Finally spend a night out in a tent last night on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. While I was camped out near the car I did a sort of worst case scenario test with my summer gear. I used a 3-season tent and a 3-season sleeping bag while wearing 3 season clothes on 3 feet of snow with the temperature was supposed to get down to 3°. The idea was to see how well the summer gear performed in cold weather so I know what to expect, and if it was just too cold my winter gear was a few feet away in the car. As it turned out the weatherman said it was supposed to get down to 3°, but it was 20° when I went to bed and 20° when I woke up and I was perfectly warm all night so I'm suspicious.

I'm holed up outside the Backcountry Office now waiting for them to open so I can get a permit. Unless I post otherwise I will be dropping down into the canyon today, spending tonight at Bright Angel and tomorrow night at Indian Garden. There is a storm moving in on Saturday so I won't have time to hang around on the bottom for New Years after all.

Update: Backcountry permit approved as requested, descending South Kaibab today and ascending Bright Angel on Wednesday and Thursday. I'll be back on the surface "next year".

Another picture of Humphrey's Peak is attached, because that mountain is just so cool.

Tags: Grand Canyon National Park, Colorado Plateau, Hiking, Backpacking, Road Trips