Grand Canyon things to see

Don’t mean to be snarky but you’re missing lots. Others will spill the beans.

Yep, that's it. Just hit those; nothing else of consequence/worthwhile. Great camp @ Olo, btw...

Perhaps your most remembered spot will be some morning, pouring your first cup, taking down a tent, or sitting on the groover....don't forget to look up, you're in the Grand Canyon

Some small ways below Red neck rapid, river right, there’s a big slab of rock in the river. Look carefully, there are ancient paw prints wandering across it. I can’t remember how far below…maybe someone can remind me. You float right by it, no need to go looking. Maybe 1/4 mile?

IMHO, Upper Rattlesnake is one cool camp...the rocks and colors at camp are in particular grand fashion. Also the Tabernacle hike from camp is hard to beat. I'm a winter canyon tripper so I'm used to chasing sun.

I think it’s great to have a list of places you want to see. Check off the ones you see this trip. Then hope you get to go again and check off some more. Double and triple down on the places that speak to you and explore more each time. Like Tomcat said, you’ll never know which places or moments will be the ones you hold on to.
That being said… I imagine every first trip down stops at Redwall, Nankoweap, L Colo, Phantom, Elves, Deer, Matkat, and Havasu. Choose your participants carefully. The group, the weather and your goals/ itinerary will shape much of your trip. Shoot for three layovers, one a week. Have a great trip!

Spend the most time above Phantom, much more to see and do there than below.. Remember to take plenty of time scouting Hance, and don't follow me, you won't make it...

The biggest mistake we made was not sitting down before the trip and discussing what the itinerary was going to be, in some detail. Half our trip was there for the whitewater, the other half was there for the side hikes. That caused some real problems. It’s a mistake I will never make again. Make sure everyone knows how much hiking there’s going to be, what time they’re expected to be ready to launch, whether you’re going to stop for lunch, or eat on the fly. Discussing those things ahead of time will minimize the butthurt later.

One hike that took me a long time to discover is The Tabernacle off of Rattlesnake Camp (MM74). It's 2200 ft gain but short. Up and back in 3-4 hours, but OH the views!. Another gem is the upper falls at Elves Chasm. Take a little class IV scrambling and a short rope comes in handy but really cool climb. I think there are seven? falls total, all very neat and I've heard you can even hike to the rim this way

Wallrat said:

The biggest mistake we made was not sitting down before the trip and discussing what the itinerary was going to be, in some detail. Half our trip was there for the whitewater, the other half was there for the side hikes. That caused some real problems. It’s a mistake I will never make again. Make sure everyone knows how much hiking there’s going to be, what time they’re expected to be ready to launch, whether you’re going to stop for lunch, or eat on the fly. Discussing those things ahead of time will minimize the butthurt later.

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But... You run all the whitewater no matter how much hiking you do. Well, unless you skip a short portion and do something like the Carbon Canyon hike.

Make up an itinerary and call it Plan A. Then scrap it because by the time you're done you will be on Plan X. 226 miles in 21 days (20 camps) is only about 11 miles/day. That is very easy to accomplish, even with 3 layovers which makes it about 13 miles/day. As for hiking vs. whitewater, if you miss a hike it's gone until you go back again. Your group won't miss even one rapid though, so stop often. The whitewater-centric folks can futz around with their gear while you hike. No visitation anymore at Havasu, but we did pull in the eddy for a minute just so everyone can see the blue water. It's tough to get into Olo without gear and someone with solid skills. Everything else on your list is good, but you've only got about 10% of them listed!

carbon/chuar loop & surprise valley if tapeats isn't raging

Camp at Racetrack about RM132.5 (better landing/camp than the rocky/surging eddy at mouth of Tapeats) and cross/hike up Tapeats Cr. trail to Thunder River. Best done with layover with stamina/scrambling skills considered.

Is it true you can't go into the Thunder River cave anymore?

Just got off the Canyon a couple months ago...Havasu was open for visiting according to our ranger check-in, but they asked that we don't hike up too far. We also went to Thunder River out and back from Deer Creek (a favorite for sure). We didn't have equipment to go into the cave, but my understanding is that it's still good to go.

If I remember right, you are required to be out of the Grand Canyon park, i.e. Diamond Creek in 16 days, Then you can take as long as you want to get to Pearce Ferry. At least that's the way it was on our last trip 5 years ago.

Bigwaterforeveryone said:

Is it true you can't go into the Thunder River cave anymore?

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Thunder River Cave is currently closed...much to my everlasting dismay.

Roseldo said:

Thunder River Cave is currently closed...much to my everlasting dismay.

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Just curious...did the ranger say thunder river cave is closed or is there signage?

ncantrick said:

Just curious...did the ranger say thunder river cave is closed or is there signage?

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This was on the updated list of closures sent with the documents with my permit.