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I am from Tennessee and I am planning a trip to Arizona in December/January. I am looking for a multi-day backpacking trip pretty much anywhere. I am mainly looking at the Grand Canyon though. If anyone knows any trails that would take about 3-5 days to finish, I am all up for suggestions. Also, yes I have experience backpacking and yes I can read a map well, since I know trails out west are much different than what we see back here in Tennessee... Thanks! I'm looking forward to getting this trip planned!

azbackpackr wrote:I like that hike, too. I did it in that direction. If I ever do it again, though, I am going in the other direction.

Yeah views going down the Hermit are definitely better than the views going down BA. When you're going up you're more concentrated on the ascent than the views, and BA is probably the "easier" ascent anyway.

So I'm obviously preparing for icy conditions, are the trails ever unhikeable? And also, if its icy, I'm assuming the roads to the trailhead aren't accessible either...

wsharber wrote:So I'm obviously preparing for icy conditions, are the trails ever unhikeable? And also, if its icy, I'm assuming the roads to the trailhead aren't accessible either...

Unless there's a huge dump of snow, accessing the trailheads should not be a problem.

wsharber wrote:So I'm obviously preparing for icy conditions, are the trails ever unhikeable? And also, if its icy, I'm assuming the roads to the trailhead aren't accessible either...

As my buddy Will taught me: "It's not a hard hike if nobody's shooting at you". So nothing is ever unhikeable. There are times when it's wise not to hike them. Hiking BA when it's sloshy with mule urine & dung ain't much fun. The icier it is on BA the happier I am. Tanner when one slip means death ain't much fun - unless you're really into that kind of thing. The roads to BA and SK get plowed out quickly. They often thaw out during the day and refreeze at night so 4WD (and good air bags) can be helpful in the early morning. The road to Hermit can be left unplowed for a while. We had snowshoes with the idea that we would hike the Rim from BA to Hermit, but we changed our itinerary. I would still like to do that some day.

ps - If you hike Tanner when it's icy, wear a helmet cam so that when they recover your body we can see the video on YouTube.

Also, whatever happens in the GCNP can happen at Havasupai. Years ago, Mrs. big_load and I hiked out in six inches of snow in mid-November. The hiking was a piece of cake, but the drive from Hualapai Hilltop back out to the highway took forever at 5-10 mph.

big_load wrote:Also, whatever happens in the GCNP can happen at Havasupai.

No no! It goes like this: Whatever happens in the Grand Canyon STAYS in the Grand Canyon!

Your not going to be able to swim at havasupai for a long time anyway.

Al_HikesAZ wrote:

wsharber wrote:So I'm obviously preparing for icy conditions, are the trails ever unhikeable? And also, if its icy, I'm assuming the roads to the trailhead aren't accessible either...

As my buddy Will taught me: "It's not a hard hike if nobody's shooting at you". So nothing is ever unhikeable. There are times when it's wise not to hike them. Hiking BA when it's sloshy with mule urine & dung ain't much fun. The icier it is on BA the happier I am. Tanner when one slip means death ain't much fun - unless you're really into that kind of thing. The roads to BA and SK get plowed out quickly. They often thaw out during the day and refreeze at night so 4WD (and good air bags) can be helpful in the early morning. The road to Hermit can be left unplowed for a while. We had snowshoes with the idea that we would hike the Rim from BA to Hermit, but we changed our itinerary. I would still like to do that some day.

ps - If you hike Tanner when it's icy, wear a helmet cam so that when they recover your body we can see the video on YouTube.

Al, where on the Tanner trail are you talking about, I hiked the Tanner in April last year and there was a good bit of snow on the upper 1000 ft, I didn't even have crampons, though I do recall sliding on my butt for a 5 ft section?

nonot wrote:Al, where on the Tanner trail are you talking about, I hiked the Tanner in April last year and there was a good bit of snow on the upper 1000 ft, I didn't even have crampons, though I do recall sliding on my butt for a 5 ft section?

I haven't hiked it since the big rockslide and the rebuild a couple of years ago. The trail may be easier than it used to be. Or easier than I remember. My memory plays games with me sometimes. Trails get easier or harder until I go back and hike them. I might find out this spring. I hope to head to Beamer this spring. Not sure if I'm going down New Hance or Tanner - will depend on how much time I have.

base871 wrote:Your not going to be able to swim at havasupai for a long time anyway.

Hmmm, I am not sure about that. There are literally dozens of nice pools below Mooney Falls. Surely they are not all filled with silt from the floods. I guess I could be wrong, though, since I haven't been there in several years. Plus, the tribe rebuilds the pool at Havasu Falls with sandbags every time it floods. Anyway, I like to hike downstream along the creek below Mooney, and swim in every pool I can find. But not in January.

Al_HikesAZ wrote:

nonot wrote:Al, where on the Tanner trail are you talking about, I hiked the Tanner in April last year and there was a good bit of snow on the upper 1000 ft, I didn't even have crampons, though I do recall sliding on my butt for a 5 ft section?

I haven't hiked it since the big rockslide and the rebuild a couple of years ago. The trail may be easier than it used to be. Or easier than I remember. My memory plays games with me sometimes. Trails get easier or harder until I go back and hike them. I might find out this spring. I hope to head to Beamer this spring. Not sure if I'm going down New Hance or Tanner - will depend on how much time I have.

I have been wanting to do Escante and Beamer, too. So many trails, so little time.