Comparison of A.T. to Grand Canyon

[etboy]

Hi y'all. I've never hiked on the East coast, and was wondering if anyone had hiked from say Indian Garden in the GC to the top of the south rim, and how it compared to the A.T. Particularly the Georgia section. Cheers. Tony.

[canoe]

IVe not hiked the entire AT but I have not experianced anything more difficult than the hike to Plateu Pt and back anywhere on the AT

[canoe]

but I have not hiked GA

[GoldenBear]

But I have hiked
1) The Canyon down to Phantom Ranch one day and back out the next.
2) several hundred miles on AT.
3) up Mount Whitney.

Each are different challenges. Not necessarily that one is HARDER than the other, just different.

The challenge of The Canyon is the heat (no surprise) and the steepness. The former can be overcome with some half-way decent planning (and humility), the latter requires a bit of body preparation. Most people in reasonably good shape who do these two steps can handle the hike in one day -- from Indian Gardens to the Rim can "easily" be done in a day. The reward is extreme beauty, and an understanding of just how BIG the GC actually IS.

The AT is like a hike that never ends. It will never be as hot as The Canyon, and you'll never have to go up 1476 meters (4780 feet) in elevation in one day; but, unless you are TRULY insane about hiking it, you'll never reach "the end." You just go on hiking, day after day, week after week, as the Trail begins to consume you. Either you run out of resources -- time, money, your body -- or you just give up, or you just decide you're just going to endure the pain because you've decided to do so. Beating this challenge won't get anything remotely like the scenery in The Canyon, just a sense of pride that you have DONE IT. It can be done -- if it couldn't, this site wouldn't exist -- but it requires a different kind of planning and preparation. Browse the site to get more details on what you will need.

If you can't guess, I hike because I LOVE to do so. Each hike offers a different challenge and a different skill set. If you were smart enough to handle the challenges of a GC hike, you most likely could do the same with hike on the AT. But you'll need to find out how the two are DIFFERENT.

[Cookerhiker]

But I have hiked
1) The Canyon down to Phantom Ranch one day and back out the next....

I did this also. It was early March so heat wasn't an issue. The canyon bottom was Spring, the South Rim was winter with about 8" snow.

Anyway, hiking up from the Grand Canyon is certainly not easy but as hard as it is to make an apples-and-apples comparison, I felt the GC was easier in 2 respects:

1. Footing and grading
2. I liked that it was simply up, up, up whereas so much of the AT is intervening PUDs. You rarely just hike up, you hike up, down, up, down, up, down etc. etc.

Certainly there are specific parts of the AT e.g. the Whites and most of Maine that are unquestionably harder than the Grand Canyon.

[Wil]

Hi y'all. I've never hiked on the East coast, and was wondering if anyone had hiked from say Indian Garden in the GC to the top of the south rim, and how it compared to the A.T.

The last 3 1/2 miles up are, in terms of relentless up, tougher than all but a very few spots on the AT. Also, you rarely encounter anything on the AT like the crowds of clueless tourists walking 3 abreast that you have to fight your way through to get to the Rim.

OTOH the Bright Angel Trail up from Indian Garden is well-graded, wide, with lots of switch-backs. So the steepness is never "climbing" like so many shorter stretches of the AT are, with the use of hands and scrambling over boulders required.

Overall I find that section of the Grand Canyon much tougher that typical hiking the AT. But, as others have said, it's _different_ more than tougher/easier.

[ChinMusic]

I've done both the Grand Canyon and GA.

Taking the heat out of the equation I found the Grand Canyon significantly easier. The GC is just so smooth walking and so well graded. You don't have the uneven footing as is common on the AT. The AT seemed steeper on its ups as well. Once near the bottom, looking up at the rims is daunting, but in this case "it's just walking".

[Feral Bill]

Hiking up from Indian Gardens you can just throttle back the speed and walk out without a break. At least I could when I was much younger, and it was not too hot. Parts of the AT are much steeper, with poorer tread. With proper pacing, if you can do one you can do the other.

[tdoczi]

the main or "corridor" trails in the grand canyon are many times easier than most of the AT. especially the areas where there is piped water every few miles. the only possible difficulty is the unrelenting up (or down, for that matter) nature of it, but as someone else said, i find that much easier than constantly switchign from up to down. and the trails are in such great shape that footing is a non issue. youll never come anywhere close to thinking about using your hands, youll never have to take a funny or awkward step, you wont have to hop over and around rocks and boulders or tree roots. these are all things even many of the easier parts of the AT will from tiem to time involce. and forget about it if youre talking about the whites (never been on the AT in GA really)

[tdoczi]

IVe not hiked the entire AT but I have not experianced anything more difficult than the hike to Plateu Pt and back anywhere on the AT

youve never been to the white mountains.

plateau point in back, if you leave early and sit out the mid day heat, is not hard at all.

[ChinMusic]

..........

[tdoczi]

If taking Bright Angel that would be about 24 miles rounds trip and a bit over 3000' of gain/loss. That is a hell of a day.

Going from Springer to Lance Creek is TONS harder than that with more gain/loss. It's not even close. Not many folks choose to go from Springer to Lance in one day. Lots of folks hike down to the bottom of the GC and back.

I don't think I could hike from Springer to Lance right now. I KNOW I could hike to Plateau and back.

not true, from the trail head of bright angel on the south rim to plateua point is 6 miles one way.

[ChinMusic]

not true, from the trail head of bright angel on the south rim to plateua point is 6 miles one way.

I was looking at a link that stated that distance. I thought it was off after thinking about it and killed my post.

The hike down to Plateau and back is only 12ish. I knew it was easy.


http://www.arizona-leisure.com/hiking-bright-angel.html

The Bright Angel Trail hike to Plateau Point at the Grand Canyon South Rim is a 12.3 mile, 3,216 feet altitude gain hike

I suspect they meant round trip.

[wteason2]

I can't speak for Georgia, but I've hiked a bit in the GSMNP, and done a 30 day canoe expedition with Outward Bound in Minnesota. Nothing has been harder than hiking down the South Kaibab Trail to Phantom Ranch in 2005. 120 degrees at the bottom. Here's a picture from my trip (that has actually been reused by other sites!) Granted I'm probably not the best reference point for a grown man.

[tdoczi]

I can't speak for Georgia, but I've hiked a bit in the GSMNP, and done a 30 day canoe expedition with Outward Bound in Minnesota. Nothing has been harder than hiking down the South Kaibab Trail to Phantom Ranch in 2005. 120 degrees at the bottom. Here's a picture from my trip (that has actually been reused by other sites!) Granted I'm probably not the best reference point for a grown man.

and the most miserable hike ive ever been on was when i was 12 and in boy scouts, but if i were to rehike that hike today i'm sure i'd think it was easy. 120 i'm sure wasnt fun, but that stuff they say about dry heat is true and i'll take 100 in the desert over 95 with 98% humidity any day.

[canoe]

One reason I remember the GC to be so difficult is that i went in July and the heat kick my tail like a mules that walk the same trail

[tdoczi]

this is what a hard hike looks like : )
monroe.jpg

[canoe]

yes it does... Is there a trail somewhere in all that? Where is that?

[canoe]

and the most miserable hike ive ever been on was when i was 12 and in boy scouts, but if i were to rehike that hike today i'm sure i'd think it was easy. 120 i'm sure wasnt fun, but that stuff they say about dry heat is true and i'll take 100 in the desert over 95 with 98% humidity any day.

Yep, but 120 is no fun even in zero humidity

[tdoczi]

yes it does... Is there a trail somewhere in all that? Where is that?

in the middle youll see an odd pile of rocks that looks bigger a little more perfect than the rest of the random jumble.... thats a cairn marking the "trail." thats the AT on the trail north side of mt monroe in NH.