Today was a layover day at Tanner Wash. We had stayed up late drinking wine and playing Cards Against Humanity for Tim’s birthday so we had a slow morning. All of us, except Jeff, went on a hike to Cardenas Butte. The hike first involved crossing the river to where we could catch the beginning of the trail.
Tanner Wash is one of the place that people can hike from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon down to the river. We cross in the boats and made our way to the trail. It was mostly uphill, but not incredibly strenuous. We didn’t hike all the way to the rim, but we could see the Desert Watchtower and people standing outside. There were snow flurries that made the day even more impressive. One direction would be clouded over with snow flakes falling haphazardly, the other direction yielded blue skies and astounding views of the canyon.
We hiked to the top of Cardenas Butte, enjoyed a lunch of peanut butter and jelly and beer and then made our way down. The sheer magnitude of the river and the surrounding area is incredible. Our hike last several hours and we got to the point that a person standing next to the river would have looked no larger than a speck, it’s hard to believe how incredibly powerful that water is when you get down and have your day dictated by it’s flow and hydraulics.
I would first recommend that you raft the Grand Canyon, but if you can’t do that then at least make sure to hike to the water, so that you can physical experience its magnitude and grandeur.
