HikeArizona.COM

Hi:

I'm looking for a hiking partner, one or more, for a trip in August or September to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, departing from North or South Rim...

It is going to be quite warm, like hiking in a pizza oven.

In response to 5trips' reply:
What's your itinerary? : Do you already have your Backcountry Permits? How far down are you going? Are you thinking of doing a Rim-to-Rim in Aug or Sept? Have you hiked the Canyon in Aug or Sept before?

Hiking in the canyon in the summer is only possible if you wake up early. Try leaving around 4:30 or so in the morning to beat the heat on your way up the rim.

Or hike at night. If you have a permit, that is. Really, the reason we're all raggin' on you is because unless you are familiar with heat related issues in the desert, and have hiked before in temperatures of 110 to 120 degrees, we are all going to try to talk you out of this hike--we don't want to see you get into trouble. Sorry to be so harsh. It is going to be unbelievably hot, and you cannot physically drink enough water to replace what you lose through sweat, etc. They often station volunteers at the trailheads and along the Bright Angel and Kaibab trails to try to help people who get into dire trouble with heat stroke, heat exhaustion, etc. The hot summer ends in Arizona around the beginning of October, sometimes.

Why I moved to the White Mountains, nice and cool up here!

In response to 5trips' reply:
Think about staying "above the Rim" in August & September. There are a lot of hikes along the North Rim that are awesome. And maybe you can plan a dayhike down to Roaring Springs and back. It will give you the feel of being below the Rim without the risk.

One big problem we have with inexperienced hikers is that they hear about needing to drink lots of water. So they drink and drink, but they can't drink enough and they don't balance the electrolytes This leads to a condition known as hyponatremia that can be very serious and even deadly.

To stay overnight below the Rims you need Backcountry Permits from the NPS (National Park Service). And if you don't have reservations at Phantom Ranch you have to backpack in and backpack OUT.

al1inaz wrote:In response to 5trips' reply:
One big problem we have with inexperienced hikers is that they hear about needing to drink lots of water. So they drink and drink, but they can't drink enough and they don't balance the electrolytes This leads to a condition known as hyponatremia that can be very serious and even deadly.
.

No lie! A friend of mine was helicoptered off the Boucher a few years ago. She was in a semi-coma, woke up in the hospital. She said when she woke up she looked around and saw she was in an ICU (she's a nurse) and said to herself, "Oh, good! Now I don't have to hike out!" Anyway, on the hike she was drinking a lot but probably not eating enough, and all of her snacks were of the "healthy" unsalted variety. Gotta have salt, electrolytes, gatorade, etc. She said the weather was warm but not hot, so it can happen even in mild weather. This condition makes you very weak, then completely delirious, then you die. She was lucky.

Wow.

I hiked down S. Kaibab and back up Bright Angel last August. Yep, it was hot. Obviously, I'd do it again. We did it in a day trip. I stayed over when I went from N. Kaibab the year before.

I appreciate all the comments about the danger, but the responses seem rather self serving. Particularly the last one by allinaz.

Of the trails from the South Rim, I prefer the Kaibab. Visiting the canyon I prefer the North and the East Rim if not hiking down into the canyon.

Fearmongers Schmearmongers, Enjoy the canyon to the fullest, E . When you choose a date and a route, do inform. We will be up there alot this summer and have permits for some of the lesser traveled routes and Havasupai. : king :

m_____________________________________

If you're going to be around the North Rim, my wife and I might be interested.

Hmmmmm?

Maybe it's an east coast thing.

Oh, bite my tongue.

enjoy the canyon, hundreds of people hike it in August.

Can someone explain azpetersons post to me? I don't get it.

5trips, I would definitely go if I had more vacation time available this year, but I'm all booked up. Have fun!

Matt Hoffman wrote:Can someone explain azpetersons post to me? I don't get it.

I thought about it for a while, and decided it was probably something I'm better off not getting.

Well if you did it last year in August then you know what it's like. Yeap it's hot. That doesn't mean you can't do it though, just get an early start thas all. I might be up for it depending on the dates. I actually have a trip semi-scheduled for the 22nd of September, that may be a bit later than you wanted though.

TIM

My reply was a typo, sorry. No hidden meaning there.

azpetersons wrote:My reply was a typo, sorry. No hidden meaning there.

Thanks, I feel better. My imagination was getting too much of a workout.

Notice several of us said, IF the people were not sufficiently informed, etc. etc. THEN they should reconsider. I don't think we were being fearmongers, I think we were being realistic. The original person did write back to say they'd hiked there in summertime before. We had no way of knowing if they had experience, so had to err on the side of caution. Plus, this is the internet and other people who can barely walk a couple of miles on flat ground might be reading this and think they are up for it as well!