Grand Canyon Help

[WHG_TX]

A group of six guys, all around 30 yrs old, are planning a quick overnight trip to the Grand Canyon. For the most part everyone is in good shape and have primitive camping experience w/ good gear (minimal experience @ GC though, just day hikes). We would like to send in our application for back country permits ASAP.

Constraints: Mid May or 2nd week/weekend in June. Have 3 days and 2 nights to spend in the Canyon. Flying in and out of Vegas. Lack of experience in GC I imagine would limit us to "threshold" and maybe a few "primitive" trails (No "Wild" trails).

Ideal Trip - Secluded trails with minimal outside interaction. No designated, crowded campsites. Would like to stay away from the Corridor. Back country is a must. Rim to rim trip would be incredible but in our limited time the logistics of getting back to our car via shuttle sounds like it would eat up a lot of time.

Timeline
Wed Night- Fly into Vegas, pick up rental car. gear check
Thur Early Morning - pick up fellow crew member from airport and haul to GC
Thur Mid-Day - make our way into canyon. Make Camp
Friday - hike and explore in GC
Sat- come out of canyon in the morning and head back to Vegas for a night on the town
Sun- Fly home

Need advice on trails/campsites sites that could help us fill out itinerary and some questions below:
N vs. S Rim
Base Camp for both nights or move around Thur and Friday

Any thoughts/recs/experiences are much appreciated. Thank you very much in advance!

 

[Scott Chandler]

I've been interested in doing a trip in the Kanab Creek area and thus know more about it than other options. Try looking into that area as an option as I think a trip there could fit your plans well.

June. Will. Be. HOT. May will be slightly less hot.... slightly. Wild and Primitive zones may be rough water wise that time of the year.

Other options could include going down the corridors and going down Hance Cr, or/and Cottonwood Cr, or/and Grapevine Cr to the river. Adventuresome non technical canyoneering there.

 

[WHG_TX]

I've been interested in doing a trip in the Kanab Creek area and thus know more about it than other options. Try looking into that area as an option as I think a trip there could fit your plans well.

June. Will. Be. HOT. May will be slightly less hot.... slightly. Wild and Primitive zones may be rough water wise that time of the year.

Other options could include going down the corridors and going down Hance Cr, or/and Cottonwood Cr, or/and Grapevine Cr to the river. Adventuresome non technical canyoneering there.

Thanks for the reply. Yea, the heat is going to be an issue. We are trying to get it worked out with everyones schedule for Mid-May. Would the North Rim be a cooler option? I'll def read up on Kanab Creek and the Hance/CC/GrapevineC options.

 

[Jammer]

You are likely to still see quite a few people even in June in a Threshold zone. Nothing like the corridor, but still not quite a true wilderness experience. Definitely stay away from the zones where you have designated camping sites as they do seem crowded at times. However, even in the other zones campers tend to clump together around water sources. This is not always a bad thing, I've met some cool people this way, but if it's not what you want you may have to hike away from water for privacy.

I'm semi concerned about your first and last day. Trying to incorporate a travel day from/to Vegas and a 1/2 day of hiking might be ambitious. In fact, the backcountry office used to not issue day-of permits unless you got there by noon I believe -- so you may want to get the latest on that. It can definitely be done, but it can just make for a long day (road construction, food stops, entrance/permit lines, TH shuttles, etc. all seem to always take longer than planned!)

 

[Bob]

The two half days are a problem.....you never know what can pop up, flat tires, sprained ankles, mud..
Off of Sowatts point into Kanab area may work for short drive/hike day.....
Don't get into GC proper but can explore Indain hollow, Kanab, Jumpoff, etc. easily.
Can do that with no permit as long as you camp off of Park land.

I have a route posted in the resources section here..... Just look at the parts around Kanab (beginning and ending), not the GC part.

 

[Ben]

most of the threshold areas have designated sites, no at large camping. there are some that don't, but many of them are on the rim.

wanting to avoid crowds/people the way you describe basically rules out the kaibab, bright angel, grandview, and hermit trails. and may be others that i haven't done. you might be able to find some thing that suited you from the bass trails, or thunder river/deer creek, but i don't have any actual experience with those. in my opinion, the best option for your time situation might be to do the hermit loop, and stay at horn creek, salt creek, or cedar spring. you'll see people on the trails in and out, and the camps are designated sites, but they are nice sites, and only allow one party at each. and it is a very nice area of the canyon. but if it's not what you're looking for, don't do it.