Grand Canyon, Hammocks in the Desert

[Bannerstone]

Thanks for the great report, I've been planning for a Havasu Falls trip for April with hopes of hanging and fishing as well.

David

[Scottybdiving]

What an amazing place. There's nothing else like it. It certainly puts evrything in perspective. Thanks for sharing and bringing back good memories. I will return within a couple years, next time with fishing gear.

[pgibson]

Very nice TR Paul. Makes me want to head out this weekend and do some hiking and fishing.

Thanks dman, get to it.

Fantastic trip report; thank you for taking the time to record it for us all to view. Makes me long for the desert SW and all of its amazing geology. Those were some beautiful trout as well, count me jealous on all fronts!

Thank you. The SW has so many amazing places, this will be a trip to remember for sure.

WOW!!
whenever i long for the canyon, i'll come back and re-read this trip report. takes me back already. you guys were super cool and we should probably start thinking of hooking up again for 'western hangers II' next spring.
im thinking S. San Juans or Weminuche if the drive to Durango is ok for y'all. maybe Cascades in summer of '14
you down?

Doing trip reports for me is a lot to share with everyone but mostly for me to be able to look back at myself.
I am down with doing spring hang again with ya.

Nice post, congrats guys. I've lived in AZ since 95 and I have always wanted to camp the canyon. I had my doubts that there would enough areas to hang but it seems that there was no issues. This was one reason I've been searching for a portable stand option. Dejoha, how did the PLUQ hold up in the temps?

For now there is no real option to hang in the canyon...at least not easily. We hope to work for a change in that in the coming months. With luck by next year there will be real options.

Dejoha did not use the PLUQ, just the poncho as a wind/weather shield. He was hanging a brand new, delivered at the rim, FlameThrower UQ

Excellent!

Thank you sir.

Thanks for the trip report! I hope to be able to visit the Grand Canyon. I guess at that time, I would not be required to acquire a tent and I would be able to use my hammock.

Soon we hope. Soon we will all be able to hang

Wow
What a trip
What great views and then to catch those beautiful trout
Thanks for sharing
Koh

The trout were amazing for the place. They never turned down anything I offered, especially those around the campground. Further up the canyon they were a little more selective but I still got at least one from most holes.

Now that's a great trip.

Thanks for saying so.

Thanks for the great pics and report! Yes, I'm very interested in taking my hammock to the canyon. I camped there a few years ago and have been itching to go back.

HY

HY it has a draw to it for sure. I hope to go back at some point...probably with the boys when they are a little bigger.

[pgibson]

Love it! I was reading and looking at the pictures and thinking about my trip a couple weeks ago. It's an awesome place and I'd love to hang there the next time I go.

Was the fresh water running at the the bottom?

Todd

Todd your info from your trip was very helpful to us. They had gotten the water back on at BA but none any where else along the trail yet.

Great trip report Paul. Wish I could have joined you.

I would love to visit the canyon some day and if there was a good way to hang a hammock I would be more likely to make the trip.

Thanks for sharing this.

Keith

Keith, the canyon would be right up your ally. Lost of hiking to do, lots of steep and more than most of us had the energy to go see while we were there.

One of the best trip reports ever! Nostalgia rushed over me seeing that trail which I have hiked multiple times over the years, in winter and July, but never dreamed of hanging there, and have never fished it. Fantastic!

Thanks for the compliment BB. We are hopeful that we will get hanging to be an option for the future in the canyon.

Thanks for taking the time to draft a great trip report and sharing... and for being great hammock ambassadors! Really neat to see beautiful trout in that desert environment.

Good Stuff.

Thanks, hope it inspires others to get out and see this great place.

Great trip report and I applaud your efforts in working with the rangers to make The Canyon hammock friendly. I definitely would be interested in hanging in the Canyon.

I did a rim to rim hike of the canyon in October, 2011 (my profile pic is from that hike) and we are planning to do this again in September. I am already pumped to go back and seeing your pictures makes that longing even worse. I was thinking of taking my hammock and hanging when we are at the North Rim, but I am not sure if that would be possible, although I know the campgrounds the are outstanding.

Thanks again for your efforts and the pictures!

We were told that they are OK with hammocks in the Campgrounds at the rim. It's when you get down in that they have concerns about the trees being stable enough, strong enough and not giving everyone the impression they can strap up to the trees throughout the CG's with all their gear.

That looks like an incredible hike! I've been to the canyon a couple of times, but only to sight see from the rim. This is now on my list.

Train hard for a few months leading up. I could have used a few more months time to really get into shape. Elevation never bugged me, never felt winded, but had some very sore muscles during and after the hike. A month of Yoga leading up would be good as well.

Amazing trip post, thank you Paul! Your work putting the pics together is really motivating! Well done.

Thank you Ryan. It took me several hours each 2 days to compile all of this, organize and add the pics but I enjoy a good report.

PG,
Very nicely done, except for the pics of the fat man. You could have left all of those out!!!
This was an amazing trip and the group could not have been better. I'm ready for the next trip, ok maybe not yet, but I'm looking forward to it.
I'm ok with being left behind too, I wasn't invited on this trip because I can hike fast, it was because I would drive!!! (Know your role, and I know mine.)
Those fish were really selective down there. They only took dry flies on the 3rd or 4th cast. (I wish the fishing was that good everywhere I went.)
One request for the next one, if you set it up and have the details, make sure you are around for the ranger at least one of the days we are there.
Hopefully the request for group pack poles in each site is met with the same enthusiasm by the NPS bean counters as it was by the rangers. If it is, we could have 4 hammocks in a site easily. (I look forward to that day.) Let me know if you would like some help writing the letter with suggestions on hammock options.

Muse, thanks again for playing chauffeur. This one was hard work and I still have a few kinks to work our...I can feel it when I stand up in the morning. But I am working to get back up and moving. The fishing was great and I really want to go back with 3-5 days to spend at the bottom rather than less than 48 hours. Re-reading some of the fishing reports that first sparked this little adventure says that the further up stream...referencing right where I stopped and turned around ...the better it gets.

I will get started on that letter soon and hope to have impute from each on it. The thank you letter to the Office went out yesterday in the mail.

[pgibson]

Looks like a really great trip (and the thorough trip report)! Thanks for all the photos too. But this-

That is a really class act - Thank you for blazing the way for the rest of us

Originally we were not looking to start the PR side of this, just to get a trip into a cool place. But as it developed it became a great chance to spread the good word of hammocks. Hope to some day hang from a stand that will foster further acceptance in the canyon.

Thanks for the great report, I've been planning for a Havasu Falls trip for April with hopes of hanging and fishing as well.

David

Would love to see Havasu sometime too...it's on the list for sure.

What an amazing place. There's nothing else like it. It certainly puts evrything in perspective. Thanks for sharing and bringing back good memories. I will return within a couple years, next time with fishing gear.

It is an amazing place Scottyb. No picture has ever been taken that even begins to equate the amazing size and beauty of the canyon. I had to stop a few times during the hike out to just stand and be still...soak it in.

[mbiraman]

Now that's a big ditch. Great pics Paul. Somehow i thought it would be warmer. Guess not.

bill

[ShortTripHome]

excellent trip report, and what beautiful trout
thank you for posting!

[Wolverine]

Wow, outstanding trip.

[pgibson]

Now that's a big ditch. Great pics Paul. Somehow i thought it would be warmer. Guess not.

bill

Bill, It was very tricky to pack for this trip due to the variety of temps. The South Rim is at 6860' (2093m) while the river is 4380 feet lower. Teps were up into the upper 60's..maybe hit lower 70's one day at the river and were into the 20's overnight depending on where we were at. We were really threading the needle between winter and spring with this trip

excellent trip report, and what beautiful trout
thank you for posting!

Thanks for saying so.

[Redoleary]

Great report,beautiful photos and very timely as I'm planning a trip to the GC this summer and have sort of resigned myself to the fact that I'll have to sleep on the ground (gasp) but I would definitely hang if it were an option.