"The wonders of the Grand Canyon cannot be adequately represented in symbols of speech, nor by speech itself. The resources of the graphic art are taxed beyond their powers in attempting to portray its features. Language and illustration combined must fail."
- John Wesley Powell
Powell summed it up perfectly in this quote, I too had a tough time photographing the most impressive canyon known to man. The scale of it is so hard to capture in photos, which lends truth as to why it is such a magical place. On May 17th, with 6 exceptional humans, we headed out on a 4 day/3 night backpacking trip from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and coming out on the South.
My amazing mother spearheaded this trip and planned just about everything for us. During the trip she was often referred to as the "MVP" or "Our personal Tour Guide". However, this being our 4th time backpacking the Canyon together, she knows the ropes real well by now. On Day 1, we crammed into a rented Lincoln Navigator will all our gear and drove North. One of the logistical issues we ran into was getting a shuttle up to the North rim so we could leave our vehicles at the South Rim and have them when we finish. My dad was kind enough to shuttle us up there to solve that problem.
We got onto the trail a little after 10 am and were immediately in awe of the massive canyon walls covered in green shrubbery and pine trees. After a few miles we got our first glimpse of water at Roaring Springs cascading down the canyon wall. Continuing on, the environment became more arid and dry until we reached our campsite at Cottonwood. Luckily, the creek ran by only a few hundred feet from where we would be sleeping. The cold creek water was refreshing but far too frigid to spend much time in.
The next morning we woke up early to get on the trail heading farther south towards Phantom Ranch. However, our first stop was at Ribbon Falls which is a stunning oasis hidden just a 1/2 mile north of the main trail. We relaxed and admired the stunning rock underneath the falls that is now covered in lush moss and other plant life. Eventually we hopped back on the trail to Phantom Ranch and managed to score a great soft and sandy campsite at Bright Angel Campground where we would be spending 2 nights. We spent most of our time in the canteen or cooling off by the creek. The plan was to get out the next day and get on the trail at 4:30 am since we had a 10.2 mile hike ahead of us. Early in the morning on the day we were leaving, my mom was awoken by the sound of rustling on our packs so she grabbed her headlamp and shined it at the source of the sound. She was shocked when she saw a Mountain Lion trying to break into our packs. Luckily, it got spooked and ran off into the night. But I know my mom and sister had a hard time sleeping after that interaction.
Thankfully, no more big cat sightings so we woke up, ate a quick breakfast and headed out on the trail. It had been a while since I had hiked the entirety of the Bright Angel Trail so it was just as stunning as the first time I did it, especially with the sun rising behind the canyon walls. I felt that I was in pretty good shape for this hike and it still kicked my ass. However, each painful step was paid forward 10 fold by the energy and beauty that you experience being so close to one of the most magnificent natural formations in the entire world.
Going back to the wise John Wesley Powell, when he said "The wonders of the Grand Canyon cannot be adequately represented in symbols of speech, nor by speech itself". Theres no way to understand the Grand Canyon properly until you've thoroughly explored its depths.