Hermit Trail

Length: 6 miles rountrip
Elevation change: 1200 feet
Time: 4 hours including an hour rest at the spring
Difficulty: easy to moderate

Our last night and day of vacation were spent at the Grand Canyon again. Wednesday night was dedicated to rest and relaxation. We got to our campsite and set up then went to the village for dinner. We started at the cafeteria to split a sandwich (our original plan was to have sandwiches in Holbrook, but the only deli in Holbrook has closed) then went over to the Miswak lodge to a pizza and pub place. They pizza would have be so-so but they had a shaker full of oregano and basil which was awesome. They rest of the night was spent around the campfire just enjoying the night.

The next morning was interesting, however. I heard someone walking through our campsite but I was still half asleep, so I just zipped up the windows and went back to sleep. But then I heard then rustling through our stuff so I got up and went out to confront them. There wasn't anyone going through our stuff. Instead, there was a huge elk just eating away at a bush in the middle of our site. And then three deer just came walking into our site as well. Pretty interesting.

Before we left for home we went on a hike to dripping springs. Our very first trip to the canyon we were originally planning on doing this hike, but the ranger told us it would be too hard. Yeah, right. The elevation change did fool us at first. In reality, you end up going down about 2000 feet and then back up to the springs. It felt like we were on the trail forever when we had really only been hiking for an hour. Its an interesting trail, it just feels like it takes forever going down. But then, when you get there, you know it is worth the wait. We weren't sure if there was going to be water, but there was. And it just dripped out of the canyon wall. It was really neat. And the water was so cold. The hike back up went by much faster, and was about as difficult as horseshoe mesa. This time we made a point to stop as little as possible so we were able to get up a bit quicker. We both agree was the best hike we have taken.

Now we are home, and coming home was bitter sweet. We both miss traveling and are already planning our next adventure!