South Rim: Grand Canyon - Sep 21 to 23, 2019
Now that our Rim to Rim backpacking trip was complete, we could relax and explore the South Rim for a couple of days. Our original plan was to spend Friday and Saturday night at Mather Campground and start heading home on Sunday. However, when we were unable to meet up with our friend Ranger Kensie the previous weekend, we decided to stay Sunday night at the Grand Canyon as well. This gave us all of Saturday to explore and Sunday to spend time with Ranger Kensie.
Saturday was a leisurely day. A couple of elk greeted us by the restrooms in the campground in the morning. After being disconnected from the internet for a week, we spent Saturday morning getting caught up. We did not have much of a cell signal at our campsite, so, after breakfast, we drove over to the Camper Services building where the cell signal was stronger. The rest of the morning we worked from our van parked in the Camper Services lot. Since our vehicle was not at our campsite, we left our camp chairs leaning up against the picnic table as a visual cue that the site was still occupied. After lunch, we decided to leave our van at Camper Services and hopped on a shuttle bus to make our way over to Hermits Rest.
The Mather Campground shuttle bus stop along the Blue (Village) Route was right next to Camper Services. We took that over to the Hermits Rest Route Transfer stop and hopped on the Red (Hermits Rest) Route shuttle bus. There are eight different stops along the Hermits Rest Route before reaching Hermits Rest. We stopped at all but one of them. You could walk from one viewpoint to the next via the Rim Trail as the distances between the overlooks range from 0.3 to 1.8 miles for a total of almost 8 miles from Bright Angel Trailhead to Hermits Rest. However, the blisters on Right Buddy’s toes were still tender from the Rim to Rim hike, so the free shuttle bus sounded like the better idea. The Hermits Rest shuttle bus runs from March 1st to November 30th, during which time visitors are not allowed to drive their vehicles along that stretch of road. Bicycles are allowed, but we did not bring our bikes along for our Grand Canyon trip.
The views into the canyon from each stop were different. It was interesting to try to pick out the familiar landmarks and the trail from our Rim to Rim hike. As we got closer to Hermits Rest, we noticed a couple of plumes of smoke across the canyon rising from the North Rim. They looked like they were from wildfires. One or both of these plumes were probably from the Ikes Fire, which started in late July and was still burning in late October. When we returned to Bright Angel Lodge, we bought ice cream at the snack bar (for the third time this trip) and sat to look out into the canyon some more. The views of the canyon never seem to get old. The changing shadows as the sun moves across the sky makes the views seem fresh every time you look.
For dinner, we took the Village shuttle bus back to Yavapai Lodge in Market Plaza near the Mather Campground. Initially we planned on cooking all of our meals at Mather Campground, but since we decided to stay another day, we were short groceries for an additional meal. Well, that’s our excuse anyway. We ate at the Yavapai Lodge Restaurant which is setup like a cafeteria. It was not the finest dining in the world, but it sure beat having to cook. They had options like smoked brisket, roasted chicken, soup, salad, and pizza among other things.
It was dark by the time we pulled our van back into our campsite. But wait, where are our camp chairs? Did someone steal them? Those were new chairs; we just bought them this year. Who would do such a thing? We would like to think that whoever took them thought we had left the chairs by mistake. However, the slip on the campsite post clearly stated that we were staying another night. Their disappearance wasn't the end of the world, but it sure was disappointing.
On Sunday, we packed up and drove our van over to the Market and parked it in Lot B for the day. Our reservation in Mather Campground was only through Saturday night and there were not any campsites available for Sunday night. We were hoping to get one of the first come/first serve sites in Desert View Campground later in the day. We were meeting our friend Ranger Kensie for lunch at Yavapai Lodge, but didn’t want to drive out to Desert View Campground and back before then because it is about an hour and a half round trip. Instead, we spent the morning exploring the Grand Canyon Visitor Center and the Rim Trail near the Visitor Center and near McKee Amphitheater. The canyon views never get boring.
The three of us ate lunch on the patio of Yavapai Tavern. In our opinion, the food at the Tavern is much better than the food in the Yavapai Lodge Restaurant. The Tavern has items like elk burgers and pulled pork sandwiches with sides like roasted corn and black beans. We enjoyed our meals and the wonderful conversations with Kensie. Kensie is a Blue Knights Drum Corps alumnus and sometimes volunteers at rehearsal camps. Kensie agreed to share her experiences as a park ranger in a video for our YouTube channel, so, after lunch, we went to look for a place to shoot the video. She made us feel special as she drove us down the limited access road towards Hermits Rest. We found a beautiful spot at a picnic table along the South Rim with a view of the canyon in the background and not too many people walking by to interrupt us. Thank you, Kensie, for spending time with us on your day off! We hope you enjoy the video: Chat With Ranger Kensie on the South Rim in the Grand Canyon.
It was about 4:30 pm by the time we reached Desert View Campground. It was full, which was no surprise, so we went into the Desert View Visitor Center to ask about other options. Kensie had informed us that there was some Forest Service land nearby with dispersed camping areas. The park ranger at Desert View confirmed that and gave us a map of the Tusayan Ranger District which is part of the Kaibab National Forest. Dispersed camping is accessed via a dirt road that heads south of highway 64 between Grandview Point and Buggeln picnic areas. Camping along the forest service roads is free, but there are no facilities, not even a vault toilet. After buying our daily quota of ice cream at the Desert View Trading Post and taking in more canyon views, we headed over to the Kaibab National Forest. As soon as we left Grand Canyon National Park and entered the National Forest (there was a sign indicating the boundary), about half a mile from highway 64 (Desert View Dr.) on Coconino Rim Road (Fire Road 310), there were a few spots to pull off and camp. There were a few other vehicles already setup for the night. To us, there was no sense traveling further in, we didn’t mind neighbors. They were a lot farther away than the neighbors we had in Mather Campground.
As we were finishing cleaning up the dinner dishes, a man from one of the other campers came over and invited us for a gathering around his campfire. We gladly joined in. The man, Mike McGreevy, travels in a Winnebago he calls George. He has a Facebook Page called “Travels by George”. There was a woman traveling in a truck camper, Deanna Keahey. Her Facebook Page is called “Uphill Zen”. She is also the author of a cookbook with 111 recipes for mac and cheese ("More, Please! Macaroni & Cheese"). There was also a couple from England who were traveling in a rental car. They had just completed a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail and wanted to see some of the west before flying back to England. Mike graciously handed out some cups of Wild Turkey American Honey (we think that was the name of it). Left and Right Buddy sat on a log near the fire, since we no longer had our camp chairs. We all had a great time swapping stories of all of our travels. This was the first time we dispersed camped. Of all the campgrounds we stayed at so far, this was by far the most enjoyable due to the wonderful company, despite the lack of amenities.
The fun was soon coming to an end. The plans for the next day, Monday, were to start our drive home through the Rocky Mountains, via Durango, Colorado.
Check out our related video on our YouTube channel: South Rim: Grand Canyon.
(RB)