Backpacking the Grand Canyon - Grandview Trail to Horseshoe Mesa
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- Опубліковано 2 жов 2024
- Backpacking the Grand Canyon - Grandview Trail to Horseshoe Mesa
So I've backpacked the Grand Canyon before. But Tina hasn't. So I wanted her to see this amazing place herself and fall in love with it like I have. Except the thing about the Grand Canyon is it's deep. There's a lot of elevation loss for the pay off, then you have to climb back out. Tina and elevation disagree.
I didn't want her to go there and suffer. If you do that, it takes away the joy and can make you dislike (or even hate) something you otherwise might love. So I did my typical research (also known as winging it) and found a route into the Grand Canyon that only went partway in. I figured that would be a great introduction; it would show the beauty without requiring the entire climb out. That route was the Grandview Trail to Horseshoe Mesa.
As with many plans, things fell apart immediately. Firstly, I lucked out and got Phantom Ranch two weeks earlier than our trip to the Grandview Trail. If you know anything about Phantom Ranch, you know that you do not turn down reservations to Phantom Ranch if you're able to get them. So Tina's actual first trip was an entire rim to rim hike in two days. It was actually an incredible experience, but it was also hard. Really hard. We made it, but turning around to hike the canyon again only two weeks later was a bit soon.
But she decided to go anyway.
On the drive there, I decided it might be wise to read about the conditions on the Grandview Trail. If you know anything about researching hikes, you're rolling your eyes about now. On the drive to the hike is not the time to research a hike. Review after review kept talking about how rugged, washed out and steep the trail was. It was rated as difficult by about everyone.
This was not going to be the easy introduction to the canyon I'd expected.
It was, however, short and absolutely gorgeous. It was tough, but we were at camp quickly. And that night, the Grand Canyon treated us to an incredible light show thanks to some thunderstorms on the north rim. It was pretty much perfect.
The following day it was time to pay the price and the steep climb up the Grandview Trail began. But we put our heads down and focused on one foot in front of the other and soon enough we were out.
And that was that. It was a great experience. It was also nice to know we could leave our house at 10AM and be at camp in the Grand Canyon by 5PM, then home the following afternoon. All in all, while not easy, it is hard not to recommend the Grandview Trail.
As a side note; we are both more sore from this than hiking the entire Rim to Rim trail. Still worth it.
Music by Artlist:
Nocturne in Eb Op. 9 No. 2 - Birraj (bonus points if you relate this song to Bad Santa)
We Found Each Other - Birraj
Suite No. 1 - Ardie Son
Yearning - ANBR
Greig Morning
Years - The Hunts
Spectacular hike and great job of videoing it👌
Awesome beautiful, thanks for sharing. Always look forward to your videos, especially when beautiful Tina is in them. We just love her personality, her smile...just love her beautiful self...lots of ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤for you both extra ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️for Tina 🌻
Always more fun when she's around, for sure.
WoW Amazing 😍👍🙏🏼
I Never Went Too Far On The Grandview Trail Due To It Looking Bad In The Beginning, Love The Video And I Knew Tina Would Be Back
The Grand Canyon has a way of making you forget how rough it is hiking out of the Grand Canyon....
No crude hand gestures (middle finger) this time by Tina to Jerry, so this must have been a good hike for her.
Absolutely stunning night photography of the monsoon storms - great work!
Another classic Jerry Arizona video.
Thanks! In that second to last out-take clip she's flipping me the bird. She was just too far away.
such a cool shot with the contrast of the starry sky and the cloudy thunderstorm. well done Jerry!
Thanks. Missed you at dinner, man!
Jerry, I been a subscriber for a long time, just wanted to say that was probably my favorite Jerry Arizona video so far. Outstanding work sir.
Best trail in the park!
I love that we can leave the house mid morning and be at camp before dark on the mesa. The hike out? Not as big a fan.
AND,,,, 🤔 that's why I sit here on my chair and watch you two, 😉 😵💫
I can always count on you two to take me places I'd love to adventure but know I can't venture.....
Thank you for bringing your travels to all of us.
God Bless you both always, Keep safe, Stay happy, You're always rewarded 🌮
Thanks for sharing your adventures.
Love your videos!
I did this solo in May 2021 as my first Grand Canyon backpack (and second solo backpack) and I really want to go back to Horseshoe Mesa - it was beautiful and I was so wiped by the time I got down I didn’t do as much exploring as I wanted to.
But I’m afraid of heights, and I was terrified most of the hike down and some of the hike up. (The red section just below the Coconino Saddle absolutely did me in.) And I gather the trail is in worse shape now after the 2021 and 2022 monsoons. Working on my fear of heights is on my to-do list so I can go back.
Definitely exposure on this one. But if you did it before, you can do it again.
As someone who owns a "superior" low-light camera... i'm totally jealous of those nightlapses! Nice work buddy!
I wouldn't be able to sleep with all that good night photography.
Spectacular! Thank you for sharing.
You two should join me for Havasupai Falls this April! I'll buy the Mexican dinner afterwards. 😉 Timmy C Arizona
I'm thinking you're gonna be lucky if they're open. Best of luck though. Love that place.
I did that trail when I was in high school, I'm now 65 yo. That was a hard trail to hike out of, of course I was being paced by a football linebacker that was in superb shape and I was just an average guy that was in a H.S. p.e class for conditioning. It took 2 hours to do the last mile because I was so exhausted. Nice memories otherwise
I swear this was harder than rim to rim....
Amazing time lapse video…..what a show nature put on for you two..best video I’ve seen of that particular trail. Thanks for sharing
Just WOW (that time lapse of the sky! BEAUTIFUL. My mates and I exited The Escalante Route via Grandview on Sunday 10/30/22 (hauled some water from Miners Spring down lower). It took us three hours to get from our camp on the mesa up that thing to the TH! Would love to see you and Tina have a go at The Escalante Route (if you haven't already)!
It's going to take some time and convincing to get Tina to go back. (Although I already mostly have her convinced to try South Kaibab.) I have so many other trips I want to plan into the canyon....just need the PTO and the permits....
I truly love my state ❤️ Arizona, you're beyond beautiful.
I'm so happy to call AZ home too.
I hiked this trail about 20 years ago. As you showed, it is terrible to go down. I was carrying water in my hands and my legs were extremely painful for the next several days. I carried on the Tonto Trail for the next two nights and came up the Bright Angel trail.Then hitchhiked back to the Grandview trailhead.I was solo and the park service tried to talk me out of the trip because the Tonto Trail, at this section, was so hard to follow. They were right. I got off trail several times and rather than cross country or short cut I just went back to where I knew where I was and tried a different way. A wonderful day trip is go down the South Kaibab to the Tonto then Indian Gardens and up the Bright Angel with fresh water and shade. I have done it several times in younger days. No heavy backpack. It is great.
I want to do that route next. (Down S Kaibab, up Bright Angel.) It's gonna happen. The views from S Kaibab look amazing.
The time lapse was awesome!!!!! The views were really something else. Thanks for sharing your adventure. It looked like a slow go down and back up. WHEW!!!😀
Great job, another beautifully filmed video of an amazing part of the country. I LOVED the Bach Suite No. 1.
Love the lightning time Lapse! Waiting to see the Jerry Arizona Margarita on the ElPatio Margarita menu ha ha ! That trail looks super steep! We did the South Kaibab to phantom up bright angel like 25 yrs ago .
Lost four toenails after that trip . My friend told me to wear one size bigger boots when hiking the canyon as going down can inflict this type of injury. Another good one Jerry and Tina !
Right? I feel that El Patio should have a table reserved for us at all times by now.
I did this hike in 1980 while conducting a herpetological survey of the Grand Canyon for the Grand Canyon Natural History Assoc (now simply the Grand Canyon Assoc I believe). My how memories play tricks on you. I don't remember it being so steep and with so much exposure. At the time there were corrals set up for burrows that were being removed from the Canyon. That somewhat compromised the wilderness experience. My wife and I are planning to be out there next May (if we get backcountry permits) and were last at GC 4 years ago. Thanks for a great video and for jogging my memory back to reality !!!!
I call it "hiker's amnesia". You forget the bad parts of the hike over time. You should be able to get permits. We switched ours up at the last minute and had no problems. Only saw two other groups there for overnight.
Wow that’s a very steep trail, I can’t imagine carrying all that water or to do it and not have enough water. Amazing views and that light show in the night sky.
Water+camera gears+food+sleeping gears looks so heavy, but that destination was very beautiful. Thanks for the awesome video!
Beautiful scene drinking margaritas while watching the sun set, followed by lightening storm then stars. Thank you for another fun video.
Drinks and a light show! Can't ask for much more. Glad you enjoyed.
Blooper reals rock. Time for a compilation of the funny from all the videos. LOL
Sorting through old footage now for a video idea I have. Such a pain in the butt; hope it's worth it. But you're gonna have to settle for the bloopers as they happen.
I do not know if its color grading but it was like eternal golden hour coming down and then the VIEWS.... daaaaaym... and the thunderstorm and the star show... that is like 3 for the price of 1 right there.
One thing that really impressed me when I was in Utah is that you don't know how remote you are until you travel for hours and see no one... and stay there a while and still see no one. To be at one with the universe like that is a truly humbling experience.
Thank you for sharing. Every time you visit GC you give us a completely different perspective. So cool!
I'm not talented enough to make that happen through color grading alone. Mother nature did all the heavy lifting for me. The GC gets a hold on you. And I agree completely on the solitude. Even a place as popular as the GC has plenty of places where you can feel like the only person on earth for days.
great vid and blown away by that nightlapse!!! Great video work Jerry!
Great video!
"So I did my typical research (also known as winging it)" - too funny. Somehow you captured the steepness. It came across so well that I was sweating too (but my cooler was real close). Good to see your cooler make another appearance. Excellent thunderstorm footage. Another beautiful video. Thanks!
Thank you! Yeah, I may have just looked at mileage and elevation and stopped researching. I'm glad we actually got Phantom Ranch a couple weeks before this because I don't know if I could have convinced Tina to go back if this was her first hike there. We were more sore from this than R2R.
Beautiful cinematography, you have good narrative skills and the background music is sublime.
Brings a huge smile to my face watching you guys. Thank you for being an amazing inspiration to me. Thank you! Happy hiking guys. Stay awesome. ❤
That was gnarly!! Outstanding time lapse of that night storm! There's an excellent Mexican restaurant in Tusayan, on the right, as you're leaving the GC, about in the middle of town... in case you don't want to wait until you get home.
It was and thank you! We had bad luck at a Mexican place up there years ago. Plus we were set on El Patio. But I'll do some homework for the next trip because it was too long a drive before getting food.
@@JerryArizona I ate there twice this year, and both times the service was good, the food excellent, and no food poisoning.
You got Tina to go back to the Grand Canyon, impressive. Loved the addition of time lapse video, especially the thunderstorm rolling through. Looks like it was a special trip and great memory.
It was tough, but it was memorable. Just sitting and watching the light show (without getting wet, even!) definitely was the stand out part of the experience.
That storm was AWESOME!
I'm going to have to do that trail soon
That storm was some good luck. Got a light show, but didn't get wet! And man, this trail is absolutely brutal. But so nice that we actually got up halfway late, drove to the Grand Canyon and were camping on the mesa the same day, back the next. For that, it's a great trail.
Holy crap, the thunderstorm down there. That’s making it extra special. Nice video Jerry.
Mother Nature gave us a great light show, for sure.
Glad you got to take a "slower" backpacking trip to the GC. It truly is worth seeing and I don't think your R2R trip you were able to enjoy the beauty. I am sure you will both be back. Thanks again.
We will be back. I have several other routes I want to plan. Not sure how many Tina will do, but I'm sure I can talk her into some.
We actually did enjoy the R2R. A lot. The heat wasn't great, but Phantom Ranch made up for it and more. Wish we could've seen the stretch between PR and Indian Gardens but it was the right decision with the heat.
Another awesome video, thank you so much Jerry and Tina, these adventures are so wonderful!!!
I did this in the snow last year end of March....without my crampons and lousy trekking poles that kept on collapsing. Would not recommend. Sidenote, what's the name of the Mexican restaurant in the vid?
No crampons in the snow? That must have been an absolute blast. That's El Patio. The Cornville exit off the I-17 between Flagstaff and Phoenix. Our favorite Mexican restaurant. Looks like a dump, which is usually how you can tell it's good.
Great views on this hike! I'm really wanting to know how you captured the time-lapse of the stars/storms? Thanks !
I used my Canon EOSR with the 35mm f1.8 lens. With that wide aperture, it was enough to capture the lightning. Once it got darker, I switched (same camera and set up) to night lapse. Can't remember the exact settings, but manual focus set to infinity, f1.8, ISO 800~1,600 (don't remember which). I'd never done it before so I just played around. The short version is a full frame camera and a large aperture lens.
Gorgeous job! You really got the best out of that Canon in the canyon. 😁
@@JerryArizona awesome. Thanks for the info! Keep em coming and stay safe! Love the content.
Wow, that's the most scenic tent-pitching and taking down I've ever seen. I really need to get my act together and plan a backpacking trip there.
It was such an incedible camping spot. I thought this one would be easy, but we were more sore than we were from R2R. Maybe check out Hermit to Tonto to Bright Angel (or S Kaibab) for a starter. But whatever you choose, go for it. The GC never disappoints.
That was a caraazzyy trail! You 2 are so blessed to share this love of outdoor adventures together! What fabulous memories to share. Thanks for sharing. 🙏
I know I'm not seeing the full effect of how steep that trail is... but wow!! She (The Canyon) makes ya work for it & still on my to do list. Beautiful storm action & starry night skies. Great hike you two!!
Grandview is a 2,500' tall ladder. We were more sore from this than R2R. Still, we were able to leave the house around 10AM and sleep in the Grand Canyon the same day. Cannot complain about that.
Beautiful video and I love the fact that you & Tina are Real People. Having a post hike cocktail is great. Keep the adventures coming.
Nothing like sleeping in the Grand Canyon. Have you heard of the Point Huitzil route to Royal Arch? Talk about sketchy! Add in sheets of rain and you're having a full scale adventure. Don't make Tina do it 😂
Oh, I'm not getting Tina back in the Canyon without a cabin at Phantom Ranch. I've heard of Royal Arch but haven't hiked it. I'm eyeballing Deer Creek/Thunder River. And, of course, Nankoweap, but mainly because I want to be able to say I did it. (I think I'll regret that decision if I try.) No thank you on the rain on sketchy trails.
Wow! By the way do you need a permit to hike this trail?
You do for overnight. There's a backcountry permit request form you have to fax(!) in. Had to go to the UPS store to find a fax machine. This isn't a super popular trail though, so finding a fax machine is the hardest part. I think if you want to day hike it you can just go with no permit. (Keep in mind we were so much more sore from this than our R2R hike a couple weeks earlier. Something about the steepness.)
Jerry, thank you for this video! The early dialogue between you and Tina was priceless, and it made me laugh out loud. Repeatedly.
I remember having 90 minutes to explore this trail early one morning a few years ago-had to hurry doing that to make it to FLG for a flight home to DFW. I recall how steep and how beautiful it was the 1st 45 minutes, until having to head back to the top. Even though I was only on it about an hour and a half, I thought it was easily one of my favorite trails I’d ever been on.
I loved the music you chose to accompany the sunset and evening. The sight of lightning in the night sky over the Grand Canyon was the icing on the cake.
Nice job on this one. You reminded me of what a special place it is there; I want to get back at the earliest opportunity.
My buddy Clint talked me into finally hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon earlier this year. That's all it took. I'm hooked. Planning new trips back all the time. (Been back 3 times since the first trip this year!)
Another great video Jerry!!
I just wanted to say l love you Tina 😍
We have a trail in the Columbia River Gorge called "Eagle Creek." I consider parts of it sketchy with rough and narrow trail and bad drop-off. People die on it sometimes. It is not as sketchy as what I just witnessed video of you two hiking, not from what I could see.
Eagle Creek! I would love to do that hike someday. Grandview isn't THAT bad with exposure. But man is it steep. Just got back from Kalalau. Now that trail brings new meaning to the word exposure.
Many years ago we backpacked down the Grandview trail, then followed the Tonto trail to Bright Angel and back up Bright Angel- 5 days 4 nights. Down Grandview there were some very steep sections, and some that were pretty sketchy. Those steep sections with a heavy pack will kill your thighs. We met a girl hiking solo on Grandview Mesa, I don't remember how far she was going but she was carrying at least 2 gallons of water. We ourselves were carrying pretty heavy packs. We managed to camp every night at a spring so we could stock up on water for the next day. My legs were wrecked for 2 weeks after that trip. Since then I've hiked down South Kaibab. It is a good trail but relatively steep, going down that trail I think we got to the river in about 1.5 hours.
You were merciful to not show Tina in agony on the way back up the trail. Maybe you were in agony too and didn't want to take time to film.
Grandview is brutal! We were more sore than from R2R. Still a great experience. And yeah, it was partially due to mercy and partially due to the fact that when I'm suffering, I don't want to film.
When I went out to Big Salmon Lake in Montana 20 miles out in the middle of no where the thing I missed the most was a flat spot to cook on and some place nice to sit. I love the chairs. Great Idea. Very smart. Beautiful Country I'm in North Dakota and love checking out new places. Thanks for sharing your adventure.
I did it when I was 45 -46 ! I came back up after an hour break and Ranger asked me why I was heading up after 10:30 a.m. ! I paced my self and it wasn't bad !
This is definitely one to pace yourself out on. It's steep, but luckily it's not too long.
Awesome. Just awesome
Great video Jerry. Tina is a real trooper. How difficult was it to get a backpacking permit for your campsite at Horseshoe Mesa?
The hardest part is figuring out the site number (I think it's "BF5") and finding a fax machine so you can send in the request. I don't think it's that popular as an overnight destination. We only saw two other groups and were able to change our plans a couple days before we went.
Best music I have heard on any of your videos. Great video, one of my favorite you have done and I have watched almost all of your content. Keep up the great work!
Thank you!
seems like all canyon trails have the switchbacks, hermit, bright angel,
Typically. Grandview seems to have the least; it just wants to get you up the canyon, as quickly as possible.
That radiation area sign at 6:33 looks scary. Should we be concerned? Are there unmarked areas as well where hikers can get to occasionally?
There's weird stuff in the GC. Radioactve water and arsenic. I think there was an old uranium mine past the sign, so we just stayed clear of it. I also read the nearby springs had traces of arsenic in them; the park website said something like 'it's not as bad as dying of thirst", but preferring 0% arsenic in my drinking water, I opted to carry my own water.
How do you like the Get out Gear Trek chair? Looks like you got in on the pre-order as they aren't available yet.
Super comfy chair and nice poles. I'm still testing it out though.
Are you okay? Haven't heard from you in awhile...
Yeah, we're fine. Thanks for asking. Had a few trips that didn't make it into videos and I've been obsessing over perfecting the Kalalau vid.
That, in my opinion, is one of the best trails on the South Rim. Glad you guys were able to enjoy it.
Great views, great light show and a great trip. Man, I'm not sure I've ever been more sore after a hike though.
What a Beauty!?
Are those new chairs? Not sure if I have seen them before in your vid? Are they comfy?
Pre-launch chairs from Get Out Gear. Super comfy and so much smaller and lighter than our Trekology chairs (and yet still high backed.) I think they come out next month.
Absolutely stunning views! Storm was awesome. Thank goodness it did not rain on your parade.
How lucky was that? Great light show, no rain. Couldn't ask for anything more.
My wife would need a very expensive gift to do that hike again
Yeah, I'm not sure I'll talk her into this one again. But I'm already working on another GC hike and she *may* go along. We'll see.
Jerry!!!! It's Tiffany back!!!! Im In Tucson Arizona for a few weeks....hollllaaaaa!!!! Lol
Dude. This is wonderful. My wife and I love watching you two on your hikes together. The videography, the photography, the choice of music, the couple. It's all absolutely fantastic.
I've been up that trail twice. I'd never go down with my vertigo. There is a spring for water just down a side trail a mile. You're brave for carrying all of your water in crystal bottles!
Yeah. Wasn't planned too well. Originally we were going further down to the springs and camping two nights but with R2R a couple weeks before and Kauai a week after, we shortened this trip. Still worth it.
@@JerryArizona the canyon is always worth it! You're dead right there!
Margaritas in the Grand Canyon!
Somehow I let us run out of margarita mix for our last trip. Luckily more is on the way.
Timelapses were insane! Wow!
Had a lot of fun playing around with those. Not to mention sitting for hours watching the storm roll by....
Wow, those overnight time lapses were incredible
Thanks! It was fun playing around with them. Never tried that with a thunderstorm before.
walking thru time. Awesome. The storm and the night sky. Perfect background music.
Hi, we plan on doing this hike.
Can you describe the any obstacles you encountered with making your video and putting it on UA-cam as this is something that I’d like to do.
Did you need a permit or, is your video not monetized or something?
Thanks for any info.
"Margaritas in the Grand Canyon!" You guys are living the life! Amazing time lapse footage too!
l love your walks. l get to see the Grand Canyon from my armchair in the UK. Happy Backpacking
My choice of food after a Grand Canyon hike is always McDonald’s! And a Mexican Coca Cola!!
I watched this before breakfast. You killed me with that food!
The time lapse of the lightning storm was absolutely amazing. Talk about being in the right place at the right time!
We sat there and watched it for hours. And somehow lucked out and stayed dry. Definitely the highlight.
did this one last week, down and up the same day. It was george
ous but brutal.
The good thing about getting fast food on the way to dinner is that dinner is now desert and instead of eating for hunger you can really enjoy it and even have left overs
One of my favorites videos so far! Thank you for bringing us along!
Beautiful overnight time lapse Jerry and your choice of after-the-storm morning music was exquisite and I had to laugh! Fantastic editing, you might have to quit your day job. Won't Tina love you for that!!
Last year I did about 100 yards of Grandview just to get a feel for it and it is indeed steep and rugged, but the views are spectacular.
We argue all the time about who gets to quit first. It's me. I get to quit first.
You outdid yourself on your choice of classical music on this one. Some of my all time favorites. Night-lapse was great as well. I can't believe there was a time when I was able to do this stuff myself.
We loved the Fish Lake area. I need to look up Pando. Thanks for the tip!
Great video, great editing and great music. Seems to me there should be 2.2 million subscribers! Glad I’m one of them.
I mainly do this because I love hiking, I love filming and I love editing. But I won't lie. I also love comments like these. Thank you!
Is getting permits for other areas of the canyon significantly easier than the main corridors? I want to plan a trip there so bad but navigating the permit lottery is such a headache.
This was pretty easy. Not overly popular. Go to their website and download the form, fill it out and fax (yes, fax) it in. I got it first try, no problem. Actually ended up changing dates at the last second and no issues with that either. The main corridor is an entirely different issue, for sure.
Stunning scenery! So thankful for folks like you and Tina who are braver than me! I could never get the courage for that hike.
Wow! Just wow.
So Beautiful...too bad you had to hike with such a grumpy woman!!!! I'd rather hike solo than carry that "negative baggage" into all that natural beauty!
Going back soon. One of my all time favorites. That one part though.....it will make you think twice.
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@Matthew Thierry Thanks for the recommendation, I just contacted him and he attends to me nicely.
WoW! Beautiful... and amazing! New to your channel! Thank you!
Thank you!