My second trip to hike down into and photograph the grand canyon. This time I flew into Vegas on the 7th, drove up to the South Rim via Hoover Dam on the 8th, hiked down into the canyon on the 9th, hiked out to Ribbon Falls on the 10th, hiked out on the 11th, and drove back to Vegas via Zion National Park on the 12th & 13th. Linked below are some of the pictures from the trip. You can also check out the pictures from my 2005 trip into the Grand Canyon.

Hoover Dam. For all the times I've been to Las Vegas, I've never been here. We stopped here and walked around outside the dam. It's both impressive in size, and not, at the same time. I suspect that it looks more impressive from the bottom, looking up. The towers on the lake side are almost surreal, so that's why they are included. Leaving the dam, we finished our drive up to the south rim, and were treated to three of the California Condors. Not something you get to see all the time.

Hoover Dam Memorial
		California Condor at Grand Canyon South Rim	California Condor at Grand Canyon South Rim	California Condor at Grand Canyon South Rim
California Condor at Grand Canyon South Rim	California Condor at Grand Canyon South Rim	California Condor at Grand Canyon South Rim	Grand Canyon, South Rim View	Grand Canyon, South Rim View
Grand Canyon, South Rim View	Grand Canyon, South Rim View	Grand Canyon, South Rim View	Grand Canyon, South Rim View	Grand Canyon, South Rim View

Up bright and early to catch the last shuttle bus to the South Kaibab trailhead. From there we snaked down the trails. The trip this time was cooler then previously, but just as jarring on the knees, you have about 4500 feet of elevation change, all of it down. This is also where I took most of the pictures. You get the nice reds from the ground, and we had clear skies for the hike. Arriving at Phantom Ranch earlier this year than previously, we were able to sit and relax for a bit before our steak dinner. Roughing it so hard...

Intrepid Adventures Start the Adventure	South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail
South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail
South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail
South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail
South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail
South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail
South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail
South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail
South Kaibab Trail	South Kaibab Trail

Once you are at Phantom Ranch, there a couple different day hikes you can do. The trip out to Ribbon Falls is a common one, and gives you some flat ground to cover, after the hike down. This works out to about 14 miles round trip, and gives you a nice lunch stop. Unlike last time, we were able to ford across the river to get to the falls. Unlike my previous time on this trail the temperature was much cooler, making it much more comfortable to travel. After dinner, I wandered around taking some pictures of the ranch area. After it got dark, I was able to get some pictures of the stars with the tripod. Unfortunately my timer cable was broken, so i couldn't take shots longer than 30 seconds. The big dipper is in the last one.

Bright Angel Trail	Bright Angel Trail	Bright Angel Trail	Bright Angel Trail	Bright Angel Trail
Ribbon Falls	Ribbon Falls	Ribbon Falls	Ribbon Falls	Phantom Ranch
Phantom Ranch	Phantom Ranch	Phantom Ranch	Canyon at Night	Canyon at Night
Canyon at Night

What goes down, must come up. We took the Bright Angel Trail back to the top, via a stop in Indian Gardens. The hike up isn't as interesting as the hike down, and we had hazy sky for most of the trip up. This did keep the temperature down, so I can't complain too much. We made record time on the trip back up, and were treated to some mountain goats near the top.

Bright Angel Trail	Bright Angel Trail	Bright Angel Trail	Bright Angel Trail	Bright Angel Trail
Bright Angel Trail	Bright Angel Trail	Bright Angel Trail

We discovered that after hiking for three days straight, that sleep comes easily. We were up early (at least early for us), and traveling to Saint George today for a lazy trip back to Las Vegas. On the way, we stopped at an overlook at Lake Powell, you can see the sequence of shots below. We got to watch a storm cross over at one point, which was quite cool to watch on the flat ground of the area.

Desert View Watchtower	Desert View Watchtower	Desert View Watchtower	Desert View Watchtower
			Lake Powell	Lake Powell
Lake Powell	Lake Powell	Lake Powell	Lake Powell	Lake Powell
Zion	Zion

You made it this far. For those still wondering, my equipment was different this time. I carried down a Canon 20D, with Canon 10-22, and Canon 17-55IS lenses. I also had a Slik Sprint Pro Tripod that I lugged all the way down, and couldn't have taken the star shots without. I took my Mountainsmith Approach 2900 pack again, along with a Lowepro Offtrail 2 with lens case 3's attached to it. The pack felt lighter this time, but it was still in the 30 pound range. I opted to NOT weigh it at the bottom, and felt that it was better not knowing. Post processing on the pictures is minor work done with photoshop. If you have any questions about the pictures (technical or artistic), or about the trip to Canyon, feel free to send me email "panzer@dhp.com".