It’s a big ol’ hole in the ground

There’s not a lot to do at the Grand Canyon other than look at it, and it is very pretty to look at, and hike in and around it. On our second day we chose a hike from our guidebook that proclaimed to be the steepest day hike in the area. It’s called the Grand View trail and I think the name is fitting. It descends approximately 3,000 feet over three miles to Horseshoe Mesa, the location of a last chance copper mine set up in the late 19th century. I think Jake and I both happen to have the type of personality that makes us want to do the most difficult thing in the book. I believe the guide said something about "hydration systems," we just went for the low-tech option of three liters of water each.



The descent is steep and full of switchbacks, and though you’re not fighting gravity it’s still pretty challenging. Every so often we’d turn around to see how far we’d come and know that the farther we went the harder it would be for us to climb back. The trail was not heavily traveled and we only passed a few other groups. It was nice to find a place that was not teeming with the RV crowd but it did bring home how difficult it would be to get help out here if we ran into trouble.



We reached the bottom after two and a half hours and looked around at the old miner’s home. It would have been nice to spend a little more time there and take a rest but we began to hear rumbles of thunder coming from the clouds gathering on the edge of the canyon.


So we began the ascent and it seemed like a relief to be going up for a change. That didn’t last. All we could do was take it slow and steady with plenty of stops to let the muscles recoup for a moment. It was one steep climb after another, entirely unrelenting. But we made it to the top in three hours, for a total time of five and a half hours. Not bad at all. The book had said it would be a 4-6 hour hike so we’re quite fit, it turns out. As we reached the top, we began to meet other folk who were coming a short way down the path to snatch a few views. “How far did you go?,” they asked as we huffed and puffed past. “All the way to the bottom, to Horseshoe Mesa.”



This picture was taken from the start of the trail. Down below, where there's the patch of shadow, is approximately the spot we hiked to. It's also possible to make out the shape of the mesa and see how it got it's name.