My 11 mile round-trip hike on the Hermit Trail to Breezy Point was easy going down but terribly exhausting going back up to the rim. The trail drops 2,200 feet from the South Rim to Breezy Point. It took me 3.5 hours to reach Breezy Point, and 6.5 hours to get back up to the rim. The last mile was the most difficult. I didn't see anybody on the trail. So nice to have complete solitude. The trail going back up was so fatiguing that I forgot I had OCD. Although I wasn't happy about my very slow pace. But the entire hike was without a doubt certainly worth the minor foot pain, and complete exhaustion.
My first target along the trail was Santa Maria Spring, a permanent water source next to a shelter, which is reached after 2.2 miles and a 1,640 foot descent. It took me 1 hour and 10 minutes to reach the spring. My second destination was 1.5 miles further and about 400 feet lower at Lookout Point. Then 1.8 miles to Breezy Point, my turn around destination, and about 220 feet lower.
The trail descends the white Coconino Sandstone, and then weaves along the sloping red layers of the Supai formation until reaching Breezy Point.
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| Santa Maria Spring and shelter at 2.2 miles from the trailhead. |
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| The shelter at Santa Maria Spring. |
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| The trail goes along the Supai formation. |
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| Breezy Point on the right. |
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| The Supai Formation |
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| The view from Breezy Point. |
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| Looking back at Breezy Point. |
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| Looking back at the trail along the Supai formation. |
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| Looking back at the trail along the Supai formation. |
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| The blue route is my 11 mile round-trip hike. |
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