After Bearizona and the Mary Colter Watchtower, we hit the South Kaibab Trail for a super short hike late in the afternoon.

Access to the South Kaibab Trail was blocked on one side of the road --we assumed this meant only the Grand Canyon shuttle was allowed access to the trailhead. So we parked nearly a mile away and walked to the trailhead... Only to discover that tons of vehicles ignored the road block. After nearly 5 years in Arizona, we should know by now that road signs are merely suggestions...

The South Kaibab Trail, along with the Bright Angel Trail, are considered the superhighways of the South Rim --they are the 2 shortest routes to get to the bottom of the canyon. South Kaibab is approximately 6.3 steep miles. To me, this sounds easy considering we've done longer hikes.... but most hikers get to the bottom in 4-5 hours and going back up takes an average of 7-8 hours. This is why they drill into your head not to attempt hiking there and back in one day. It sounds so tempting though!

Since we started at 2 in the afternoon, we opted to just hike to Ooh-Aah Point. We've hiked along the North Rim but never actually into the canyon.

Crazy switchbacks eh?

Makes one feel pretty insignificant.

FYI, mules traverse this trail often and it's pretty evident at the beginning of the trail... Poop everywhere!

View from Ooh-Aah Point. Oooooooh. Aaaaaaaah.

Can I just stay here? I don't want to hike back up.

Going back up is no joke --heavy breathing and heart pounding hard the entire way up. I can see why it takes... FOREVER to hike back up from the bottom.

Isn't this crazy? Even in person the Grand Canyon seems surreal.

Squirrel!

Going down is a MILLION times easier than going up!

It is ABSOLUTELY breathtaking no matter where you look. It certainly wet our appetites for a trip to the bottom of the canyon for white water rafting next year!