My wife and I have been hiking and backpacking in the Grand Canyon for 25 years. We currently live in the Grand Canyon Village of South Rim and hiking under the rim on a daily basis several times a week. We occasionally inconvenience the road surface and the maze of the crowded hallway so we meet somewhere adventurous spirit. The Waldron Canyon Loop has been loved by us for a long time. There is magnificent beauty with amazing vertical exposure. It combines class III scrambling and serious route discovery. Along the desert landscape, the forest of the pond is growing long. This is a miniature of Rim 2 Rim 2 Rim and will test the most solid and magnificent hiker. Do not try this hike unless you are confident of your outdoor abilities. No one can help you where you go.
Preparation
This hiking takes just about 6 - 8 hours, just under 12 miles. You need to carry a map, it must be the version of Skytere England Canyon. This map is much more detailed and topographical than other available maps. You will be lost without this particular map. It is best to carry a backpack with 3 liters of hydration bag and 1 liter of water, food, first aid, sunglasses and so on. We recommend bringing GPS to Sky Terrain map. border. Long pants are a good idea. There are many brush and cactus. A utility tool with pliers is useful for pulling the thorns of the cactus inevitably hurt the foot. Finally, and most importantly, this hiking is best done when the temperature is less than 75 degrees. Do not think about trying this hiking during the summer. The best moon is from November to April, but it depends on the level of snow on the rim.
First branch - a hiding place to a hidden fountain
This is well known hiking and is well documented through various media sources. During the winter we will go to Hermit & # 39; s Rest by shuttle bus or private car. Go down the Hermit's trail for about an hour until you reach Dripping Springs / Voucher Trail Junction. You head to the west of the Dripping Springs Trail and it is an hour further past the junction of the Boucher Trail until it reaches Duping Springs. This part of the trail hugs the red wall along the way and is broken as if the slide is shaken. There are also very serious vertical exposures ... sidewalks are one foot wide and you can see stenosis of about 1500 & # 39; feet. Many hikers are running around this course because of the rough situation and vertical exposure. The dripping springs themselves provide water, but it is one drop at a time. It will take more than 30 minutes to fill your liter bottle.
Middle leg - Eremita Mesa to Waldron Trail
This is the main point of hiking and it is best to take a few minutes with a dripping spring before the next section. The next mile is defined as a non - trail route. You need to stop around frequently and look around to see if you are on the route. Beyond Dripping Springs and moving northeast along the wall there is a big rock. There is a very dark upward trail between the rock and the wall, this is your starting point. You travel to the east and look for Cairns (artificial rock pile). The route is very sketchy and slippery on the rock, you walk on a pear-shaped cactus and other obstacles. Please be as high as possible, but always look for Cairns. In about ten minutes you will see a clear man made the staircase wall. This staircase will bring you back to the next level and switch back along approximately 150 vertical lines. The foothold is loose and the route is often covered with pinion trees. Finally, it will be a very fault trail with very few Cairns heading west above and above the actual water drawing spring. The fault trail ultimately heads northwest and follows a small drain that spreads to obtain elevation. Finally, this wastewater turns into smaller wastewater and eventually will come out on the edge of Eremita Mesa. This entire section is only one mile, but it may take 1 to 2 hours to complete.
At the top of Eremita Mesa is the pinion, Juniper, Cedar Forest. The ground is quite sandy and it feels great compared to the previous few miles of rock. There is no trail right defined when you go up, but heading south you will find the old two-track road that is currently closed. This is the part where you step into the foot of hiking. Here you can cover serious problems and extend your muscles a bit. After 2 miles will be the end of this particular road. There is Dripping Springs Road Close Sign, you will enter the open area. There are two tracks to the south and two tracks to the east. You are going east to the road (across from you) and want to get closer to the rim. This road acquired vehicle traffic from national park staff and is probably the old Park Boundary Road. We hiked about 3/4 miles on this road, and on the left side (north) there is an old two-track road towards the rim. This road is closely related to vehicle traffic, peat piles are attached to the road, so you can stop the car. This is the first road to the left after Dripping Springs Road closed sign - do not miss it. There is no Cairns or sign that turns this road to you. (Next time we will build a Kane Monument on the turn.) Hiking about 0.5 mile northeast of this road, you will see a signboard of Waldron Trail wooden on the left side. It faces in the opposite direction, but you will also notice the trail.
Final Leg - Return Waldron Trail to Hermit's Rest
Waldon Trail is a wonderful break from the two paths of the last few miles. You immediately fall to a small drain filled with sage in the west direction and swing north towards the main drain several hundred yards later. You sometimes go through a small dam and a water hole holding water, but obviously deer and elk frequently visit. As your right valley starts to grow deeper and you can see signs of being part of the Grand Canyon, you will soon get altitude. The trail is meandering about 3/4 miles. Before getting down to a small drain, climb the other side and climb onto the magnificent saddle looking out the south-north view of Waldron Canyon. There are many remaining places, but it is a flat rock where you can see the scenery of Canyon itself.
Dropping WaldronTrail is tough for the first couple of switchbacks, but the switchback will be long and it will be very easy. For a long time, on the floor of Waldron Canyon, head north over multiple drains. I am at the intersection with Hermit & # 39; s Trail in about 20 minutes. Turn to the right (Easter) to the right, set up the beautiful lip and lap step of the Hermit trail and arrive at the head of the Hermit and Les trail.
I mentioned earlier that this hiking is the minimum Rim 2 Rim 2 Rim. Basically drop the vertical 1000 from the Rest of Hermit, get 1000 'from the Dripping Springs to the Eremita Mesa, then get down 1000' at the Waldron Trail, 1000 from the Hermit Trail Hermit & # 39; s Rest. Therefore, the trail has a vertical change of about 4000 ", probably less than 12 miles. On the west side of the parking lot of the Hermit trail there is a wonderful Wydoron Canyon picnic table that gives you a wonderful view of the Waldron Canyon.
