Down South Kaibab Up Bright Angel [7h32m]

Video from 01.07.2020, where I hiked down the South Kaibab Trail to Phantom Ranch and back up the Bright Angel Trail in 7hours 32m total. 17.5 miles or 28.1k total.

00:33 South Kaibab Trailhead
Toilets and water located here.
01:14 Course Map
02:06 Seven-Thirty AM start
02:45 The Chimney
SK trail was built 1924-1925.
4:21 Ooh Ahh Point
4:55 Windy Ridge
05:26 Cedar Ridge
Toilets located here.
07:48 Skeleton Point
10:33 Tip Off
Toilets and emergency phone located here.
Rest house at Tip Off was built 2019.
14:48 River Trail Junction
15:55 Kaibab (Black) Suspension Bridge
Built as we know it 1928.
Span of the bridge 440ft / 134m.
18:27 Boat Beach
19:15 Bright Angel Pueblo
1050-1060 First occupation of the site.

1100-1140 Second occupation of the site.

19:59 Rees Griffith's Grave

21:52 Phantom Ranch
Toilets and ranger station located here.
Phantom Ranch completed 1922.
22:52 Phantom Ranch Canteen & Check-in
Go here for food, drinks, and to check in for cabins or dorms.
23:50 Bright Angel Campground
Go here to set up your campsite and be sure to display your permit.
24:45 Silver Bridge
26:06 Pipe Creek Beach
26:20 River Resthouse
Toilets located here.
27:10 Devils Corkscrew
27:41 Indian Garden
Toilets, water, and ranger station located here.
29:20 3 Mile Resthouse
Toilets and (seasonal) water located here.
30:11 1.5 Mile Resthouse
Toilets, (seasonal water), and emergency phone located here.
30:31 Lower Tunnel
31:06 Topping out at Bright Angel Trailhead

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[jameseason]

This video has it all: history lesson, geology lesson, route information, gear recommendations, points of interest, and even a book review.

[ChrisRoxDuhh]

5 mins in, I see elevation info, geological era and strata info, archeology info, history of the trail, weather info, tips about the sunrise in the summer, man this is good. Doing this hike in 2 weeks, camping at Mather.

[lorettamoran]

Appreciate this video! I’m doing the exact route in May (except I’m 53 and will be spending the night at phantom. I’ve been scouring videos. Yours is one of the best I’ve seen. Truly appreciate the detail in the elevation gains at each point to wrap my head around it. For a second I thought you were the guy who plays Felix in the show in the dark.

[louisdriscoll]

I parked my motorcycle at the visitor center then walked to south Kiabab trail head, headed down to phantom ranch for lunch, then walked up bright angel trail. My Garmin tracked me for over 18 miles, in 7 hours 15 minutes, I was 68 years old. I trained for two weeks in Durango Colorado mountain biking, hiking, road cycling prior to Grand Canyon hike. Afterwards I felt like I ran a marathon.thank God for the shuttle ride back to visitors center

[MattWoodsComics]

I’ve watched this video 5-6 different times. Used it for research before making my own South Kaibab-Bright Angel day trip. Made that trip in fall 2021. My 17 year old son wants to do the same trip this fall 2023. So I’m preparing again by gathering knowledge months away from our hike.

I just wanted to say thanks for making this extremely well done and informative video. This is perfect for teaching people what they need to know. This trip could very well be deadly if a person isn’t prepared properly.

[shadyberero]

One of the best Grand Canyon videos i have seen - loved all the history, geography background, your narration was fascinating, along with the scenery.

[zapper]

We did that hike down in June 2019 on Father’s Day to stay at Phantom Ranch. ☀️🔥☀️

[johneason]

I love this hike. I did it last April 2019. Looks like new signage and rest house since my last trip.

[sasquatch-]

Outstanding video and commentary. Great job, thanks. I am old now but have done this hike 6 times.

[Wrckin_Crw]

man, I loved the vibe of this video! The most entertaining one so far!

[DrOC-pcoh]

We did that during the winter of 2020 and there was ice and black ice all over the trail. We WENT down Bright Angel and had heavy packs due to having to bring lots of water planing to come up Kaibab Trail (there is no water there) plus having raincoats and light and extreme weather arctic jackets and gloves plus warmers food and batteries. We could not go fast due to the slippery conditions. It was 3 pm by the time we got to Panthom Ranch. There was a blizzard coming the following day, so we decided to climb back up through the night. The snowing turned into icicles and we had to use ski masks and eye protection. We had very good flashlights and were able to see through the snow and heavy winds at the Altiplano of The Tipoff. We thought staying at the little shack in The Tipoff but the walls were made of chicken wire and the heavy subfreezing winds and snow were going through the walls and hitting us very badly while were rested there for about 30 mins. We decided to continue. It was scary with limited visibility by the skeleton point but we decided to continue all the way coming back up at around 5:30am of the following day. We took a taxi to the parking lot passed the Village and went to sleep at the hotel all day and night. We just got up to eat and were glad we made it back on time to skip the blizzard that hit very bad. The morning of the following day after sleeping at the hotel a few miles down from the Village was very nice with snow all over. We drove to Meteorite crater and then to Phoenix and flew back to Houston. During the summer with nice weather, you do not have to pack all the heavy clothing and emergency flashlights and batteries. It was worth the adventure. This time we are going during the summer and hopefully we do not have to carry so much stuff, but I think it is not worth to do it all in one day since it is exhausting and you cannot really stop and enjoy the scenery. We are planing to go down, stay the night and come back up the next day, this time coming back up light on water since we are coming back up by the Bright Angel Trail and there are several water points on the way. We have a water purifier, just in case, and we can get water from the stream. There is NO water in the Kaibab Trail!!! If you are planing to climb that route BRING PLENTY OF WATER!

[tap]

Just did this same hike yesterday. Your commentary was excellent. We learned lots of facts that we wish we knew before we made the hike. We took about twice the time that you took. Not in the best of shape... it was an awesome experience. Thanks for sharing.

[janetmccann]

I love this video. Have watched it multiple times. Lol I love this guy. I could only wish to see this in person. I love all the information too.

[CourtneyA]

This video is so informative for my upcoming trip. Thank you! 💯🙌

[natpradachar]

Hello there! We finally did this hike 2 days ago !!!! Going down South Kaibab was hard -> can't wait to see the Colorado River. Going up Bright Angel was very strenuous-> can't wait to lay in my bed as i still feel pain for the next day....yet the sound of the river, the views and when you get to soak your body in that river made everything worth it.
I have watched your vdo several times before we started this hike and its very useful and enjoyable. Thank you so much for all the information.

[NicHills]

Amazing video and information - would love to go back, did Bright Angel back in 2000. Hello from the UK :)

[kevingraham]

Great video...excellent commentary "drunk, lazy bastards"....haha terrific.

[nicolasbarrantes]

Fantastic video, thank you for sharing.

[andrewhoover]

Well done. Enjoyed it. Adding to bucket list.

[George_Washington_Hayduke]

Great video. We're planning on doing this hike in October 2020.