Up at 4:30am to get dressed and ready for 5am breakfast at Phantom Ranch, which was really good. While waiting for a bit of light, got this shot of a ringtail hiding in a hose closet.
At first light, walked about a half mile from Phantom Ranch down to the Colorado River - we'll be taking the silver bridge today to go up the Bright Angel trail.
Doesn't look too high!
Mule train coming out of Phantom Ranch with mail and trash.
Waterfall and creek along the trail.
First good rest stop at Indian Gardens.
I'll bet these people were the ones cheating off everyone else in school. Only consolation - I never saw a mule rider that really seemed to be enjoying themselves as much as the hikers. At dinner the night before, one of the mule riders asked me how long it took to hike down and was surprised that it only took four hours - I think he thought the mules were the express train.
Looking back down at Indian Gardens - looks a bit like an oasis in the desert and it is.
The tunnel near the top of the Bright Angel trail. If you see this, you are virtually there. However, don't be surprised when you get to the earlier tunnel on this trail and think you are near the top - you're not.
Finally made it to the South Rim about 11:30am, so about five and a half hours to hike out - lots of short rest stops.
Back at the campsite enjoying a beer with cheese and crackers and a small herd of about eight or ten elk waltz right through my campsite as though I wasn't there.
Hiking the Grand Canyon was a pretty incredible experience. It is the single most spectacular feature that I saw on this trip and to see it in three dimensions was fantastic. From a hiking standpoint, it wasn't as grueling as I thought it was going to be. By comparison, the Half Dome hike of four days prior was by far the most difficult. I was still sore from that hike when I started down the Grand Canyon, yet the day after hiking out of the canyon, I wasn't hardly sore at all. Its also not very technically challenging - just a constant steady grind uphill, but it didn't have the killer steep steps that the Dome had. I think anyone in reasonably decent physical shape can take on the canyon - just make sure you leave at dawn, go slow, take short breaks and bring plenty of water. On the way up the Bright Angel trail, you can bring less water because there are numerous water stops along the way at Indian Gardens and the three and one mile rest houses.
and you got another day of those dang steps. too bad you didnt get to do the north rim, not only is it more beautiful but very few railroad tie/steps after the first mile.
ReplyDeletenice job...I have a feeling if you hadnt had the conditioning of your prior hikes on this trip that you would have found the GC to be a bigger challenge.