Distance: 9.2 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 6800' (South Rim), 3800' (Indian Garden)
Elevation Gain: 3000'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 2.4
Round trip time: 5 hours 40 minutes
Recommended water: 100 oz.
Parking/Fees: $35 National Park Fee (1 car for 1 week)
Difficulty: Moderate
Leisa and I chose Indian Garden as our first hike on this trip to the Grand Canyon. We started at sunrise and got some great views as the sun crept into the canyon. It was in the mid-50s to start and we were prepared to peel off layers as needed. There was a fair bit of traffic both ways as we descended. We went by the 1.5 mile rest house but took a pit stop at the 3 mile house. The restrooms were pretty nice for something on trail. We finished our descent and met a baby deer nibbling at bushes. The descent took two hours. We sat at a picnic table in Indian Garden and ate some snacks. After 30 minutes loitering around Indian Garden, we started up.
Leisa set a brisk pace on way up. We took a short break at 3 mile house, but only a few minutes. The next stretch was were it started to get fairly steep. Over the next mile, we took a few breathers and tried to avoid the steady traffic going both directions. I took a short side trip to check out the use trail that led out toward the Battleship. It was side hill scrambling but I found a few cairns set up to lead you along the ledge. The Battleship might be something I tackle in the future. A couple of rangers were on the trail encouraging people to turn around and not descend too far. When we were nearly to the top, we spotted four big horn sheep scampering around above and below the trail. The smallest one was curious about the apes on her trail. It was a great way to finish our first hike.
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