The Big Hole!


4.5 million people per year visit Grand Canyon.  90% of those 4.5 million visit the South Rim.  It seemed like half of them were there today!

We were aware that we were going to be dealing with ‘too many’ people so we left the truck outside of the park and took their free shuttle in.  What a slick way to bi-pass the long lineups at the entrance. Where we wanted to go to hike today, required us to transfer to 2 different buses.  Everything was going fine until the second bus broke down.  After about a 20-minute wait, we were ‘herded’ like cattle onto another bus.  Enough ranting about crowds…not necessarily about tourists though.  We found a unique way to avoid the masses of people…actually going for a hike.  It seems that most people who visit the Grand Canyon are not there to hike or even look out into the canyon…it appears that they are there to take ‘selfies’…with their backs to the real ‘show’…The Big Hole!

Today was once again overwhelming.  We hiked (pretty much by ourselves) most of the Rim Trail.  It hugs the edge of the Canyon and in places the edge of the trail simply plunged into the canyon.  Even I was a little nervous at times as the trail hugged the cliff face.   The views were spectacular even showing us the Colorado River at the bottom of the Canyon.  Remember the Colorado River is what caused this great big hole.   The sheer vastness of this thing is impossible to describe.  There is little wonder that it is one of the Seven Wonders of the World.  We plan a return visit tomorrow.  We can hardly wait!

Distance Traveled = 145 km.  Wildlife Sightings = Elk, Deer, Rabbit, Turkey Vulture, House Finch, Raven, Barn Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, White-throated Swift, Scrub Jay.


The Big Hole!


The cause of the Big Hole...The Colorado River


Best lunch spot ever


What the trail looked like for most of our hike


7000 feet of rock layers

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