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Welcome to THE home of Grand Canyon hiking. If it happens below the rim—from short day hikes to Rim2Rims and beyond—you'll learn all the tips and tricks to have your safest and most memorable Grand Canyon experience.
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It's a beautiful trail, but it's prettier on the way down than the way up.
Zeena:You're listening to the Grand Canyon Hiker Dude Show, the voice of Grand Canyon Hiking. Presented by Hiken, Built to help you hike your best hike. Here's your guide, Brian Special.
Brian:Well, you can find the silver linings in just about any situation if you look hard enough. And as it relates to the aftermath of the Dragon Bravo fire and not being able to do rim to rim for the foreseeable future and the closure of the river trail on the South Rim and everything else that made 2025 such a rough year in Canyon history, it is a long list. My own selfish silver lining is, I talked about it before, it's forced me off the corridor trails and onto some of the South Rim's less traveled routes. One of them is the Grand View Trail, I had the chance to take down to Horseshoe Mesa recently alongside my friend Joe Adlock, who is a lifelong canyon crazy who you have heard here on the show before. The goal was to reach the tip of Horseshoe Mesa for an epic view at the top of the Red Wall and maybe see some old mining artifacts along the way.
Brian:That's why the Grand View Trail's there in the first place. This is definitely a hike that you can do as well if you too decide to venture off the main trails. The Grand View Trail, not far from South Kaibab off Highway 64. You cannot miss it if you take the Grand View Point turn off. This is the Grand Canyon Hiker Dude show powered by Hikin' and our new Canyon Elite hiking packs, front storage, insulation and more made specifically for the Canyon but suitable for any day hike on the planet.
Brian:See them for yourself at hiking.club. That's hikin.club. Alright. We're here at Grand View. I've found my buddy, Facebook Joe, Joe Adlock.
Brian:You just came out of how many days in the canyon?
Joe:Five. What were you doing? We hiked down the Hermit Trail and spent some time in the Monument Hermit area, went to a couple of rapids, just had a good time.
Brian:So a long backpacking trip? Yeah. And somehow, someway, you got a hold of me and you're like, before I head home to Colorado, you wanna come up and do a a day hike down Grand View?
Joe:And here we are.
Brian:And how are you feeling?
Joe:Oh, beautiful.
Brian:Yeah?
Joe:It's a great day. I'm sure my legs will hurt a little at the end of the day, but what the heck? You only live once.
Brian:How many miles did you cover over those five days?
Joe:I think it was a little less than 30. It wasn't a real, you know, it wasn't real difficult.
Brian:Kind of a chill hike?
Joe:Yeah. It was actually very chill. We had a couple days where we moved camp about a mile and a half.
Brian:Oh, nice.
Joe:Yeah. And then we just played in the water all day.
Brian:Nice. Who were you hiking with?
Joe:I was hiking with Rob Jones who is in your group.
Brian:Yes. Yes.
Joe:And a friend of his named John Eastwood.
Brian:Some experienced Canyon guys.
Joe:Yes. Very experienced. Oh my god. Some of the stories they have are incredible. Make me feel like a a newbie.
Joe:Yeah.
Brian:And you got tons of experience yourself.
Joe:I've been doing it for a long time.
Brian:How many years?
Joe:Fifty one.
Brian:Fifty one years. And we heard the story of Facebook Joe a couple episodes ago. So if you have not heard that, I encourage you to go back and check that out and get the whole background on on how Joe Adlock became Facebook Joe in our Hike in Grand Canyon Facebook community, which everyone, by the way, should be a part of. So tell me what we are going to do today because this is awesome, man. Because I feel like with the closure of the North Rim, it's awesome to be able to venture off the corridor trails.
Brian:I did Tanner a while back with James Tennelssoff. And so when Joe reached out and said, hey. Let's go do something down Grand View. I was like, let's go, baby. I'm all game.
Brian:Tell me what we are going to do today.
Joe:Well, we're gonna go down to Horseshoe Mesa. It's about three miles of rough trail. The trail itself is actually really cool in places. The construction, you know, you look at it and you say, do I wanna walk on that? But it's very safe.
Joe:But it's really cool. So we'll walk down to the To Mesa, and if we've got time, we'll walk out to the tip of the horseshoe and look down at the river and, you know, see how how high the red wall looks at that point.
Brian:So we'll be going down basically to the Tonto Platform?
Joe:No. Actually, we're we're going to the top of the red wall. Oh, So it's the equivalent of Skeleton
Brian:Point So not even going not even not even getting out of Tonto. It'll still be about a 1,200 feet above Tonto. Yeah. Okay. Cool, man.
Brian:I'm following you. You're the man with all this incredible Grand Canyon experience, especially off corridor. I'm excited to do this, Joe. Let's get it done, baby.
Joe:Alright. Let's go.
Brian:Now the one thing that you'll notice about the off corridor trails like Grandview and Tanner and New Hance is that they are all very steep from the start. All have a similar grade where they lose around a thousand vertical feet in the first mile. For comparison, South Kaibab drops about 800 and Bright Angel about 700 in their first miles. So far, the upper reaches of this trail of Grand View, the one thing that you'll notice is that not as maintained as the corridor trails. That's a big difference.
Brian:Narrower. It feels a little bit steeper. It feels like almost like the chimney at the top of South Kaibab. Bigger steps. There's some really big steps up and down big rocks, but the view is very open, very South Kaibab like.
Brian:Awesome so far. Alright. We're about six tenths of a mile down Grand View. This has been a really cool trail. It's not maintained, but it's it's in it's in pretty good shape.
Brian:It's not hard to it's not hard to follow. Steep, a lot of big steps, a lot of big rocks. And that section behind us right there, man. It's so cool. You look back up there, you're like, there's a trail up there?
Joe:Yeah. That's I think that's my favorite part of the trail, the cribbing and the the just how they made the the the trail into the cliff side there. And, I mean, if that if you didn't see the logs over there, you wouldn't know there was a trail there.
Brian:No. You wouldn't.
Joe:You wouldn't know where you came down.
Brian:I kinda say that's a similar thing to a lot of places in the canyon, but the one that I can relate to is when you're standing down, you know, by boat beach, or by the delta there and you look across the Colorado and you look up at, where the river trail is. Yeah. And you would never think that there's a trail there.
Joe:Right.
Brian:So it's amazing what they've been able to do in the canyon and and especially, you know, a hundred hundred and twenty years ago whenever it was that they built these things. How would you describe Grand View as compared to the corridor trails?
Joe:Well, in general terms, I think the scenery is similar to going down South Kaibach.
Brian:It really is. It's pretty open.
Joe:Pretty exposed. Yeah. It's it's more difficult coming up. We'll find that out in a couple hours. You know, it's it's it's narrower.
Joe:Like you said, it's in really good shape in terms of, you know, something that isn't maintained much at all. You don't lose the trail. You never really lose the Grand View Trail down to Horseshoe Mesa. So it's it's just a bit rougher than corridor trails.
Brian:Yeah. But the views, man, I mean, is a it's a little bit different, but it does have a similar vibe to South Kaibab for a lot of it and really six tenths of a mile down, and I can't wait to see what's still ahead. Let's go, Joe. Alright. Okay.
Brian:I don't want any false expectations put out there. In the beginning, I would say Grand View had South Kaibab vibes, but it doesn't really maintain them. I'm still of the belief that South Kaibab is the crown jewel of Grand Canyon Trails as its views are simply unmatched, in my opinion, of course. Alright, Joe. We are 2.83 miles below the rim, 2,427 vertical feet below the rim.
Brian:Been a great hike so far, and we just came up on this sign that I've never seen before that I've never seen on any of the corridor trails before for sure. And it says, caution, radiation area, keep out. So I guess we know what they were mining for down here.
Joe:Yeah. I think, doc, this is where he got his plutonium for the time machine.
Brian:Oh, here we go. Here come the dad jokes, everybody.
Joe:Probably probably uranium. I mean, we could look it up. I probably knew it one time, but forgot. But, yeah, this there was a the last chance mine was down here back in, I don't know, the nineteen thirties, something like that. There's still some building remnants.
Joe:One of the shafts is still you can actually go in twenty, thirty feet before it's gated. There's some equipment you can find rusted out across the plateau down here. Pretty interesting historically.
Brian:So there's still there's still rusted out equipment stuff that we can see down here without without going into places. Without going into restricted areas?
Joe:Yes. Yes.
Brian:Because it looks like I mean, obviously, there's that sign that says caution radiation area keep out, but it looks like people ignore that that sign.
Joe:We're not gonna do that. We're not gonna ignore that.
Brian:No. But there are still remnants down here that you can see. Yeah. That's cool. And is that the I assume that's why Grand View was built in the first place, was to get down to these mines.
Joe:You know, that's a good question. It might that might be, but it might also have been no. I I think I think that is why it was built. Yeah.
Brian:Sounds like I'm gonna be doing some research, and then right about here is where I'll insert that in the podcast what the actual reason is. Excellent. Okay. As promised, let's clean this up some. The Grand View Trail dates back to the eighteen nineties when a prospector named Pete Barry was mining copper ore on Horseshoe Mesa.
Brian:So in order to make the trail to his last chance mine usable for pack animals, he improved the existing Havasupai route, and it became the trail it still is today. Well, as tourism picked up at the Grand Canyon, Barry abandoned his mining operations and built the Grand View Hotel on the rim at what's now Grand View Point. It stood on what's now the parking lot and was only open from eighteen ninety seven to nineteen o one when it was, wait for it, destroyed by fire and never rebuilt. Alright. Almost three and a half miles down the trail, you come to a junction.
Brian:And if you go to the right toward that was toward what's the
Joe:spring? Spring.
Brian:If you go to the right a little bit toward there, there's some old mining equipment that's just all rusted out and has stood the test of time and has been here for a hundred years or so, which is actually really cool to see with the red wall behind it. And if you come down the trail a little bit more and headed toward the right side of Horseshoe Mesa, which is where we're headed, you come up on this this building here that looks like it was an old, I don't know, storage area maybe, bunk area maybe. There's a fireplace. There's all kinds of old, like, gas cans and stuff in there. Pretty fascinating.
Brian:Yeah. And even though it's like junk, it's still history.
Joe:Yeah. It's always cool to find a 100 year old metal device or can a canyon. Because you know some prospector or somebody was down here used that. It's just cool.
Brian:I mean, oh, to be able to go back in time, right, to see what this was like when this this building was standing and or when it was you know, it wasn't crumbling like it is now. And to see all the activity down here and the mining and the whole operation and man, it would just be so cool to to see, wouldn't it?
Joe:Yeah. People lived down here for, you know, lengths of time while they were working.
Brian:Yeah. Talk about remote. I mean, you're already in one of the most remote places in the in The US. And then you're, you know, 2,500 feet below the rim. It takes a lot of effort to get here.
Brian:So, I mean, this is some of the most remote living that there could have been anywhere in the anywhere in the country.
Joe:Yeah. Indeed.
Brian:So cool. Alright. So we're headed out. Where are headed now? We're gonna head out to the East Tip
Joe:Of The Horseshoe so we can hopefully get a view of the Colorado River below us. And it's it's similar to going out to Skeleton Point where we'll be top of the red wall, looking down, and we'll see what we see.
Brian:I love it, man. This is so much fun. Off the beaten path. Onward.
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Brian:Alright. Not sure why I found this so fascinating, but I really did. The toilets down at Horseshoe Mesa Campground. On the corridor trails, toilets can be found in modern structures that offer total privacy. Here on Grand View, yeah, not quite the same.
Brian:So there's a campground down here down Grand View, and there are toilets down here on Grand View. And if you're used to the toilets on the corridor, these are gonna be just a little bit different. What are we seeing here, Joe?
Joe:They are toilets. They are toilets. They're an improvement over having to squat on the ground and hold your balance and, you know, that's not a lot of fun. But these are toilet seats with three privacy walls. You actually step up to them.
Joe:They compost. The rangers have to come down and take care of them from time to time. I think they actually haul them out and replace them from time to time too. They're definitely better than nothing. But for those of us who are a little squeamish about these things, they're not the most fun thing in
Brian:the world either. No. And you say walls, three walls. I mean, let's that that's a very liberal use of that term because Yes. There's no privacy.
Brian:You're sitting here in the middle of the Grand Canyon quite literally, and you do have an incredible view, but you probably be nervous about people walking up on you. I would imagine that there's no way for anybody to know if there's anybody, you know, using one of them until you see the see people's feet. But these are not private, I would say. They're quite a sight. If you can, it's hard to describe, you know, on a podcast here what these things look like.
Brian:I hope that you'll, you know, go to our Facebook group, and I'll post some pictures so that you can see what these things are like. Because it is fascinating, and I guess it does you know, a BT alternative, especially, you you know, you wouldn't wanna you know, giant messes all over the place up here.
Joe:Yeah. It's the whole leave no trace concept. You keep all the waste in one place. It can be cleaned up easily. Know, enough people come down here.
Joe:You don't want people digging holes everywhere. Yeah. And unfortunately, lot of people don't even, you know, bury. A lot of people just sort of toss toilet paper, which isn't a good idea. You need to get rid of that.
Joe:So this is it is a really good thing. It's just if you're not used to it, you you kind of have a little pause when you see them and go, oh Yeah. That's interesting. That's what we're doing for the next few days.
Brian:Yeah. Right out in the middle of the Grand Canyon, man. Views all around as you're doing your business. Joe, I never thought that when we started this trip that we'd be, you know, spend a segment talking about toilets and bathroom habits at in the Grand Canyon, but this is pretty fascinating stuff, and this is the kind of information I think the people
Joe:want. Sounds good.
Brian:Onward. And once you get to the mesa itself, as its name might imply, the trail levels out and then kind of disappears as it splits off to continue its descent to the Tonto Platform. But that's not where we're going today. We'll instead keep the flattish hiking going as we head for the tip of the mesa. And while the trail or what there is of one is hard to follow, you know, it's really easy to see where we're going the whole time, so there's never any real danger of getting lost.
Brian:This is pretty awesome, man. Out on the basically, the top of the Redwall and this long stretch after the toilets that we talked about. We are, let's see, four and a half miles down the trail now. 2,771 vertical feet according to my watch. And
Joe:this is cool. There are
Brian:just some spectacular views out here. It almost feels like you're on the Tonro Platform, but you're not. You're at the top of the Red Wall. I'm not sure what that is. I struggle so much with the layers.
Brian:I always try to memorize the layers. You know? Kaibab, Torowi, Coconino, Hermit Shale, Red Wall, soup. I I just have a hard time remembering the order. But, anyway, that's neither here nor there.
Brian:We're at the top of the Red Wall and headed out toward the edge of the right finger, I think, of Horseshoe Mesa Mesa. Horseshoe Mesa. And there's supposed to be an incredible view out there, and this is awesome. There's not much of a trail out here. It's just, kinda shrubbery, almost like you'll find on Tonto.
Brian:But it's not Tonto because I can see Tonto, you know, 1,200 feet or so below us, still way down there, which is crazy because we've come down so far already. It's just another example of how ginormous the canyon is. But this is amazing. It's the same kind of feeling out here where you just feel like you're standing all alone in the middle of the canyon. It's dead quiet when you stop moving, and it's just another fantastic Grand Canyon experience.
Brian:Loving it. Eventually, since you're on the top of the red wall, there's nowhere left to go except straight down, maybe 500 feet or so. This is the tip of Horseshoe Mesa and the perfect place to stop and soak it all in. Alright, Joe. We made it to the halfway point.
Brian:Now when I left this morning, I had told my wife that I was like, we're only going five miles today. We're at 4.81 right now, and we still have to go back. So I think we might have underestimated a bit. Oops. Sorry.
Brian:If there's a good place to underestimate, it's on a day hike in the canyon. I am super stoked because we've made it out to the edge of Horseshoe Mesa on the right side of Horseshoe Mesa if you're looking down from the rim, and we're still about we're at the top of the red wall. So I'd say we're, you know, twelve, fifteen hundred feet still above the Tonto Platform, and this is just amazing. What we're seeing right now is it's almost like a plateau point like feeling. It's a tanto platform kind of feeling where we're all alone out here.
Brian:We're on the edge of the red wall right now. I mean, if we took a couple bad steps right now, it would not end well for us. But we can see the river down there. It's running green today. We can see Hance Rapid.
Brian:It's just unbelievable out here. This has been an incredible, incredible hike. And we were wondering I mean, how many people do you think even get out this far during the year?
Joe:Not a lot. We saw no one on the trail except at that viewpoint about a 100 yards down, and they were taking pictures on the rock.
Brian:Other than that, we've seen nobody all day. No. And the trail out here after we got past the campground, they're really it's it's kinda hard to follow the trail. You kinda lose it in places. There really isn't a trail.
Brian:And you just keep going essentially until you get to the edge of the of the red wall, there's nowhere else where else to go. And that's where we are right now. And what what are you seeing right now? What are we seeing out here?
Joe:Oh, lots of colors. You've got the green on the Tonneau platform. You've got the red below the tapetes. You've got the the dark black of the Vishnu schist with the pink stripes through it. The water, like you said, is green.
Joe:It's really, really pretty today. And it's cool to be able to see a rapid. I mean, that's kind of fun and know what we're looking at.
Brian:And that's that's Hance Rapid.
Joe:That is definitely Hance Rapid. And we can
Brian:see I can see we can look way out there to the east, and we can see the outline of Desert View, of the Desert View Watchtower, the Desert View Tower. Yeah. That's kinda cool. You can see that from anywhere out here.
Joe:And if you follow the Palisades Of The Desert, which is just that eastern edge of the the canyon, a ways out, there's kind of a a lighter colored area. Uh-huh. I think that's right about where the canyon turns to go up to the little Colorado
Brian:Yeah. Okay.
Joe:Where it comes in.
Brian:Man, it is just spectacular. It is a perfect day. It's a November day, mid November. I always say November is the best time to hike in the canyon, and this day is is kind of, again, validating that that feeling in my opinion. And this is one of those spots where, again, we'll post pictures.
Brian:You know? We'll post photos. We'll post videos of where we are, but it's just another example of there are no words. There are no photos. There are no videos.
Brian:There's no paintings. There's nothing that can capture what your eyes are seeing right now. Isn't that how you see it?
Joe:Yeah. Well said. Well said. Everything we described was really just about a 30 degree arc over here. Yeah.
Joe:There's this whole other part of the canyon we weren't even looking at. No. I mean and it goes on and on for miles.
Brian:It's a 180 degrees from where we're standing right now. I mean, it is god. It is spectacular. And, you know, I would say if you're thinking about jumping off the corridor, you're tired of the corridor, and you wanna come out and do something, I think this is a pretty good this would be a pretty good day hike. This is gonna be about 10 miles total.
Brian:We got a lot of uphill on the way back. 20 we'll do about close to 3,000 vertical feet on the way back, I would guess, because we've gone well, we've gone down 2,800 to this point. So almost 3,000 on the way back up. And the trail has been easy to follow for the most part. It's not as pristine maybe as the corridor trails, but not that much of a of a difference, I don't think.
Brian:I think until we got past the you know, where the toilets were and the campground was, then you kinda lost it, but it was easy to see where you were going. Yeah.
Joe:You couldn't go too far right or left or you'd fall off the cliff. Exactly right. And going forward.
Brian:Until you stop before you fall off the cliff. That's exactly right. So I feel like this would be a pretty good day hike for someone who's considering just going off the corridor for the first time. And this is this is amazing, man. This is a this is a full taste of canyon hiking.
Joe:Yeah. It's a beautiful beautiful spot and it's so quiet. So quiet.
Brian:Yeah. It's one of those places where you just stop and listen and the silence is almost deafening. Just not used to hearing that.
Joe:No.
Brian:You know, I I do have to bring this up because Grand View when I think of Grand View, I always think of Margaret Bradley. Margaret Bradley, we've talked about her a couple times on the podcast. She's the Boston marathoner who, back in 2006, I think it was, came here to to do essentially a hike slash trail run going down Grand View and then hooking up with Tonto, which is still down below us. And she and her hiking partner, running partner, didn't didn't pack enough water, did not have really any idea of really where they were going, how long the hike was gonna be. I think they estimated it was gonna be 15 miles across Tonto until they finally hooked up with South Kaibab, and it was actually almost a 30 mile hike slash run.
Brian:And she ended up running out of water. They were doing this. I can't imagine being out here in July. They were doing this on a July day, and she ended up separating from her partner. And, honestly, just going in search of water, ultimately, is what it seemed like to me.
Brian:And she made a beeline for the river from the tunnel platform, ended up getting herself cliffed out, and she died. You know? Very young. Had just finished the Boston Marathon. Elite runner.
Brian:I know you said I think you said you'd listen to that podcast recently. It's hard not to think of her, isn't it?
Joe:It really is. I mean, it's a it's a harsh landscape out there. It it looks beautiful, but it's it's dangerous if you aren't prepared or you don't know what you're doing. But if you are prepared and and and you do a little bit of homework ahead of time, learn the safe things to do and not do, you know, you have pretty reasonable chance of making it out like we do today.
Brian:Yeah. Because we're not doing it in July. Yes. I mean, this would be I
Joe:I can see why I would not do this
Brian:in July. No. I mean, it's exposed out here. It's and we're not even on Tonto.
Joe:We haven't had shade for two miles.
Brian:No. We haven't. No. And it's it's a it's a beautiful day. But if you come out here and do that in July like they did on a 100 degree hundred hundred degree plus day with bright sunshine and not enough water and thinking you're doing a trail run and not having the experience to do it, you can get yourself killed.
Brian:So you just cannot take the canyon lightly ever. So when we head back up Grand View, I think I'm gonna think of her again because I think of her often because it just seems like such a waste to me. Alright. So on that note, that positive note, but that's an important note because, you know, I I just can't say it enough that you if you're if you're gonna do things in the canyon, you just have to be prepared You physically, have
Joe:to be aware of your surroundings. And you have to think ahead a little about, well, what if this happens? What if that happens? I mean, stuff can happen. Weather can change.
Joe:You can get hurt. You just have to know what to do if those things happen.
Brian:And you can end up in the death in Grand Canyon book ultimately if you're if you're not careful. So take the canyon seriously. You'll have a great experience. Let's get out of here. Alright.
Brian:About five miles and 3,000 feet of climbing to go, and I'm excited. We just oh, I have to mention that we just sat stopped here and had lunch in this incredible spot. And we had one of Caleb Metzger, who you've hiked with before, who's been on the podcast before, he talked about those honey buns when he was on the podcast with me a while back. And we had a we split a honey bun in honor of Caleb. How'd that go down?
Brian:Oh, it was delicious. Spectacular, man. Yes. And and and get the jumbo, like, fully iced ones. Right?
Brian:Because because calories don't count in the canyon. Right. Right? Right. And the sugar is just gonna help you for a while.
Brian:But, man, that was when I'm not gonna have a honey bun in real life probably, but in the canyon that was delicious. Yes. Caleb, props to you, my friend. Alright. Let's get out here, Joe.
Brian:Honey buns. Yeah. Oh, those honey buns. Who would have thunk it? Just another reminder to pack what you think you will want to eat on canyon hikes.
Brian:That's what's most important. Pack what you think you'll want to eat. Alright. Let the heavy breathing commence. Alright.
Brian:You can tell by our breathing that things have gotten serious. We're about let's see. Oh, about three miles since we left the the Horseshoe, and we have started to go straight uphill. This thing is steep. How are feeling?
Brian:Tired. Well, you're the end of a you're at the end of a six day backpacking trip too. So
Joe:Yeah. Yeah. I don't blame it on that.
Brian:This is quite this is quite a way to end a an adventure like that.
Joe:Yes. It's a beautiful trail, but it's prettier on the way down than the way up.
Brian:Man, I mean, we you wanna talk about Steve. We're talking, I think, about at least a 100 feet per one tenth of a mile because it's a thousand, at least a thousand feet per mile. So that is that is steep, man. Yeah. And it's relentless for the whole the whole way to the top too.
Brian:So
Joe:It felt like those cobblestones were at a 45 degree angle.
Brian:It did not.
Joe:I know they couldn't have been, but it felt like it.
Brian:Yeah. And you come around the corner, one switchback, and there's another one. Uh-huh. You know that feeling. Right?
Brian:Man. Yeah. So it's tough, but it's a beautiful day. There's no one else out here. Again, the only people we saw were a couple of tourists just, like, right below the trailhead.
Brian:Other than that, there's not a single person out here. This is Grandview. This is what it's all about. This is awesome. So let's get out of here.
Brian:What do you say? Let's do it. Alright, man. Let's go.
Zeena:So much of the Grand Canyon advice you'll find online is loud, confusing, and just flat out wrong. That's why Hike Club Grand Canyon exists on Facebook. It's a judgment free hiking community where hikers help hikers and where you can have direct access to Brian, coach Arnie, and guests from this show. You want real answers so you can hike the canyon with confidence. This is where you belong.
Zeena:Search for Hike Club Grand Canyon on Facebook and join our conversation today.
Brian:There is no possible way that a camera is gonna show you how steep this part is. This is so steep. It's cool because you got all these cobblestones that help with your footing. But, man, this is so steep. But it's a great trail.
Brian:Super fun if you're into that kind of thing. Look at Joe just running up it.
Joe:Afraid you're gonna leave me behind.
Brian:Is that it?
Joe:You know, if my buddy Brad were here, he'd be a half mile back. We'd be waiting for him. That guy's a slacker. Oh, hey. Don't make sure that doesn't end up in the
Brian:Yeah. Is this the guy is this the guy who who got all upset that you didn't mention him in your first episode?
Joe:I'll take the fifth.
Brian:I won't. Hi, Brad. Come back and hike with us, man. Joe is super fun, as you know. Alright.
Brian:So we're we're just about out, and you could see out there where we were. It's it's it's kinda hard to believe.
Joe:It's hard to believe.
Brian:That is way out there, man. That that horseshoe. Man, these switchbacks.
Joe:Relentless is the word that comes to mind.
Brian:Yeah. It gets steeper as we get closer to the top too. This is this is crazy, man. But it's very cool. The trail's easy to follow.
Brian:We've run into a couple of people now who are on their way down. But, man, this is no joke. It is it is straight up. It's a lot different than the the corridor trails when it comes to just how rugged and and steep it is.
Joe:It's steep. And and a lot of loose gravel too in between the cobblestones.
Brian:But I've been surprised. It's not as primitive as I thought it would be. It's been very easy to follow for the for the most part, the the whole way down.
Joe:Yeah. I mean, it is well used even though it's not a common trail for people to take.
Brian:But, man, it feels good to be almost done. Again, what do I always say? Always, no matter what, no matter how many times you've done it, no matter how much fun you're having, it's always time at some point to get the heck out of the canyon. Yep. And I think we're at that point, and especially for you at the end of a six day trip.
Brian:Right?
Joe:Yep. And Caleb would say if he were here, let's make dreams come true.
Brian:Is that what he says?
Joe:Yeah. Because it annoys his son.
Brian:I I think it would annoy me too because I don't really understand what he's trying to get at. So anyway, Caleb gave us the honey bun idea, and so he will always have a good place in my heart. But but quotes like that, I think I'll just stick to food recommendations from Caleb. Probably smart. Alright.
Brian:Now let's officially get out of here, shall we? Yep. Alright, Joe. So we finally made it out, and we ended up covering nine miles, which is more than I thought we were gonna do do today, but I'm so glad that we did do it today because we kinda just went with the flow. Right?
Brian:It's like we could go down here to this junction and turn around, or we can keep going out onto the Horseshoe Mesa, and that's what we did. We made it all the way out to the end of the, to one of the fingers of the of the Horseshoe Mesa and had that incredible view out there. This was an amazing day.
Joe:It was spectacular. I haven't done this as a day hike since college. It was probably a little easier back then,
Brian:but For sure.
Joe:It was it was a lot of fun. It was a lot of fun.
Brian:Man, that uphill. I mean, the downhill was one thing. Right? The downhill takes a lot out of you on the way down, but this trail is so steep that, you know, I thought it was very similar to Tanner in terms of just the elevation gain and and and steepness of it. That thing
Joe:is steep. And and it it's relentless. It's steep and it's steep and it's steep and it's steep. It just doesn't give up. Yeah.
Brian:We were stopping quite a bit on the way back up. But one thing I was amazed by was how really well I don't even know if I if you wanna say it's maintained, but I expected something more primitive. And this trail was easy to follow. It was well marked all the way down until we got out to the mesa where we kinda just had to, you know, kinda make our own way. There was a trail that was a little harder to follow, but it was easy to get out there because you could see where you were going.
Brian:But I was surprised on the upper reaches of it and the steep part just how well built it was. That's what I'm looking for. It was built a long time ago, a hundred or so years ago, but it was so well built and that has stood the test of time because of the the rocks and the cobblestone that keep that trail in place and make it a little bit easier, you know, to to get to have grip on your with your your feet and everything. I thought I was just surprised by that. What do you think?
Joe:Yeah. I mean, it it's it's easy to follow. It's just rough. I mean, it beats you up, but you can't lose it. It's it's not corridor, but it's also not off trail.
Brian:Right. Yeah. It's somewhere in between, but I was surprised at how easy it was to follow. So this is one that I would definitely recommend. Someone who wants to dip their toes into maybe off corridor hiking, this would be a good one maybe to start with.
Brian:I think Tanner was great as well. There are a lot of good ones, but this one would definitely be a good one just because of how accessible the trailhead is right from the the Grand View Point overlook here. You just pull in. It's easy to park, and you just start right down the trail. You can go down as far as you want and get great views the whole way.
Brian:It's fairly open. It's not really as as I thought it was gonna be more open like South Kaibab in the beginning, but really the beginning is more South Kaibab like. But nothing still nothing to to me touches the views of of South Kaibab, but this this did have incredible views. And the farther we went out on that mesa, man, those views were just where we had lunch. It was just spectacular out there.
Brian:I don't think I'll ever ever forget those views and being able to see the river down there. Didn't you feel the same way?
Joe:That was awesome. Dangling our feet over the cliff.
Brian:That's basically what it was. Yeah. Basically what it was. This is a great day, man. I'm grateful that you made it happen because you're finishing up, as I've mentioned, a six day backpacking trip.
Brian:I just got off the plane from Philadelphia yesterday, and and I was like, oh god. I know Joe's up there. Do we? You'd mentioned this. I didn't know if we were gonna be able to make it work, but I was like, you know what?
Brian:The one thing that I would regret is not doing it. And so I called you, and we made this happen. And you just popped out yesterday and then got a good night's sleep and came up and and met me up here. And I'm so grateful, man, because this is a day now that I don't think that I will ever forget.
Joe:This this was a great day, and I appreciate you coming all the way up from Phoenix. I mean, have to go back home tonight.
Brian:That's That's
Joe:that's a really long day for you.
Brian:That's okay. That's the name of the game, man. I'm used to that. That's, that's what I signed up for. And I don't have to go home.
Brian:I could go get a hotel, but I'm not going to. I'm gonna go home. Yeah. And you, you're gonna start your way back for the twelve hour drive to Northern Colorado, find some place to sleep tonight, don't even know where yet? Don't know.
Brian:I love it. Just living on the edge, baby. This is Grand Canyon living on the edge. It's been a great day. Joe, thank you, man.
Brian:Thank you. This is awesome. Thank you, Brian. So there it is. Grand View to Horseshoe Mesa.
Brian:Easy to follow, steep, historically interesting too. I'd call it a great introduction to off quarter hiking at the Grand Canyon, more than 3,000 vertical feet over nine miles or so from Horseshoe Mesa now to your big toe. That's only a transition we could make if coach Arnie's around, and that's what coach Arnie's thinking about this time in his training tip.
Arnie:Hey, guys. Coach Arnie here with another Grand Canyon tip of the week, and a big thank you again to Brian for allowing me to share some wisdom with everybody. And, hopefully, we can learn some things and and help each other. This week, it's about the big toe, another one of coach Arnie's favorite topics. And, you know, sometimes referred to as the great toe, which is the perfect name.
Arnie:Many years ago when I shared my discovery about the big toe, a a coach of mine at the time suggested, you should be the big toe guy. And I I mean, that sounds cool only because I am obsessed with the big toe and the feet. And why is that? Well, because I believe that all that begins well usually ends well. What I mean by that, if you are hiking or walking with good foot place placement, which usually leads to a better gait pattern, you'll most likely have a more pain free hike because, you know, your your big toe is directly related, and this is the interesting part.
Arnie:Your big toe is directly related to your glutes, your lower back, your hamstrings, which if you think about it, it's kind of important. So those are, you know, those are what you call the extensor muscles. And and just by knowing how to engage the big toe, it really does make a difference. It really does. And so that's why I have become obsessed with the foot and the big toe.
Arnie:So here's my tip. First, learn how to stand. When you're standing, you should feel your big toe directly behind your big toe and your heel. So just stand up, find that spot. And for some of you, it might be easy.
Arnie:For others, it might be a little more difficult because a lot of people, they stand on the outside of their foot. Not good. And so when you can feel those spots, then practice closing your eyes and feeling those spots. Okay? And then eventually, try to do it on one foot, and that's a challenge.
Arnie:You may need some help with that, some support. And then eventually, when you're really an expert, you'll be able to do it with your eyes closed on one foot, and that's a tough one. That's a tough one. But, again, why? If you're doing that on a regular basis, you will learn how to stand.
Arnie:And then once you learn how to stand when you're walking, you'll be it'll become more of a a pattern that will become a new pattern for you. So, again, that's the tip. Now lastly, you must start to strengthen your big toe and your feet, your big toe and your feet. And the easiest way is what I call a modified spring foot. And all you need to do is stand on both feet, and you can do this anywhere.
Arnie:You can do this at the grocery store. You can do it wherever you're at. I would do it barefoot. And and stand, lift your heels just barely off the ground until you feel your toes and the pressure on your toes because that's working the tendons of your toes. So hold that, and you you wanna hold it for at least thirty seconds, maybe a minute, and you can do it as as many times you want throughout the day, and you could do it every day.
Arnie:So you really don't have any excuses, and this will make a big difference, bigger than you might expect if you strengthen your feet, just working them every single day. And that is the best place to start to strengthen the big toe, strengthen your feet, learn how to stand and then walk, and pretty soon, you're walking and hiking pain free. You really are, but you gotta do it on a regular basis. Again, it's just like going to the gym every once in while and doing a push up. It doesn't really do much work.
Arnie:But if you're doing push ups every day, you're gonna get in good shape. So, guys, just get this done. Make it intentional just like everything else. I love you guys. And if you have any questions, you can always get ahold of me.
Arnie:I love you. Have a great, great rest of your day.
Brian:Coach Arnie, Arnie Foncica junior on being big toe intentional. If you'd like to work with coach who's an exercise physiologist by trade, you could of course reach out to him anytime. His contact information is in the show notes. Alright. That is it for now.
Brian:My name is Brian Special encouraging you as always to go hike the canyon. You can do it. Take that first step. Embrace the journey. And when you get there, whether it's for time goals or taking your time, just hike your own hike and savor every step in the magnificent Grand Canyon.
Brian:You've earned it. We'll see you next time on the Grand Canyon Hiker Dude show powered by Hikin'. Support the brand that supports this show at hikin.club. That's hikin.club.