The Grand Canyon is a spectacular space, a land of never-ending vistas, colors, and oohs and aahs. But adventures here must be earned, and they don’t come without some extreme risks. For example, the canyon’s world-famous Bright Angel Trail is considered one of America’s most dangerous hikes due to its steepness, lack of shade, and exposure to the elements, especially the intense heat and sunlight of the harsh desert environment. This lethal combination of conditions puts hikers at risk for dehydration, heat exhaustion, and yes — even death.
Fortunately, Bright Angel Outfitters has developed a potentially life-saving tool to help hikers better plan expeditions and avoid the sun when it’s at its brightest and hottest. The Grand Canyon Shade Tracker is an interactive online map that allows users to enter the date and time of their hike plus a trail, campground, or other landmark to see whether that point is sunny or shaded at that particular point in time. You can also zoom in or out for an enhanced perspective and scroll along a time continuum to see how the sun—shade pattern morphs throughout the day. This brilliant tool is easy to use, totally free, and may be super useful when planning an extended trek, like the difficult 24-mile rim-to-rim adventure that is not for amateurs.
Other nifty online tools Grand Canyon hikers should know about
