There's no denying that it's grand..
But I'm going to be brutally honest about our experience.. the canyon itself is truly spectacular, breathtaking and a sight you must see in your lifetime, however, we left this 'grand' national park shrugging our shoulders going "ehh". Hear me out, though, before you get huffy puffy on me ;)
There were a couple strikes against us, arriving to the GC in late January/early February. We visited the south rim and being the northerners that we are, figured it would be warm and sunny in Arizona! Boy, were we wrong! Of course we checked the weather before leaving Montana and packed warm clothes but we were not expecting it to be so cold, overcast and snowy/icy.
Remember, our goal is to hike in all 50 states! Not visit the overlooks of America haha! So with that, we were a little disappointed because our intentions were to hike into the canyon, not to stand by a rail and look down into it. Ok, so why didn't we hike?? The trail we were planning to embark on was covered in ice, according to park rangers. They said that anyone attempting the trail needed spikes on their shoes and trekking poles, neither of which we had, and even if we had both, we still would not have gone through with it for the safety of our boys. We were not about to ice skate our way down, turn around and ice climb our way up, with babes strapped to our backs.
So strike one, the weather! Not the ideal time of year to visit if you want to hike into the canyon with small children. Strike two, the crowds!! Ok, ok.. I know what you're thinking: "It's the Grand Canyon! How were you not expecting there to be a crowd?" Well, we were, but not THAT big of one! Knowing that national parks in the summer are crawling with visitors, we thought we were getting ahead of the game by going in mid-winter, and I'm sure the crowds were down by quite a bit compared to peak season, but for us, it was a little too stuffy. It's really hard to watch people disrespect planet earth, and anytime there is a large number of people, you're bound to encounter this disheartening behavior.
Alright, enough bashing on the Grand Canyon ha! Please know that I'm truly not bashing on it... IT. IS. MAGNIFICENT. We just went at a time that wasn't ideal for our expectations and it left us feeling a little cheated. We will absolutely return to this world wonder, when the conditions are perfect for hiking into the canyon, exploring and discovering all of its mystery & magic.
South Rim Trail
Riding the bus (Despite the look on Rowen's face in these pictures, this was his absolute favorite activity of our entire 2 week trip)
Mather Point
Yavapi Point
Yaki Point
Desert View
Like I said, this family is most definitely not finished with the Grand Canyon! Stay tuned for a more in-depth look into this massive crater. Not sure when that will be, exactly, but it is for sure in our future plans!
Have any questions? Want to pick our brains? Need some advice? Shoot us an email at thebackpackingblotskes@gmail.com and let's chat! Life is too short.. get out there & explore!
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