Grandview Trail on the South Rim of Grand Canyon is one of my favorite day hikes. It’s short, relatively speaking for the canyon, at only three miles down. But don’t be fooled, it’s a steep three miles.
Grandview takes you down to Horseshoe Mesa which you can see below coming out of the right side of the image.
This mesa has had a lot of activity on it in the last hundred or so years. There is a cave on the left side as you look at it here, also old stone buildings and several mine shafts.
It’s a little unnerving to walk along and see this sign. So, like, really? On this side of the sign you won’t get radiation poisoning but take two steps and you will?
The ground was strewn with beautifully colored rocks. I spent some time there photographing them. I could have spent a lot more time catching all of their colors and patterns as the light shifted throughout the day. The lichen also came in at least three different colors, white, yellow and orange.
I have to admit, getting the grand landscapes of this canyon is always elusive to me. Now, granted, I wasn’t there at sunrise but still, trying to capture the breathtaking beauty of the canyon is not for wimpy photographers. I, therefore, tend to focus on the details of the canyon. Much of which is overlooked, I think, as people focus on it’s vastness.
Take for example this survey marker. I think these are cool because I imagine a team of surveyors in the canyon collecting data and wonder how old it is and how difficult it must have been to haul their gear up and down the trail.
This little guy is a good reminder to watch the trail as much as the scenery. He’s not a rattler but he caught our attention nonetheless.
It s my goal in life to capture closeups of bees and or other insects in motion. It’s not easy, especially with the camera I brought. I brought my little Canon S120 point and shoot so I could have it in my pocket for quick access.
I shoot these a LOT. I love agave with their soft green leaves, red tips and great patterns.
All of these images were shot without a tripod, mid morning to early afternoon with a Canon S120 point and shoot in RAW files. So don’t delay, go find a trail, shoot some landscapes but don’t forget about the details!
Happy Shooting!!
One such day found us at the South Rim heading down Bright Angel Trail toward Indian Garden, which you can see in this image as the splash of green on the right side in the smaller canyon, then out to Plateau Point. We did it with full 25# packs. It is six miles down which means six miles back up…12 total.
These images, however, were taken before I switched my setup to something lighter and easier to travel with. These images were taken with a Canon 40D and 35-70mm lens. Far heavier than I am willing to travel with these days. This is the view from Plateau Point, a 1.5 mile jaunt from Indian Gardens, to the river below. If you look closely you can see a river raft parked at the large beach on the left.
Here’s the thing about this blog: I focus on taking images when most travelers would be shooting, during the day. In a perfect world I would be here at sunrise and/or sunset, but in a traveler’s life, that is not realistic. Time is short and many things and places are crammed into a short period of time so it is my intent to show that, even though conditions are not ideal, it is still beneficial to bring your camera and snap some pictures.
