Day 1
Meet with your guides at 4:00 PM at the Maswik Lodge at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon for gear check and trip briefing. Participants are responsible for food and lodging on this day.
Day 2
Meet 6:00AM at the Maswick Lodge for breakfast and to catch the Park Service shuttle to the Hermit Trailhead. Camp Hermit Creek.
ELEVATION
MILEAGE
Hermit Trailhead
6640' / 2043m
0
to
Hermit Creek
2980' / 909m
7.7 / 12.3km
ELEVATION LOSS
3660' / 1116m
7.7 / 12.3km
Day 3
Depart Camp at roughly 8:00AM forGranite Rapids.
ELEVATION
MILEAGE
Hermit Creek
2980' / 909m
0
to
Granite Rapids
2420' / 737m
5.7 / 9.1km
ELEVATION LOSS
560' / 172m
5.7 / 9.1km
Day 4
Spend a relaxing morning at the beach along the Colorado River. Depart Camp at roughly 3:00PM for Monument Creek.
ELEVATION
MILEAGE
Granite Rapids
2420' / 737m
0
to
Monument Creek
2995' / 913m
1.9 / 3km
ELEVATION GAIN
575' / 175m
1.9 / 3km
Day 5
Depart Camp at 6:00 AM for Indian Gardens.
ELEVATION
MILEAGE
Monument Creek
2995' / 913m
0
to
Cedar Spring
3500' / 1067m
1.3 / 2.1km
to
Salt Creek
3500' / 1067m
3.4 / 5.4km
to
Horn Creek
3500' / 1067m
8.2 / 13.1km
to
Indian gardens
3800' / 1158m
10.7 / 17.1km
ELEVATION GAIN
805' / 245m
10.7 / 17.1km
Day 6
Depart Camp at 7:00 AM. Estimated arrival at the Bright Angel Lodge, South Rim is 12:00 PM. Participants are responsible for dinner and lodging on this day.
The longest trip we offer, and with out a doubt one of the favorites of both our guides and clients, the Hermit to Bright Angel trail covers over 30 miles in five days but with amazingly the least amount of elevation gain and loss of all of our trips. From the Hermit Trailhead, at the most western end of the main corridor trails, we step into the Grand Canyon for an exceptional journey.
Our first day is a long, and at times traversing trail, down through the Supai Formation and over 7.5 miles to Hermit Creek Camp. At 2,980' in elevation, Hermit Creek Camp is just below the Bright Angel Shale of the Tonto Plateau and in perfect position for a walk across the Plateau the following day. We get an early start in anticipation of a shorter hike, only 5.7 miles, and also with thoughts of our next camp at Granite Rapids along the banks of the Colorado River. Rafters and kayakers can often be seen running this impressive rapid that seems to slam into the Vishnu Schist and Zoroaster Granite on the Northern Bank of the River.
Day three is another day at the beach! Camp at Monument Creek for this evening is only two miles up the wash and leaves us plenty of time to enjoy ourselves and reflect on the enormity of the Grand Canyon. Another World Class campsite at Monument Creek—again at the base of the Tonto Plateau— leaves us poised for a meandering walkabout that will cover over 10 miles on the Tonto Trail the following day!
Day four is an early start to get a jump on the longest day of the trip. With only 805' of elevation gain for the day, it is a pleasurable hike with time to ponder the trip thus far and anticipate a Southwestern style dinner in the cool trees of Indian Gardens Campground. With the South Rim in site, we head out the morning of day five for our final day of the trip which will take us through the forgiving switchbacks of the Bright Angel trail, as it assists us through the 3,000' of elevation gain to our final destination.
