

As with most established trails that extend from the North Rim to the Colorado River, the North Bass is much longer than almost any South Rim trail. This is due primarily to the tilt and attendant erosion of the geologic strata in this area of the Colorado Plateau. In other words, tributaries on the north side of the River are longer than those on the south side, and therefore, the trails are too.

After Bill Bass completed his South Bass trail in the late 1890s, he decided to extend his route all the way to the North Rim. This northern extension, connected to his South Bass trail by a suspended cable crossing over the Colorado River, offered the very first Rim-to-Rim trail passage at the Canyon. A Rim-to-Rim is no longer possible here, as the cable has since been dismantled. Despite receiving attention from Park Service trail crews in recent years, the North Bass is still extremely rugged, difficult, and long. For strong and experienced backpackers only.

For more information, visit:

http://grandcanyonhistory.clas.asu.edu/sites_rimtoriverandinnercanyon_northbasstrail.html

https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/upload/North_Bass_Trail.pdf

The Thunder River trail is a surprisingly modern addition to the Grand Canyon landscape, although it does of course, trace preexisting routes that have been used for thousands of years. The route was exploited by Mormon cattlemen beginning in the 1870s, but only formally constructed by Park Service trail crews and completed in the late 1930s. The Thunder River trail has seen an increase in popularity in recent years, mostly because of the incredible features revealed to visitors at Deer Creek and Thunder River itself. However the trail's difficulty, length, lack of water, and remoteness discourage many would-be attempts.

For more information, visit:

http://grandcanyonhistory.clas.asu.edu/sites_rimtoriverandinnercanyon_thunderrivertrail.html

https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/upload/Thunder_River_Trail.pdf

Commissioned for construction by Major John Wesley Powell himself in the 1880s, the Nankoweap is officially recognized as the most difficult designated trail at Grand Canyon. This remote trail in the eastern Grand Canyon has it all: fascinating geology and history ... but also lack of water, mandatory route-finding, perceived exposure, actual dangerous exposure, extreme steepness of the trail, and incredible elevation loss and overall trail length. For strong and experienced backpackers only.

For more information:

https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/upload/Nankoweap_Trail.pdf