Читать книгу Backpacking Arizona. From Deep Canyons to Sky Islands онлайн

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The Grand Canyon is not just a single large canyon. It is a maze of side canyons and tributaries, towering buttes, temples, and mesas. Hidden here and there are perennial streams, springs, and secret grottos. Nearly the entire canyon is included in Grand Canyon National Park, and most of the park is wilderness. Units of the Kaibab National Forest flank the park to the north and south. Elevations range from 8900 feet along the fir and aspen forests of the North Rim to 1200 feet along the creosote bush-lined banks of the lower Colorado River.

Despite the crowds at the developed sections of the south and north rims, and the popularity of a few trails, most of the canyon backcountry sees no visitors in a typical year. The catch is that only about ten percent of the backcountry is accessible by trail. To explore the rest, you’ll have to hike cross-country through some of the most demanding terrain on Earth. This guidebook contains both trail and cross-country hikes in the Canyon, so you can learn the terrain on trails, and then progress to cross-country when you are ready.