We arrived at the south rim of the canyon on Halloween. It was a cool, blustery day but we mustered our enthusiasm and took off on our bikes to explore Hermit Road which follows the rim to the west. There are many magnificent overlooks and no cars on this route. Until December, you either hike, bike or ride the convenient shuttles. Upon reaching Hermit's Rest, the end of the road, we put our bikes on the shuttle and enjoyed the warm bus back to the main village.
The first evening we camped in the fairly deserted Mather Campground. It is a nice spot with lots of trees, but no hook-ups so we were quite cold when our diesel heater failed (again). This forced us to move to Trailer Village the next day, which is still in the park. Trailer Village lacks any natural beauty and should be called the trailer parking lot.
Luckily, we secured a permit to camp in the canyon and by Tuesday we were more than ready to hike to the bottom. The canyon bottom is always warmer than the rim and we were looking forward to the 70 degree temperatures. Philip and I decided to take the shorter route, the South Kaibab, hiking six miles down to the Colorado River and Bright Angel Campground.
Never underestimate the difficulty (aka pain) of walking down six miles. Once the euphoria of arriving wanes, your calves start screaming at you. And they don't really ever stop until days later. I saw people who could not maneuver the steps at Phantom Ranch.
Yes, there is a ranch at the base just north of the Colorado River in Bright Angel Canyon...and you can buy beer and wine or make a phone call if you need to. As a matter of fact, there are flush toilets at the campgrounds (at least until the water pipe breaks). We learned that all the water on the south rim is piped from the north rim. If you look at a map you'll understand how unfathomable this might be.
The campsites border a nice creek. There is little privacy, however it can be amusing to see the vast variety of people of all ages who hike in the canyon. Most look quite happy, while others appear to be on a death march. During our two day stay, we took in three ranger programs on bats, condors and the Powell expedition. We drank just one beer and no wine!
Wednesday we took it easy and stretched our legs on a 12-mile hike to Ribbon Falls. It was worth the effort. To reach the falls, you hike north on the Kaibab Trail through a lovely canyon, following the river all the way.
Thursday, we headed up the Bright Angel Trail to Indian Garden Campground. A sweet spot halfway to the rim. The campsites all have shaded picnic tables and lots of greenery. It was from this spot that Philip and I saw our first condor. We really enjoyed watching this giant bird catching thermals. The story of their near extinction and successful reintroduction was dramatically told to us by Ranger Pam Cox. Pam has hiked in and out of the canyon more than 400 times during her 14-year career in the park.
The best views we found of the canyon were at sunset from Plateau Point, which sits 1.5 miles north of the campground. There you have a 360 view of the canyon walls and the river below.
The last haul to the rim, climbing 3000 feet in 5 miles, was easier than we imagined. We passed the time chatting with a young woman from Chicago we nicknamed "Pillow". Miss Pillow hiked with a large old style cotton sleeping bag and a pillow strapped to her backpack. She wore sneakers, worn athletic socks and a big smile.
Just before leaving the canyon bottom, we had a long chat with Ranger Della. She spoke so highly of her home, Flagstaff, that we decided to make up for lost calories and head to "Flag" to catch up on our culinary pursuits.
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