Grand Canyon: South Kaibab to Phantom Ranch to Bright Angel Trail 4/24/2021

4/24/2021 Grand Canyon South Kaibab Trail to Phantom Ranch to Bright Angel Trail Loop Hike / 21.8 Miles / 5,128ft Total Elevation Gain / 5,515ft Total Loss / Max Elevation 7,221 ft / Min. Elevation 2,411ft

[@jymnmeier3527]

I have watch a BUNCH of videos to prep for a Grand Canyon Adventure. I really liked your video and honest perspective. Thank you for sharing

[@BackyardHiker]

Thank you so much… appreciate the kind words.

[@shellybreaux7633]

Love your video, we are planning the same hike in early May of 2024. How long did the hike take? My husband doesn’t think it can be done in 1 days even though I’ve shown him videos

[@BackyardHiker]

Thank you so much for the kind words. Yeah, this hike can totally be done in one day as you seen in our video. It took us about 12 hours to complete it. That's with a good 1 1/2 break at Phantom Ranch and a slow steady climb up the Bright Angel Trail. Hiking up the Bright Angel Trail was like a death march out of the canyon. It's definitely the hardest part of the hike. It's just long after and slow going. Do some really good long distance hikes with elevation to train up for it. It certainly can be a dangerous hike for anyone who attempts it without the proper training. The last thing you want to happen is getting stuck or wiped out coming back up out of the canyon. It's a no joke hike, so treat it as such. However; it's super rewarding once it's complete. May is a great time to do it and I wish you both a fun safe hike! :)

[@kennyrozell1071]

Thanks for my future view! I’ll be doing this hike in ten days!!

[@BackyardHiker]

AWESOME! You're Welcome. Have a great hike and be safe! Good Luck

[@buckster1963]

Great footage and narration. Thank you for posting.

[@BackyardHiker]

Thank you so much for the kind words. Much Appreciated!

[@Teresa-uq9gm]

Wonderful hike. Did it this April. No clouds or wind. Hot and a lot more people.

[@BackyardHiker]

Congrats on a successful hike! Well Done

[@douglasldn2831]

I did it in the middle of June temperatures are over 100° the next morning I woke up. There was a rattlesnake next to me.

[@curtisleeloesch1]

When I hiked this trail in November 1988 I saw few hikers and hardly anyone else except some pack horses carrying a few tourists up or down. Amazing trip. Thanks for posting the video.

[@BackyardHiker]

Thank you for watching. It's probably a ton more popular now than it was in 1988. The trail was packed this particular day as well, and a lot of playing tag back and forth with the same hikers all day, but the area is still just so huge, it wasn't an issue overall.

[@andrespeten3844]

wonderful impressions as always. glad i found you Backyard Hiker guys. thank you.

[@BackyardHiker]

Thank you so much! 🙏 Much Appreciated!

[@DrOC-pc2oh]

We did that during the winter of 2020 and there was ice and black ice all over the trail. We WENT down Bright Angel and had heavy packs due to having to bring lots of water planing to come up Kaibab Trail (there is no water there) plus having raincoats and light and extreme weather arctic jackets and gloves plus warmers food and batteries. We could not go fast due to the slippery conditions. It was 3 pm by the time we got to Panthom Ranch. There was a blizzard coming the following day, so we decided to climb back up through the night. The snowing turned into icicles and we had to use ski masks and eye protection. We had very good flashlights and were able to see through the snow and heavy winds at the Altiplano of The Tipoff. We thought staying at the little shack in The Tipoff but the walls were made of chicken wire and the heavy subfreezing winds and snow were going through the walls and hitting us very badly while were rested there for about 30 mins. We decided to continue. It was scary with limited visibility by the skeleton point but we decided to continue all the way coming back up at around 5:30am of the following day. We took a taxi to the parking lot passed the Village and went to sleep at the hotel all day and night. We just got up to eat and were glad we made it back on time to skip the blizzard that hit very bad. The morning of the following day after sleeping at the hotel a few miles down from the Village was very nice with snow all over. We drove to Meteorite crater and then to Phoenix and flew back to Houston. During the summer with nice weather, you do not have to pack all the heavy clothing and emergency flashlights and batteries. It was worth the adventure. This time we are going during the summer and hopefully we do not have to carry so much stuff, but I think it is not worth to do it all in one day since it is exhausting and you cannot really stop and enjoy the scenery. We are planing to go down, stay the night and come back up the next day, this time coming back up light on water since we are coming back up by the Bright Angel Trail and there are several water points on the way. We have a water purifier, just in case, and we can get water from the stream. There is NO water in the Kaibab Trail!!! If you are planing to climb that route BRING PLENTY OF WATER!

[@BackyardHiker]

WOW, That's was quite an adventure the first time you went down. I can't even imagine being on the Bright Angel Trail while it's icy. It's so thin and narrow of a trail. Never the less in a middle of a snow storm on top of the trail being icy. Both those trails are so beautiful, but must be done at the right time of the year in the correct conditions. Otherwise, your adventure can happen to anyone in the cold condition and/or be burn't up in the heat during the summer months. Hiking these trail in the spring and fall are usually more the ideal times to head out there. Thanks for sharing your incredible story and happy to hear you made it out safely.

[@coffeedollsvp]

Good job!... how long time did it

[@mikea327]

U have to shuttle to south kiabob trail?

[@BackyardHiker]

YES! We shuttled from the main parking lot to the South Kaibab Trail via Bus. The busses started at 5:30am,... we got there early enough to get on the second bus out to the trailhead. We then just walked back to the car from the Bright Angel Trail.

[@herbconsult732]

Looks like you video taped the entire way. Did you need to change batteries often or at all? I'm going next week and my biggest fear is not having battery life left for photos and video

[@BackyardHiker]

I did shot a lot on this hike, but never had any issues with the battery life of the iPhone 11 Pro. I shot 4k as well. Started with a full battery and ended up with 1/4 battery life at the end. Have a wonderful safe hike and good luck!!! :)

[@Veronikaperz]

What time did you start and finish? Is this a one day hike? Trying to figure out what's the best time to start for an average hiker

[@BackyardHiker]

We got on the 6 AM shuttle to the South Kaibab Trail from the information center. We started hiking around 7ish. We got down to Phantom Ranch about 9:30am and got back up to the top of Bright Angel Trail about 6pm. We really took our time to enjoy it and obviously to shoot this video. It was a day hike, but it's a tough one. I couldn't even imagine coming up Bright Angel Trail with a full backpack if we did stay the night at Phantom Ranch. I know people do it, but doing it as a day hike with the day pack was good enough for me. :)

[@hoaphuong003]

Is this early April you did this hike?

[@BackyardHiker]

Late April, April 24th to be exact.

[@thosearentpillows5638]

There’s water the whole way up. Faucets every couple miles. I think year round.

[@christopherhaak9824]

Water stops at indian garden during the winter as the taps at 3 and 1.5 mile rest house are not freeze protected.

[@tryagainjenn]

I've been watching the FB groups do this hike and I really want to go! Nervous to go solo but I'm determined to make it! What pack is your partner wearing?

[@BackyardHiker]

If you're in good shape and and ready to do this hike, there's no reason to be afraid to do it solo cause there's always plenty of people on these trails all times. The pack is an Osprey Mira 18 Chocolate Colored.

[@ssaenz11]

I’m going to do it solo November 19.. tag along if you want

[@tryagainjenn]

@@ssaenz11 what's you IG? I'd like to message ya see how it goes!

[@ssaenz11]

@@tryagainjenn primosaenz hit me up anytime

[@ageingungracefullypushingt7135]

Just completed an R2R...2R. Think the distance from SK to BA is 17 miles.

[@BackyardHiker]

HUGE CONGRATS on your hike! Well Done!

[@StephCrea]

You make it look beautiful.

[@BackyardHiker]

Thank You :)