Hermit's Rest Trail

To prepare for the great hike to the bottom of Grand Canyon we decided to try a short leg of the Hermit's Rest Trail. Short is relative here. We hiked down 2.5 miles, descending about 1600 feet into the canyon. Hermit's Rest was one of the original free trails cut out by the Santa Fe Railroad. When a private owner was charging $1.00 to hike the Bright Angel Trail in the late 1800's, the railroad was letting people hike for free. They even maintained the trail, set up rest stops along the way and at the bottom they put in a small canteen, campground and cabins. People flocked down this trail!

Then the government took over the canyon, built another trail, the Kaibab Trail, and did not charge anyone to hike. Hermit's Rest lost it popularity and by the 1930's it was in such disrepair that they burned the canteen and camping areas. Today, the trail is sparsely maintained and not used by very many people. It is steeper and rockier that the other two main trails which made it appealing to us.

We left our RV and took the shuttle bus out to the trail head. By about 9:30 AM we were ready go. It was very rocky, with much loose gravel on the path and large boulders to step over. Within the first 20 minutes both John and I slipped and fell. Just scrapes and bruises, but we started hiking with more carefully placed steps. Of course, going down is easier than coming up but it was a rough trail. We passed volunteers working on the path, creating better footing and steps. A lot of hard work for no pay, but these young people seemed to enjoy their work.

At the 2.5 mile mark was a small cabin near a spring and a great view point. We thought of going further along the trail but remembered we would have to go back UP. And the trip up was hard. We stopped often to catch our breath or to drink water and eat some energy bars. It took us 1.5 hours to go down and 3 to come back up plus a lunch break and several rest stops.

Our friends from home got here in time for supper at the El Tovar Lodge. Great dinner. We are looking forward to our hike to the bottom with these 5 couples. They will make this a fun trip, I hope!