Advice re: weather and hiking and driving this weekend in GC

Hi Everyone-

My fiance and I have a trip booked to Vegas %26amp; Grand Canyon this upcoming long weekend, and i wanted to see if anyone had some advice on what to expect with the weather, and some advice on hiking.

Our plans:

Arrive in Vegas Friday night. Stay in Vegas, leave for GC at 11:00. Arrive at 4:30 or 5pm? Will it really take that long? We are hoping to get there before sunset. Booked at Bright Angel on the Rim for 3 nights. We wanted to hike from South Rim during the days and possibly visit Sedona if there was time. We fly out from Vegas on the redeye on tuesday night.

Here are my concerns- Are there any locals out there who can tell me a little bit about the weather for the weekened? I am checking on weather.com too. It looks like the highs at the south rim are in the low 50s. What does this really mean? Can you tell me what to expect when i wake up at 8am, leave for a hike at 9:30am into the canyon? Will it get much warmer in teh canyon? I also dont have any crampons (sp?) so does anyone know the condition of the trails from teh south rim? Are there any particular day hikes that you can recommend?

Also, I am sort of petrified of traveling on the highway in the snow. If snow was in the forcast, i was planning on changing all the plans to stay in sedona the whole time...but it doesnt look like i need to do that.

thoughts?

thanks!!

Advice re: weather and hiking and driving this weekend in GC

sorry just one thing to stress/ask.. considering that i DONT have crampons, and we really want to hike during the day- are there any trails for us to hike this weekend? If not- what do people do during the day? Would you suggest that we stay in sedona and hike there instead?

is there a place to rent crampons?

Advice re: weather and hiking and driving this weekend in GC

Hi---the Canyon Marketplace (grocery inside the park at the Grand Canyon village) rents crampons. I believe they are the ';instep'; type.

It will get warmer as you descend. It will also warm up during the day---it can be quite cold in the early morning, but very pleasant later in the day. Be sure and take water and a snack, and enjoy.

hey thanks for the reply.

i called up the marketplace and they said that they sold them, not rented them...and that they couldnt guarantee that they%26#39;d be in stock. I%26#39;m worried about getting there and not being able to hike. I was seriously considering changing the trip to mostly sedona. Am i being silly?

there are plenty of places to hike where you would not necessarily need crampons. there is some snow predicted the next few days, ending friday. roads are kept clear even if it is snowing.

play it by ear. there%26#39;s lots of level hiking along the rim. if there is snow and ice on the trails going down, and the store doesn%26#39;t have crampons, then don%26#39;t descend into the canyon.

Bobbear- are there hikes that dont go into the canyon?

thanks.

There is the rim trail that is pretty flat so you won%26#39;t need crampons at all there. There are other hikes out to overlooks too. We went there in mid-March last year, there was a little snow/ice on the South Kaibab and Bright Angel trail, but we hiked down them anyway. Just watch your step.

I thoght the website said they rented them. Sorry.

But given that the mules go down the trails every day, the snow will be chopped and rough. Even if a bit crusty or icy, it wouldn%26#39;t be all that slippery. I would rather have hiking poles than crampons for conditions like that anyway.

It is always easier hiking up in snow than down, so try it and see how it goes. You can always turn around and head back up if you are uncomfortable. But the trail is wide and well-graded; even if you slip you will not go over the edge.

You can also walk along the rim in either direction.

It is so beautiful there in the snow; don%26#39;t give up!

There is a storm moving in, looks like snow Thurs/Fri, clearing on Sat. Check www.wunderground.com Great and reliable info in my opinion.

Hiking along the rim should be ok. Most likely there will be some trail clearing.

Snow makes the GC look even more incredible!!

Enjoy and be careful.

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