View of Bright Angel Canyon from the Lodge's Patio
We got up early
- to catch a flight at 8:30 AM from Pittsburgh to Phoenix. The flight
was smooth and we managed to sleep a little bit before landing in hot
and sunny Phoenix. We got our car and made our first stop at the
Paradise Valley REI to pick up some gas cartridges and Thermarest chair
frame for me, as mine was nowhere to be found. Since the last time we
had been to Phoenix, the city had grown at least 15 miles, if not more,
northwards. We had planned a brief
stop at the Bookman used bookstore in Flagstaff, a favorite of ours.
The store is wonderful for just hanging out and browsing. I found a
paperback of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and much to my
delight a very beaten up bellydance LP for 25 cents. I am planning to
restore it a bit and then frame it - it's actually kinda charming in
its worn state. We also picked up some wine at Target - Pennsylvania's
liquor laws suck. It's so nice to be able to get wine in regular
stores.
| View of Bright Angel Canyon from the Lodge's Patio |
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The big day - we
got up at 4,
so that we could catch the village shuttle to connect to the West Rim
shuttle. Well, the village suttle takes a while to get all around, and
then the west rim shuttle also takes a while to get to the Hermit
trailhead, which we had not planned with. The trailhead has a gift shop
(closed early in the morning) and toilets (porta potty type).We
arrived at 6:30, and hit the trail at around 7. We set
off together with a single female hiker, Kathy from Colorado. We had
some interaction with her, and she seemed like a very nice person,
somebody I'd love to invite for dinner and share a bottle of wine with.
We set off, and the trail was steep and rocky, but not excessively so. The views were gorgeous, and the while we worked quite hard with our heavy packs (food for 8 days and a gallon of water on top of our usually heavy load). The trail had steep and fairly flat sections, which made hiking quite enjoyable. We took a break at Santa Maria Spring resthouse. It's a lovely spot, it even has a rocking chair. The front is shaded and the springwater is collected in a tub that's home to some tadpoles. Very idyllic. That was the easy part of the day. The next section of the trail was less enjoyable. We had to climb over the debris of rockslides, which is hard and icky. Fortunately, views made up for that. I was a bit worried of what would come next. Fortunately, the trail sections that were described as the most challenging, though, were comparatively easy. A descent through another rockslide strewn section was doable, and the redwall descent was smooth and quick. But, the worst was still before us, a drawn-out descent to get to the Tonto platform. The sun had come out, and while the trail looked like it would be smooth-sailing downhill, we had to stumble over rocks and rocks, which is exhausting. It was actually quite steep, too. And, the heat started to really build up. My feet didn't feel too good - as it turned out, the heat had made them swell, and I eneded up with the famous black toes - on my well-groomed pinky toes! The section would not end, and there was no shade at all to take a break. And, thanks to drinking regularly, I was running low on water. But hey, (we thought) we had less than a mile of smooth sailing on the Tonto ahead.
The good news -
the trail was
relatively flat and smooth. The bad news - that 0.8 mile from the Tonto
intersection to Hermit camp must have been
a measuring error. And, when I finally reached a big creek - it was
bone dry. Hardly any shade and very, very dry. No swimming hole, no
drinking water. I dropped my pack in the little bit of shade and
desperately waited for Vincent and Kathy, whom we had caught up with
repeatedly on the trail. At that point of low spirits, I discovered
another problem - the soles of my boots started to split! These were
expensive Montrail boots, with Norwegian welt, i.e., the sole is
stitched, not glued
to the boot to prevent all problems of that kind. But, that was not so
effective: The stitching was fine, but those famous Vibram
soles started to fall apart, even though they looked as if they had
lots of life left in them. Even high-end heavy boots don't always stand
up to the
Grand Canyon! Trouble ahead. Anyways, when Vincent and
Kathy arrived, we collectively decided that this can not be it - Hermit
Creek flows year round and we would have heard of problems. Kathy also
reported that she had heard a creek further towards the river, so there
must be water. Well, turns out there was yet another part to hike,
around the corner and a very steep section of the trail down. We
dropped our packs at around 2 PM or so. THAT'S what should be in
a guidebook - "Don't panic, the camp spots are around the corner.
Really."
The camp spots
were nice - a bit
lacking in shade, but directly next to the creek. We dropped
everything, and
went straight down to the creek. I had not paid sufficient attention in
my haste to get to the water. My Tevas had rather worn down soles, and
I slipped and fell, which caused a bleeding bruise on my right ankle.
No structural damage,
but it
hurt. (And, it would continue to hurt when the boots were rubbing
against it for the rest of the trip. In fact, two weeks later, it's
still well visible.)
The creek was lovely, and we had the most enjoyable pond directly below our tent. A huge swimming hole under a small waterfall. It was the most welcome surprise after the last 3 hours of hiking! The water was refreshing, but not too cold. One can not wish for a more beautiful spot to cool off. A group of hikers who had already been there shared their experiences with aggressive mice. Thus, we had dinner early and packed up everything before sunset. After a welcome late evening breeze probably because of local conditions, we have lots of flies and thus retreated to the tent early - not surprisingly, sleep came soon.
 Waiting for the West Rim Shuttle |
 Variation of the people with trail sign theme |
 Happily hiking on the Hermit Trail |
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 View from Santa Maria Spring resthouse |
 Just outside of the resthouse |
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 View down Hermit Canyon to the rapids |
 One the many rockfalls to be crossed |
 Just before the redwall descent |
 Enjoying the redwall descent |
 The painful Muav section - hot, steep, rocky and not at all smooth sailing |
 Before the last, long leg of the hike |
 Our camp spot |
 ... after visiting the solor composting toilet |
 The beautiful swimming hole |
 Not sure what had happened here |
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We woke up aching
and happy. I
was a bit reluctant whether we should actually hike all the way down to
the river. My boots had trouble, so they were out. My muscles and my
feet hurt, I had the first real blister of my hiking career!!! We
had learned the previous day that the sun would be HOT. Well, the hike
was fabulous - Hermit Creek flows through a beautiful canyon. At some
point, I decided not to follow the cairns, and just slog through the
creek, which was by far the most enjoyable alternative. My feet were
cool and I could wet my bandana every few minutes, which made for the
most delightful walking. Rant: There were lots and lots of cairns, most
of them leading to not very desirable routes. Why does every hiker who
finds
yet another route feel the urge to cairn it? I did not remove any of
the infuriating cairns, but I was tempted at times.
Anyways, it was a beautiful and easy hike to Hermit Rapids. On the hike back, we decided to continue in the creek all the way back to camp, which was much shorter and easier than the upper route, going back to the trail we had come from the day before. When we returned to camp, we decided to explore upcreek a little bit, as well. Hermit creek becomes even more beautiful that way. We walked up a series of small waterfalls and found a fantastic swimming hole. Chest-deep, fed by a waterfall, and surrounded by smooth sandstone ledges. It's hard to imagine a more perfect place to take a dip. And, since there was nobody around, I got my obligatory skinny dipping.
We found that we had neighbors, a group we would see repeatedly for the next few days, several guys from Scotland; one of them carried a flag! At first, I was a tad dismayed that they were so close to us, but they turned out to be a group of very nice hikers and we enjoyed seeing them. It seems that they were surprised by the heat, one member of the group (who was the oldest, with 51) struggled with dehydration. The others seemed to be doing fine, but didn't quite share the happiness Vincent and I found on this hike - I did not mind the heat at all, and I enjoyed the hard work and aching muscles. When we came back, Kathy, who had been worried about her hike out, was nowhere to be found. As it turns out, she also went to the Colorado, and even took a dip in the icy waters there. She had an equally enjoyable day as we had, but we never saw her. She was planning to get up early and make it through the redwall before the sun would come out. When she said goodbye the next morning, she was a bit behind her planned schedule, but she is a strong and experienced hiker, and I am sure she had a lovely hike out.
After dinner, I took on the dreaded task of fixing my boots. A closer inspection revealed that the soles on both shoes were giving me trouble. One was just starting with tiny cracks, the other was definitely coming apart. That's not something I had planned for. No big tub of superglue in my repair kit. I tried to use the glue from the thermarest repair kit - it seemed like a good idea at the moment. But, in the end, it had hardly any effect. That stuff sucks. Vincent did a major ducttape job - it seemed to stick OK. (No, that's not the end on my boots.)
 Hermit Canyon |
 Some of the Rocks |
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 Hermit Rapids |
 Hermit Rapids |
 Hermit Rapids |
 Trying to fix my boots with Thermarest hot bond glue |
 Trying to properly set the glue |
 My duct taped boot |
 The best swimming hole ever! |
A fairly short
hiking day
ahead - from Hermit Creek to Granite Rapids. About 5 Miles, mostly flat
in Grand Canyon terms.
We got up early, and managed to leave the delightful Hermit Creek
around 6 AM. The hike along the Tonto was fun - not as flat as one
would expect, but the gorgeous views helped. The descent towards
Momument Creek is at the monument - a huge rock pillar, which to
Vincent suggested a Viagara commerical. It was a steep
descent - sweet and effective. The remainder of the hike to
Granite Rapids was in a mostly dry gravely creek bed. I enjoyed the
environment. We had shade for
most of the hike, which was welcome, because gravel is not the ideal
surface
for hiking. We arrived at the rapids at 10 AM, and a group of rafts was
parked on the upriver beach. After some scouting, we found a lovely
camp spot at the most downstream
end of that beach. Most likely, river runners would stay, like those
rafts, at the upstream side of the beach, and we could avoid setting up
camp rudely in the middle of theirs. When two groups of river runners
arrived to take their mid-day break at the beach, the group leaders
stopped by. We were quite impressed that these groups made the effort
to meet-and-greet and establish positive relations to hikers. When the
river runners had left, we decided to cool off with a swim in the very
calm upstream waters. The water was COLD, very cold. And, as we found
out, there is a pretty strong current that actually goes upriver. Even
though the water
looked calm, it was quite hard to swim against that current when we
tried to swim downriver. We stayed
in the shallow areas where we could easily stand and walk to the bank.
We waded a bit and then swam back towards the bank - I sure
would not want to have to swim in the deep sections against the real
current in that cold
river! I can definitely understand the serious warnings against
swimming in the Colorado.
When we settled
in, another
group of river runners stopped - and these were there to stay. The
usual ritual ensued - the captain upon reaching land first greeted the
natives (hikers). We were invited to dinner, which sounded like
fun. The passangers were a church group, my guess is that most of them
were in their 50s. This was their first day, and we were not too
worried that we would have neighbors in a spring break wooo-hooo mood.
Dinner was delicious and plentiful, and we had a chance to observe the
way life works when river running. Because of recent intestinal virus
problems, these guys were very serious about hand washing, and the
leader also was very concerned about the environmental impact of the
group, which confirmed the positive opinion I had of such groups
before. They also offered to take our trash with them, which we
cheerfully accepted. And, to pay forward the good karma, I spent some
time collecting trash around our camp spot. (I collected more trash
there than we had.)
We had planned to
get up very
early and go to our next camp, Salt Creek. However, the big and fairly
late dinner motivated us to change plans: We decided to hike to
Monument Creek camp, to spend the day there. We would then do a night
hike to Salt Creek, which is a shadeless and waterless spot. That was a
good idea, and I am doubly happy that the river runners (of Canyon
Expeditions - thanks guys!) generously invited us.
 On the way to the Tonto |
 At the intersection |
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 Early morning views of the river |
 On the Tonto |
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 Monument Canyon and Granite Rapids from the Tonto |
 The monument of Monument Canyon |
 Hiking on the gravel of Monument Creek |
 Granite Rapids |
 The view upriver from Granite Rapids, made famous by the Kolb brothers |
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 Our most beautiful camp spot on the beach at Granite Rapids |
 Swimming in the icy-cold Colorado River |
 Enjoying the beach at Granite Rapids |
 Our trash (on the right) and the result of my trash collection (on the left) |
We were sad to leave Granite Rapids and the beautiful camp spot we had. It does not get much better! But, we had hiking to do - and we had better do it while it was early and cool. Going back up that gravely creek bed proved to be a workout - like sand, the gravel does not offer all that much resistance. Fortunately, it was early and shady, and we enjoyed the walk nevertheless. The climb up to the monument was steep as expected, but doable. Monument Creek camp is a short hike away. The camp spots are quite nice, Tamarisk (?) trees provide some shade. We saw the Scotsmen's tents nestled under the trees. But, even at 9 AM, it was clear that it would be quite hot there. We dropped our packs on a shady ledge (which would not remain all that shady throughout the day). Like towards the river, parts of the creek were dry, but there was plenty of flow at some spot to get drinking water. We worked on purifying enough water to get us to Indian Garden, the next water source we would reach. Unfortunately, the Aqua Mira did not last quite as long as the bottle suggested, and we had to boil water, which made a dent into our gas supplies. Vincent took off with the camera, and found that the creek flows through a small slot canyon further downstream. We packed water, snacks and books to check it out and set off to spend the afternoon with our feet in the water.
The slot canyon part was very beautiful. When we came to a 10-12 ft waterfall that looked just like a waterslide, I had the not so bright idea to slide it down, rather than climb down the side. In my defense - it seemed like fun at the time! When I started sliding, I realized that the landing may not be too gentle, and that I didn't want my ankles to stop the impact, because I had to hike out of there somehow. So, I used my arms to break, and managed to get a big, bleeding and painful bruise on my arms, just below the elbow. We washed the wound with some water, since I hadn't brought the first aid kit. It hurt, but it was clear that in the grand scheme of things, this was merely a scratch. Over the next few days, I would get a lot of comments. (My ankle bruise from Hermit camp was much more painful, but looked less dramatic.) Vincent had the good instinct of taking a photo of my slide!
We found a lovely spot with a natural reclining chair in a shady alcove. My book had suffered a bit in my sliding adventure, but in the end, remained readable. So, I read a bit and then had a long pleasant nap. We enjoyed the beautiful and cool spot for many hours, until we returned to the camp in the afternoon. As we had expected, even in the shade of the bushes, it was very hot. There was no wind or creek that would provide any relief. We made dinner, and chatted with the Scots who came to get water. They planned to leave at 11 PM and hike in one push to Indian Garden, over 12.5 miles. Yikes! A single hiker from Minnesota decided to join them as well. We chatted a bit with him, and he helped me tremendously by offering Crazy Glue to temporarily fix my boots. While he did not carry the amounts that would have been needed to really fix both soles once and forever, his little tube of glue was a real blessing. Our attempts to work with duct tape had not been successful. It does not stick well on properly cared for boots, and duct tape does not work well in extreme temperatures. The boot problem had become a serious concern, and we were already considering the alternative of hiking out to the rim from Indian Garden to buy a new pair of boots so that I could finish the trip. I would have considered using my Tevas as backup - alas, my Tevas were well-worn and the heat also caused the little that was left of their soles to come loose. So, that was not an option. In the city, I don't care too much about such problems, but with well over 30 pounds on one's back and a rocky trail ahead, things are different. Anyways, thanks to this gentleman, my mind was a bit calmer. THANKS!!!
When the sun had
pretty much
set, we took off to Salt Creek - a 3.5 miles hike. In the beginning, it
was kinda fun to hike in the dark, the trail was smooth and we had
lovely views. Also, the moon was out, which was nice. When it got
really dark, we pulled into the big side canyon of Salt Creek. That was
less fun. The huge side canyon in the dark looked very scary, and I was
rather freaked than the trail seems to go at the side of a big black
hole that was just waiting to eat me up. For all I knew, and my female
intuitions were very strong here, there were
dragons and other monsters in there, waiting to eat me in the unlikely
case that I would survive the inevitable fall into the dark hole.
(I really should not watch any more Harry Potter movies, should I?)
Despite this immense danger, we made it to Salt Creek without
disappearing
into any abyss. Didn't see any evidence of dragons or monsters,
either, but I didn't not sleep too well. The signage at Salt Creek was
a bit confusing in the dark - we
misread the directions to the Toilet as Tonto, and then didn't quite
locate the "camp." (Yeah, silly us. Blame the monsters.) We decided to
just drop the pack,
and pitched the tent in what turned out the proper spot. When the
Scotsmen with Mr. Superglue came by, we unintentionally sent them the
wrong way - when we realized that the next day, we felt terrible! These
guys had still miles to go, and we made them hike extra. I still cringe
at the thought of having done that to them.
Regardless of black holes, Salt Creek is actually kinda cool - the place is covered with white salt residue, but in the little water there is, one can find lots of very noisy frogs, Some of them even seem to make use of the acoustics of the place to amplify their voices, which was mighty neat. So, we had a lovely lullaby sung for us.
 Leaving our beautiful spot at Granite Rapids |
 Vincent and the monument |
 Beautiful river view |
 Another river view |
 Our packs at a break |
 Yet another river view (yeah, I really like these views a lot) |
 Getting everything sorted out at Monument Creek |
 Monument Creek Narrows |
 Taking a nap in the shady narrows |
 Cooling off in the narrows |
 My dramatic slide down a waterfall (it seemed like a good idea at the time) |
 Sunset over the Tonto Platform |
 Lone hiker on the Tonto Platform |
We did not spend
any time
hanging out at Salt Creek, we had a quick breakfast and hit the trail.
We first had to get our bearings and find the trail (rather than the
toilet), but then we made fine progress. The views were truely amazing,
and the early hours, when it was still relatively cool, were fun. When
the sun came out, it got hot, and we had a bit of a harder time. Still,
we did OK and took the heat as an inevitable part of the adventure. We
came to the Horn Creek campsite shortly after a break. A friendly and,
if I may say so, very cute "rookie ranger" greeted us there, inviting
us to take a break,
but we explained we just came from sitting in the shade. So, we took
off for the last sunny leg. Hiking on the Tonto in the sun was actually
not too bad. We continued to drink, and the dry heat was compensated
for by
gorgeous views. Despite temperatures of 102-104 on my Suunto, it was
kinda fun. My body seemed to deal well with the heat (that was before I
realized that it did not - see later on my swollen elephant feet).We
took a brief break - since there was no shade anywhere at
all, we tried to improvise, but that was not too successful. The last
mile was very, very hard. My misery started when we came to the
intersection to Plateau Point, the end of the Tonto West. That's close
to home, I thought. Wrong.
The trail was hot, sandy, and going was tough. And, the trail would not
end. I should have known - on almost every Canyon hike, I have run out
of steam close to the goal. In fact, I have a history of getting
unconcentrated and inattentively stumbling when I can already see my
goal, a bad habit. Anyways, hiking all the way up to the campground
was not fun. It was uphill, deep sand and very hot. And, all the
good spots were already taken. And, my feet hurt. And, I was running
low of whatever one can run low on. We dropped the packs
and life returned to my body when I held my head under the water
faucet. Running water - what a luxury! We rewarded ourselves with a
double lunch and took a nap. We had not hung our packs, just put the
food away. Vincent woke up from the sounds of a squirrel trying to get
to our trash, which we had forgotten. Damn, now I need to fix the mesh
of my pack! To make matters worse, the squirrel had first eaten a hole
in the mesh pocket in which I store the poop scoop. Now, that was a
stupid squirrel!
We took off to find a nice spot in Pipe Creek to hang our feet in. It took a little bit of hiking down Bright Angel trail to find a lovely spot: I sat on a rock, feet in the creek and had a beautiful view of the Canyon, towards Plateau Point. Very delightful. We could even soak our entire body, which was very refreshing (and even chilly). We decided not to hike out the next morning to buy new boots, and rather trust that the rangers at Phantom Ranch would have something to help me fix my boots - as it turned out, a smart move.
 Big black hole full of monsters and dragons at Salt Creek |
 ... and I have the undereye bags to prove it! |
 Early morning views of the Tonto Platform |
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 |
 The end of our happy hike in the heat on the Tonto Platform - that's where the suffering started |
 Tired hiker |
 One of my many bruises (this from the waterslide) |
 Soaking hole with a view in Pipe Creek |
The hike to Bright Angel Campground was a joy - the trail was fairly flat, we had shade and only a few miles to go. A walk in the park. As soon as I said that, Vincent's shin started to give him trouble, I should have shut up! I was kinda embarassed - I strolled down the trail with my big backpack, smiling happily and not making much of an effort on the trail, while other hikers seemed to struggle uphill. At the bottom of the Devil's Corkscrew, I saw one hiker who bothered me: a woman wearing flip-flops. When I commented on that, she loftily told me that these are the ideal shoes for hiking - her feet can breathe and nothing rubs against them. I decided to be good and shut up. One switchback later came her husband, carrying his pack on the back and hers on the front. He looked not all that happy. Sure she can hike in flip-flops if her husband carries her pack! :-(
The hike was great
fun, we
took it easy and yet made it very quickly to Bright Angel Campground.
We found a nice camp spot next to the biggest soaking hole, as well. I
managed to get a hold of the rangers, and explained my shoe problem.
They said they'd check into it and let me know. They seemed so
competent and calm! We spent considerable time splashing in the creek,
and then went to Phantom Ranch for some delicious lemonade and writing
postcards. My legs were very swollen, they looked like elephant feet,
and that hurt, as well. I had never had that problem and was a bit
worried. I managed
to find the ranger, and asked for advice on the problem. He was utterly
unconcerned and advised me to soak in the creek. He also told me had
found a solution for my boots, and that I should stop by at the Ranger
Station later. When I went there, I was given a box of screws, a
screwdriver and pliers. I was instructed to put screws through the sole
and then clip off the ends at the top, similar to the way a horseshoe
is nailed to the hoof. It took us a while to get the hang of it, and we
actually ended up putting in the screws from the top and not clipping
off anything. As it turns out, that worked really well, and I had no
problems at all anymore. A big thank you to the rangers for this help!
I was very impressed with the solution and grateful for the help.
 Strolling down Devil's Corkscrew on the Bright Angel Trail (I am the little blue/green dot, with the big smile) |
 View from the river part of Bright Angel Trail |
 Crossing the Silver Bridge |
 Bright Angel Creek |
 Bruised, blistered, hot, with uncomfortably swollen "elephant legs" - and still, deeply happy |
 Another happy hiker |
 Bright Angel wildlife can read! |
 Bright Angel Creek |
 The rugged outdoors man |
 Removing extra dirt before the shoes get fixed |
 An unusual shoe repair kit - a box of screws, a screwdriver and pliers! |
 My personal cobbler competently taking care of my boots |
 Domestic scene |
 Ditto |
 More wildlife |
We had a whole day at Bright Angel, and decided to take it easy. After breakfast and a dip, we took a small hike, up to the Clear Creek overlook. On our way, we put in a leisurely coffee break at Phantom Ranch, after all it is vacation. The hike was fun and easy, especially without a pack. The views upriver were particularly beautiful. On our way back, we made another lemonade stop, which was again nice.
 View downriver from Clear Creek Overlook |
 View upriver from Clear Creek Overlook |
 Another downriver view from Clear Creek Overlook |
 View from the River Trail |
 A mule sticking out its tongue |
 Another happy hiker scene |
In the morning, Bright Angel Creek ran really red and muddy from the rain, and it was still cloudy and cool. Perfect hiking weather. The trail was smooth and ascended gently, which made for pleasant and easy hiking. The trail goes for a long time through the granite rocks of the Grand Canyon supergroup, which are very beautiful. The rocks are mostly black, with pink "ribbons." My boots held up well, but my feet were a bit iffy and despite being wrapped carefully, started hurting. I stopped to add padding and protection, which helped for a little while, but that did not solve the problem. We came to Ribbon Falls, and made the little detour to the falls, which was well worth it. The falls are absolutely beautiful, a little cool oasis in the desert. Standing at the bottom of the falls, and then looking up, one feels as if the water has to come directly onto one's head. And, the mist from the waterfall is lovely. Around the falls, there are mosses and ferns, it is truely lovely. One can easily walk to the top of the falls, which is fun. Lovely, lovely spot.
When we reached our packs, we took a break and I tended to my feet. Even though I had carefully wrapped and covered my heel, the materials had shifted, and as a result, I had a raw spot and a blister. It continued to feel sore, and I hiked part of the way to Cottonwood very carefully and gingerly. The weather changed, we got heavy clouds moving in from the South Rim, and even had a very impressive thunderstorm over the Canyon. It was spectacular! I had never seen a thunderstorm move in on me like that. It was powerful, but not scary, more invigorating. The weather moved North and in on us - somehow, the adrenaline made my pain disappear and we flew over the trail for the last stretch. We took the obligatory photo of the trail sign when the rain just started and had merely enough time to drop our pack, cover them with the rainfly and pull out our rain jackets.
We could not set up the tent, and waited out the rain under the shelter of the Ranger Stations's front door roof. We shared that spot with a man from Phoenix who had taken his son on a hike on his 13th birthday. It was nice to talk to them, and there were two more father-son pairs in the campground. It seems as if every campground has its specific population: Indian Garden had many older folks, Bright Angel a lot of college-aged groups, and Cottonwood was Father-Son territory, it seems. We also met a group from Mississippi. Three (I think) men from a church lead a group of teenagers. They had planned a cross-canyon hike arranged for a car exchnage with a group that crossed the canyon the opposite direction. Unfortunately, despite diligent planning, the leaders seem to have underestimated how strenuous the hike would be, and ended up staying at Cottonwood. They gave us some of their extra moleskin and extra food, which we had for lunch. The rangers took a lot of food off these guys - I suspect that this was an unusual gesture to lighten the load of this group. After the rain we picked one of the worst, or best, campspots: absolutely no shade, but incredible views of both the South and the North Rim. It was cool enough after the thunderstorms that the lack of shade was not a major problem.
We enjoyed the
last evening
under the rim with sweeping views. When we went to Bright Angel Creek
to take a dip, it was running deep brown, almost like melted chocolate.
We also could not see the bottom of the creek. The conditions were not
so inviting, and we skipped the
dip. We had an early dinner, because we had decided to get up at 3AM
the next morning. The views from our spot were spectacular. The side
canyon is fairly wide, which allows for wide views if the sky and the
moonlight on the rocks. It was hard to go to bed, rather than spend the
night watching the moon and the stars.
 On the North Kaibab Trail |
 Happy hiker at Ribbon Falls |
 Ribbon Falls, with Vincent at the top of the Falls |
 Thunderstorm moving in from the South Rim |
 Lightening over the North Kaibab Trail |
 Bright Angel Creek running like melted cholocate after the thunderstorm |
 Cottonwood Campground |
 Cottonwood Campground |
In the middle of the night I woke up, and caught the moon set towards the South Rim - a very impressive view. The alarm woke us up at 3AM, and we actually got up. It was fairly light from the stars, and I could make coffee without headlamp. In fact, I made breakfast while watching the milky way. It was truely amazing! So many stars. When I took out my monocular, I saw evn more stars, it was beyond what one would imagine. One of the brief, treasured moments of Canyon hiking. We wrapped up fairly quickly (for us), and managed to be on the trail well before 5 AM. Hiking at that early hour was very pleasant. We briefly stopped at the pumping station residence. I had to attend to my blisters and used the last little bit of Spenco Second Skin on my right heel. If that secret weapon did not work, I would have a very painful day ahead of me. We also filled up our water - at the strong recommendation of the rangers, we carried a full gallon, which in the end proved way too much, even though both of us have the habit of drinking fairly regularly. I thought that the Cottonwood rangers were much too dramatic in their description of the trail - sure, it was a considerable climb (which we knew), but by and large, this was a very smooth sailing and pleasant hike, not even remotely as grueling as we had been told. While I understand that the rangers want to be careful, espeically after having handled a group that was a bit overwhelmed, I am not sure that this is a good strategy, either. We knew from the maps that the trail would be steep, but this is an easy trail that has water at the Supai tunnel and shade for a long time.
Since my feet had given me more trouble, I decided not to go to Roaring Springs with Vincent, and instead go ahead slowly. Vincent would catch up with me later. The walking was fun - my legs and head repeatedly wanted to go fast, but the feet did not allow that. So, I just ambled along and enjoyed the views. The North Kaibab trail is very pretty, which made for very good hiking.
When I reached the footbridge, I decided to wait for Vincent, who came in almost 30 minutes after me. So, I guess my slow hiking had not been all that slow. The trail got very steep and switchbacked after the bridge - basically until we reached the Supai tunnel, which came up surprisingly fast. From there on, the trail went steeply up in more tight switchbacks. The sun came up, and it got a bit warmer. Fortunately, the trail became more shaded from trees, so it was not too bad.
However, when we reached the more forested parts of the trail, we also felt the altitude, quite badly. I was breathing very heavily and had to stop every two switchbacks to replenish my oxygen. The trail actually flattened out a bit, but I started breathing as if I had just run a sprint. It was a good excuse to look around and enjoy the pine forsts coming in. Very beautiful and pleasant. We reached the trailhead at about 11:30 AM, quite early. The group from Mississippi had come in not too far ahead of us, tired, but happy. One of the boys told me excitedly that he had seen the milky way in the morning while hiking. That was a very sweet moment.
 Views of the North Kaibab Trail above Roaring Springs |
 View down North Kaibab Trail - from Supai Tunnel to the footbridge |
 At the Supai Tunnel |
 We made it!!! |
 Hero's burial for our Teva's (2nd attempt) |
 From Point Imperial |
 Vermillion Cliffs |
We got up early to be able to have some time in Phoenix, if possible, which didn't happen. We watched early morning in the desert, and enjoyed the last views of the Vermillion Cliffs before setting off. We only had some coffee, and decided to have breakfast in Flagstaff. We both believed that we had seen an Ihop there - and for old times sake, Vincent wanted to have breakfast there. We looked and looked and looked - and did not find an Ihop, and had to settle for Denny's. Oh well.
The drive was
beautiful, and we made
it well in time to the rental car return. We checked our luggage
smoothly, had a coffee and then flew home.
 Enjoying the morning sun at Cliffdweller's Lodge |