Grand Canyon Backcountry Hike
A 3-day/2-night adventure on the Hermit Trail
A highlight of this year's GEOL 290 spring break trip will be our 3-day backcountry experience in the Grand Canyon. Backcountry hikes are my favorite part of leading these trips, and the Grand Canyon is my favorite places to do it. This will be my 9th backcountry hike, and with a couple of day hikes included, my 11th time getting down to the river. There is something special about experiencing the Grand Canyon at the bottom, along the river. I eventually became too wise (old) for day hikes to the river and back––thus, the multi-day backcountry adventures.
This year we will be hiking down and back up the Hermit Trail. We will hike about 8.8 miles the first day, making a stop at Hermit Creek Campground to fill up on water before hiking down to Hermit Rapids. We will camp along the Colorado River the first night. The second day, we will be able to relax along the river in the morning. Sometime in the afternoon we will make the relatively short hike back up to Hermit Creek Campground. The third day we will try to get an early start and take our time making our way the 7.3 miles or so back up to Hermit's Rest.
Map of the Grand Canyon Village area on the South Rim. The red box outlines the area of the hike map shown below.
Heading down on the Hermit Trail––here going through the Supai Group rocks.
Going down the Cathedral Stairs on the Hermit Trail.
Relatively calm Colorado River just above Hermit Rapids. We will camp here along the river on the first night.
At Hermit Rapids, looking down-river at the start of the rapids.
Hermit Creek Campground, where we will camp the second night. It has a reliable water source (Hermit Creek) and a vault toilet. We will most likely stop here on the first day on the way to the river to fill up with water.