Reaching the South Rim

May 9, 2023

Mile 678.5-699.5 (21 miles)

Slept like a rock last night. Woke groggily at some point to hear coyotes howling pretty close by to the lake. Snuggled in closer and fell right back to sleep. We were up by 5 and moving by 6. Stopped by the firetower and got our 1st glimpse of the Grand Canyon.

Hiked the rest of the way to Tusayan where we got Wendy’s (I got a frosty to dip my fries in and it was otherworldly). Hambone stopped at the gas station to resupply on nicotine and then we hiked the rest of the way to Grand Canyon Village on the rim. The trail from Tusayan is on a nice gradual bike path and was easy, fast hiking. We even saw horses!

We got a spot in the hiker/biker site at Mather’s Campground. Dropped our stuff off to reserve a flat spot and went to the store to get some drinks.

lol now who would do that 🤔

Then took the bus to the backcountry office to get our permits for the canyon. The ranger there said we were lucky, they had only a few permits left for tomorrow. I called Eagle to see if they wanted us to snag two for them but they’re planning on going down the day after us. Permits in hand we took the bus back to the grocery store for dinner and ice cream. Tomorrow we hike into the canyon and I can’t wait!