Heaven is 21 – miles long and 6000 feet deep

21-Mile Rim-To-Rim Grand Canyon Hike

Grand Canyon View from the South Rim

Grand Canyon—One of the seven natural wonders of the world is earth’s greatest geological showcase that is one mile deep, 18 miles wide, 277 miles long, and over a million acres. Nowhere else in the world features such a dazzling display of powerful, colorful and inspiring landscapes.

The Grand Canyon is a breathtaking act of geology, ecology, wildlife, history, the Colorado River, and it offers adventures like—hiking, river rafting, mule rides, scenic flights—Grand Canyon has it all.

Teddy Roosevelt called it, “the one great sight every American should see.” I would go even beyond, “every person in the world must visit the Grand Canyon.” There is simply no other place in the world that looks quite like the Grand Canyon.

More than five million people visit the Grand Canyon every year. However, many travelers choose not to wander away beyond the heavily visited overlooks. Most first time visitors step out of their cars, bask around in the view, and run to their next destination.

One Canyon, Two Rims—South and North Rim

The South Rim is the most accessible part of the Grand Canyon and is open all year. The South Rim, where 90 percent of the visitors stop to gaze down into the canyon, to find a world unimaginable from the scenic overlooks. A much smaller number of people see the Canyon from the North Rim. The North Rim rises a thousand feet higher than the South Rim, and is much less accessible. The North Rim is open from mid May to mid October due to snow.

Best View

The best view in the Grand Canyon cannot be seen from the rim. Hike to the inner canyon and your world will never look the same. The rim trails and the routes to the inner canyon offer solitude and beauty vastly different from a visit to the developed areas on the rims.

Challenge

Hiking is the most straightforward way to see the Grand Canyon. The challenge; however is to tackle a 21-mile route starting from the South Rim—South Kaibab Trail, the inner canyon, the Colorado River and to the North Rim via the North Kaibab Trail. Grand Canyon trails involve a downhill trip followed by a strenuous uphill climb.

Red Feather Lodge

The night before the big hike, four of us crashed at Red Feather Lodge near the South Rim of the Grand Canyon to get a good night’s sleep. Three of us could not sleep at all the night before. One person in the room snored so loud; the roof was ready to be blown off. I felt as if I was in Hells Canyon instead of in the Grand Canyon.

21-mile Rim-To-Rim Grand Canyon Hike

We reached the trailhead shortly before 4am on Monday morning June 1, 2009.

We saw warning signs at the trailhead. WARNING: Do not attempt to hike rim-to-rim in one day! However, it is doable. We started our 21-mile rim-to-rim hike from the South Kaibab trail at 4am.

The trail begins on the South Rim, and descends to the Colorado River. Elevation change from rim to river is 5000 ft, along a 7-mile trail. No water is available along the 7-mile South Kaibab trail.

Steep downhill on the South Rim

The views of the canyon in the morning coming down the South Kaibab trail were just magnificent. We saw the glorious sunrise light up the temples and buttes in the inner canyon on the way down. We lost track of how far down we have hiked because of the wonderful views.

We reached the Colorado River at the bottom of the canyon at 7:30am. It was very nice down along the river at the bottom of the canyon. We hiked past the River Rest house, the Bright Angel Campground and reached Phantom Ranch. We had our breakfast at the Phantom Ranch. We decided to chill out under the shade of the trees at Phantom Ranch for some time.

Breakfast at phantom ranch amphitheater

North Rim

At 9am, we started heading up to the North Rim via North Kaibab Trail. The North Kaibab trail is 14 miles from the Colorado River and 6,000 feet in elevation gain. The hard work was ahead of us.

We hiked seven more miles and reached Cottonwood campground at 1pm. The section from the Phantom Ranch up to the Cottonwood Camp is uphill but only at a very gradual pace. The trail gains about 1,000 in elevation in 7 miles. We decided to have lunch and stay put for about an hour. By this time, the temperature was in the mid 90 degrees.

14 miles done, strenuous 7 more miles to go

We have 7 more miles to hike and ascend 5,000 feet elevation. The trail from the Cottonwood Camp is where it begins its upward climb and the trail becomes steeper and steeper. It was a bit worrisome to look up, up, and up the walls, and realize how deep into the canyon we were.

As the trail ascends the canyon, it becomes harder and harder to figure out where it goes. The trail continues up and up with lots of switchbacks. The upper sections of the trail were particularly nasty. Eventually, we made it to the top at 7:30pm.

I was feeling exhausted, tired, and never wanted to go through this again. However, I already know I just cannot wait to go back to Grand Canyon to explore the richness of its beauty. There is no place on earth like the Grand Canyon. Heaven is 21-mile long and 6000 feet deep.

Ramesh Chamala on the 21-Mile Rim-To-Rim Grand Canyon Hike

Machu Picchu—the Lost City of the Incas

Machu Picchu—the Lost City of the Incas
Machu Picchu, one of the world's greatest archeological sites, was "built in the sky" during the 14th century for the Incan upper class. Machu Picchu housed a chosen lineage of the theocratic Inca nobility. The city was likely abandoned in the mid-17th century out of fear that the Spanish invaders "The Conquistadors" would discover and destroy the city. They never did.
Machu Picchu was saved from Spanish conquistadors for several centuries, covered by the green wrap of the Cusco jungle. The lost city of Machu Picchu was rediscovered in 1911 by Yale University archeologist Hiram Bingham. Hiram Bingham was said to have been guided to the site by a local farmer. Looking at Machu Picchu today makes one wonder how it ever could have been lost.
In 2007 Machu Picchu was voted one of the "New 7 Wonders of the World".

Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
Hiking the 4 day Inca Trail is the best way to get to Machu Picchu. Views are spectacular on the Inca Trail and you will get a chance to see multiple archaeological sites that are only accessible through the Inca Trail. The Inca Trail is a stunning 44KM; 4 day trek that combines Inca ruins, unforgettable views of magnificent Andean mountains, and finally into the subtropical vegetation arriving on the 4th day at Machu Picchu – ‘the Lost City of the Incas”. The 4-day Classic Inca Trail is perhaps the most popular hike in the world.

Acclimatization in Cusco
Most days on the Inca Trail are spent between high altitudes of 8,000 to 13,700 ft in elevation. I arrived in Cusco 2 days before the hike, to acclimate to the high altitude. The Cusco city was once the Peruvian capital and is at 11,200ft in elevation. Only 500 people per day are allowed on the Inca Trail. Three hundred are guides and porters who carry all the food, cooking equipment, tents and the survival gear. These porters are just amazing. They are required by law for all the hikes on the Inca Trail. The remaining 200 are trekkers.

Inca Trail to Machu Picchu – Day 1 , 12KM, 16th August 2010

The Inca Trail starts at kilometer 82. This is where we kick off our 4 day journey into the Andes and the Amazonian jungle en-route to Machu Picchu. We had 16 trekkers in our group from all over the world. For hikers the check-in is easy, validate your passport is up to date and that you have a ticket. The first Day was a moderate 12KM hike passing through a few villages and some Inca ruins on the way to Wayllabamba. We spent the night at Wayllabamba.

Inca Trail to Machu Picchu - Day 2:
Wayllabamba [10,137 ft] à Dead Women’s Pass [13,776 ft] to Pacamayo 11,480 Ft]: 12 KM 17th August 2010
Day 2 offered the biggest challenge, as we ascended to 13,776 ft the highest point on the Inca Trail. This is referred to as “Dead Women’s Pass”. This is a pretty cool spot to hang out because you know you don’t have to do that again. We celebrated having completed the most difficult section of the trail with a postcard-perfect panoramic view of the Andes Mountains.

Going downhill on a 13,800 ft mountain is painful

Inca Trail to Machu Picchu - Day 3: Unforgettable
Pacamayo to Winay Wayna [15km]: 18th August 2010
Day 3 we trekked for 15km.
The 15KM trek on Day 3 includes several steep ascents and descents. Day 3 was definitely unforgettable as we saw several impressive Inca Ruins. After several ascents and descents we arrived at Winay Wayna—the last campsite.

Inca Trail to Machu Picchu - Day 4:
Winay Wayna to Machu Picchu (5KM): 19th August 2010
We woke up early before 4:00AM, had breakfast and set off on the trail by 5:00AM to get to Inti Punku by sunrise. The final section of the trail from Winay Wayna to Inti Punku takes about an hour, leading to the final pass at Intipunku—The Gateway of the Sun. From the Sun Gate the whole of Machu Picchu is spread out before you. Our first breathtaking, close-up view of Machu Picchu. From Intipunku, it is another 20 minutes walk down to Machu Picchu itself.

Day 1 on the Inca Trail was a moderate 12KM hike, Day 2 was the biggest challenge as we hiked the highest point “the dead women pass” on the trail; Day 3 was unforgettable as we saw several impressive Inca Ruins, and Day 4 was really unique as we got to see Machu Picchu “the lost city of the Incas”. This completed the 4 day Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.

Day 5 for me was even more memorable as I hiked up the Machu Picchu Mountain. From Machu Picchu Mountain I had a 360 degree view of the entire Machu Picchu.

This trip was a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. I spent 5 incredible days trekking in the most fascinating part of the world.