We hiked down the South Kaibab Trail and back up the Bright Angel Trail in one day. Here's our experience, takeaways, and best advice!
For our 15th wedding anniversary, we wanted to do something different. Something memorable. Something that fit us perfectly. So when we told people that we were going to hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back up in a day, and they all responded with, "of course you are" or "yeah, that tracks," we knew we had picked the perfect activity.
We love being in nature, we love being outdoors, and we love physical activity. We also both really like to challenge ourselves (often in different ways from each other) but collectively we're known to be what some might call...overachievers.
We decided in January that we would be hiking in May. Research told us that while our hike date was still early May, the possibility existed that it may end up being upwards of 90-100 degrees in the bottom of the canyon, so we planned accordingly. I joined a couple of Facebook groups that were immensely helpful in research and talking to people (this one and this one) and started gathering gear (and snacks!)
We originally wanted to hike from the South Rim to the North Rim, but once I found out that we would have to take a 4-hour bus ride to get back, we changed our plans and stuck with South Kaibab to Bright Angel, keeping us on the South Rim for both entry and exit. (That, and that some of it was still frozen/closed from the winter months. Yikes.)
Here's a summary of our experience of the full hike, along with some of the most frequently asked questions that Google says some of you have about the Bright Angel Trail!
Eating and sleeping before the hike
Dinner the night before: there's not a ton of healthy options near the rim, which surprised me. I did my research ahead of time and knew that, so we stopped in Flagstaff on the way in at Whole Foods.
We got some simple, healthy microwave meals - I had a sweet and sour chicken with rice and veggies, and my husband had a General Tso's chicken with rice and broccoli. We wanted to fuel with protein and carbs, not too heavy, and not greasy or fried.
We also grabbed easy stuff for breakfast: some greek yogurt, bananas, and microwave egg cups. Last but not least, additional trail snacks! (More on these later.)
We stayed at the Red Feather Lodge, which is outside the park. I chose this because the hotels inside the park were what I considered outrageously expensive, and we were just going to be sleeping there for the night. Red Feather Lodge was a 5-7 minute drive to the Bright Angel Trailhead, and was less than $200 for the night.
Day of the hike
Original plan: start hiking at 5am with a 5:30am sunrise. Reality: Get up at 4:45 and still don't get started hiking until 6:30am. Oops.
We were initially worried, but this didn't end up being a big deal. We hike pretty quickly so we made up the time easily. We got dressed, ate breakfast, and following the advice from one of the Facebook groups, drove to the Bright Angel Trailhead and parked our rental along the side of the road just past the Bright Angel Lodge, in the Grand Canyon Village area. (This ended up being clutch advice, as we did not have to walk far at the end of the day to get to our car!) There are many parking areas and parking lots you can use for the day - it's really just about finding what the best option for you and your group is, location wise.
Even though the shuttle service was already running, in the interest of time we called the taxi service. This is a private taxi run by Xanterra, the company that owns Grand Canyon Lodges, and it runs 24 hours a day. In 5 minutes we had a taxi picking us up to take us to the South Kaibab trailhead. It was $15 for the ride and saved us a lot of time and brainspace when it came to the logistics of figuring out the shuttle system. If you want to use the shuttle system, you can read about the different routes and options here.
South Kaibab Trail: The Descent
Once we arrived at the South Kaibab trailhead, we used the bathrooms at the top and headed down. Down, down, down. While there are few to no resources on this trail, there are some excellent views. The canyon walls rise up and the views are expansive. I've heard some people ask why they shouldn't take Bright Angel both down and up, and this is why. The views.
The first overlook stopping point you come to is called Ooh Ahh point, and it's aptly named - you get an expansive overlook of the canyon while the sun rises up behind it.
There's a few different stopping points further down South Kaibab. This is the Cedar Ridge viewpoint:
You get to look down and see what exactly it is you'll be hiking on. Yikes!
We also got to see the mule trains for the first time on South Kaibab! We were very excited when we saw them the first time. Later on in the day we just wanted them to get out of the way. 😂
We peeked our first view of the Colorado River here, and made it all the way down about an hour later.
I wasn't able to find a name for it, but as you get closer to the bottom, you go through this cool tunnel:
We reached the bottom around 9am, so it took us about 2.5 hours total to hike down. We went over the first bridge crossing the river - this is commonly referred to as the black bridge.
We then followed the path and crossed the small bridge to the Bright Angel Campground. We used the bathrooms there and peeped at a couple of these deer that were hanging out at people's campsites down there!
Once we finished up there, we headed to Phantom Ranch. This is a short walk away, but for us was well worth the stop and the rest.
We got lemonade, bought some postcards, and sat down to eat snacks and send out our postcards (that are delivered by mule!)
After about 45 minutes of rest, we decided it was time to get underway, and start the real beast of the day: Bright Angel Trail.
At about 10:15am we headed out past the park ranger station, stopping to wet our neck wraps in the creek.
We crossed back over the river on the Silver Bridge, and then headed up. Up, up up!
Bright Angel Trail: The Ascent
There are lots of water sources along Bright Angel, and I highly recommend using them to wet things - Buffs, cooling towels, shirts, hats, whatever - when you walk through them. They will dry faster than you anticipate, and they help to keep you cool!
You have to check the national parks website on their "Backcountry Updates" page here to see what water stations are on and which are off for your hike. They have what you might call "seasonal water" - the pipe system is old and they often burst in winter, so they need to be repaired in the spring. It was about 45°F when we started out in the morning, and neither of us drank much water on the way down - just a few sips from our Camelbaks here and there.
Before you head up, make sure you have plenty of water. We both drank a LOT more on the way up. When you start to head up Bright Angel Trail, you'll likely notice that it's hot, depending on the time of day you're hitting it. It wasn't even 11am and we were warm. We wanted to get through Devil's Corkscrew before mid-day, which we did, but even as early as we felt we were, it was still exhausting.
But when you look back down on the series of switchbacks you just hiked, you feel like a boss. Or I did, at least. There was very little shade at this time of day and on this portion of the trail, and a lot of sand, which can make it tough going for a bit.
The trail runs through the Bright Angel fault, and I've read that sometimes tremors can shake visitors! Really glad that was not something we experienced while hiking it. You'll also cross Bright Angel Creek a few more times, which is a great opportunity to soak those neck wraps and Buffs.
Bright Angel Trail offers a lot more rest stops and water stops than South Kaibab, and there's a great info sheet on their locations from the NPS here. Making notes of where these are located can be very helpful when you're feeling hot and exhausted and need something to set as your next goal post!
You'll pass through some shade next to the Havasupai Gardens campground (formerly know as Indian Garden Campground), and then you'll reach the rest stop at the same location. I was actually pleasantly surprised at this stop to find out that we were only 4.5 miles from the top!
Don't let this fool you - the last 3 miles are the toughest. People told me this ahead of time, but you don't really know until you experience it. Yes, it's steep. But also, you're tired, close enough to the top to taste it, and you have to just...keep going.
We rested here for maybe 20-30 minutes. We ate some snacks, used the pit toilets, drank a bunch of water with LMNT in it, refilled our Camelbaks and water bottles, and I soaked my outer layer shirt, which I did not regret in the slightest.
If you are looking to detour to Plateau Point, this is where you'll do it from. We did not head out there, as it would have added an additional 3 miles to our trip (1.5 miles each way) and we figured we had enough miles under our belt for the day.
Next up, the journey from Havasupai Gardens to the Three-Mile Resthouse took us about 45 minutes, and did not feel that bad. This includes the series of switchbacks known as Jacob's Ladder. At 3-Mile, we began to run into a lot of other day hikers.
Hikers going UP have the right of way. I think this is because it's really hard to get started again from a dead stop - once you have momentum you just want to keep moving. It's easier to go down than up! It seemed like many were out for a shorter hike and the rest houses were their turning around points. It was pretty crowded at 3-Mile, and I was feeling hot and wanted to just get going, so we moved along.
From 3-Mile to the top is a challenging hike. It took us about 45 minutes to get from 3-Mile to 1.5-Mile, and another 45 minutes (plus stopping for the mules) to get from 1.5-Mile to the top.
This is a fairly quick hiking pace for the Grand Canyon, according to their website FAQs. They state that on average it takes 4-5 hours to go down and 7-8 hours to go up, and that most first-time Canyon hikers average about one mile per hour. We were averaging about two miles per hour.
They also say that you can take the amount of time it took you to get down and double it, and that's how long it will take you to get up. It took us 2.5 hours to get down, and right around 5 hours to get up, so that seems like an accurate calculation!
Once we reached the top, we hobbled over to the car. Brandan was feeling better than I was - I had some hip pain from an old injury and just wanted to sit down. We drove quickly over to the Visitor Center, as he had gotten a National Parks Passport and wanted to get it stamped before they closed. I stayed in the car, as the thought of more walking did not sound fun.
Very quickly, I got very cold. I think my body cooled down too fast - straight from intense, dry heat to an air conditioned car, and it sent it into some mild shock. I was shivering uncontrollably and could not get warm.
I ended up changing into leggings and a sweatshirt and turning on the heat to try and relieve my body of whatever it was going through. After about 30 minutes of blasting the heat on myself, I was able to regulate a bit and stop shivering.
Water
I carried a 3L Camelbak and a 16oz Nalgene water bottle. I kept plain water in the Camelback and LMNT water in the Nalgene. My Camelbak probably had .5L in it by the time we got to Havasupai Gardens, and I drank most of my Nalgene while there. I refilled both and had plenty to get to the top. The high was only 80 degrees that day, so if you're hiking in hotter weather, plan accordingly. When I started feeling tired, the LMNT really boosted my energy. Be sure to take some type of electrolyte supplement with you.
Snacks
You MUST have snacks. We bought a stash of things at the grocery store the night before and we ended up eating all of them. Things we had with us included:
- Honey Stinger waffles
- Heavenly Hunks oatmeal bites
- peanut butter filled pretzels
- Bobo's oatmeal bars
- Sour Patch Kids
- Cactus candy - these were great for sucking on!
- Apples with squeeze peanut butter packets
You need things that will give you fast energy, carbs, and some salt. Take more than you think you'll need - its a full day and there's nothing worse than getting caught without food and you're not to the top yet!
Gear
Here's the essential gear I used that I loved and would use all over again!
Shoes: Altra Lone Peak
Pack: Camelbak Day Pack
Poles: Black Diamond (These were CLUTCH on the hike - they save the heck out of your knees!)
Outer shirt: Duck Camp lightweight bamboo hoodie (soaked this one at 4.5 and did not regret it!)
Socks: Darn Tough
Bright Angel Trail FAQ
How long does it take to hike the Bright Angel Trail?
We left Phantom Ranch at 10:15am and got to the top of BA at 3:45pm. That means it took us five and a half hours to hike the Bright Angel Trail. That said, that does include our stops, and we stopped more on the way up than on the way down. I would estimate probably an hour-ish of total rest time between our Havasupai Gardens stop as well as our 1.5 mile resthouse stop.
Our total round trip was from 6:30am-3:45pm, so 9 hours and 15 minutes. We estimate that about 2 hours of that was resting, so just over 7 hours of total hike time. This is pretty fast for most hikers, as the parks service estimates 4-5 hours to the bottom and 7-8 hours to get back up. It took us 2.5 hours to get to the bottom, and 5ish hours to get back up.
How difficult is the Bright Angel Trail?
It's challenging, for sure. How difficult it is is going to be directly related to your fitness level and your mindset. If you're someone who likes a challenge, and is in fairly good shape with good endurance, then you'll do fine.
My "training" consisted of two hikes in the NC mountains of 12 and 14 miles, as well as regular functional fitness workouts where I integrated things like reverse lunges into box step ups while wearing a weighted vest. Beyond that, I didn't do much more than my everyday workouts, but I'll be the first to admit that my everyday exercise is more than most people.
It's not an easy hike, and it's a good idea to make sure you're prepared before attempting it. Once you get to the last few miles, you'll see evidence of it being the most used trail and the most popular trail, as the number of people starts to multiply once you are past Indian Gardens.
Why is Bright Angel Trail closed?
This is a FAQ on Google, and the answer may vary depending on the season, weather, and current conditions. In early spring, they're often doing work on the water lines - they are old and often freeze and burst, which leaves them needing maintenance before the visitor traffic picks up again.
It could be closed due to weather, washouts, or any other number of things. I would recommend paying close attention to the alerts on this page of the park website to stay up to date on the part of the trail you're considering traveling.
Can you do the Bright Angel Trail in one day?
Yes, you can! There are all these signs that warn you not to hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back up in a day. I feel for this guy - not only is he sick, he also forgot his sunscreen.
In all seriousness - there are a lot of people who underestimate how challenging of a hike this is, and what kind of shape they need to be in in order to do it. The National Park Service rescues many people each year suffering from heat exhaustion and other issues related to elevation change in the summer months.
It's a longer hike and for sure something you want to be prepared for. If you're going to stay overnight, you do need a backcountry permit. The NPS has a great FAQ about hiking in the Grand Canyon, with much of it about Bright Angel, here.
Bright Angel Trail summary
So, all in all, it was a great experience, and I would 100% do it again. That said, it is a very strenuous hike and challenging to do in a day. Make sure you do your research and are adequately prepared, both physically and with tools and gear for the full day!
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