Hiking across the Grand Canyon: Part 2

We woke up about 5am, packed up loose items into our rucksacks and walked from our cabin over to the front entrance of the Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim.  Since we had about 15 miles of tough hiking ahead for the day, I didn't feel bad taking the hotel shuttle the mile-and-a-half over to the North Kaibab Trailhead.  It dropped us off at 5:30am and we were on our way into the Canyon, with the temp in the chilly low 40's.

We only saw a handful of other hikers in the next several hours as we progressively dropped altitude and passed landmarks like Coconino Point and the Supai Tunnel.  There were initially pine trees, but they gradually gave way to yucca plants and cacti along the steep trail of red rocks and dust.  After crossing the first bridge across the creek, the trail eased off a bit as it entered a section where workers in the 1920's had blasted it into the side of the rock wall.  The drop off was significant, so we stayed well on the wall side of the 4-foot trail. 

The day definitely started heating up and we felt a big jump in the temp when the sun got high enough to shine into the Canyon directly onto the trail.  We were doing well and after about five miles came to Roaring Springs, where the water literally comes out of a rock wall to form the Bright Angel Creek.  This spring is the source of water for all visitors and hikers in the park.  And just beyond it was the Pumphouse, where we took a break and learned from a ranger that the water pipe through the Canyon had broken somewhere further on.  We filled up on water and were glad we had purification tablets.

Less than two miles later, we walked through Cottonwood Campground at about the halfway point and continued on in the growing heat of the late morning.  Just south of the camp, we took a small trail off to the west and after a mile of hiking arrived at Ribbon Falls.  This oasis in the Canyon is a waterfall cascading onto large rocks inside a small side canyon - the shade and cool air made for a great break site for half an hour.

Knowing we still had a lot of miles to go, especially in the heat and sun, we crossed over the creek and got back onto the North Kaibab Trail.  Kaibab is a native American word meaning 'mountain lying down' - a reference to how the Canyon looks like an inverse mountain.

By now, the trail had flattened out, but the challenge ahead was the heat as we entered the area known as the Inner Gorge where the rock dates back 1.7 billion years.  One ranger told us that there are no dinosaur fossils anywhere in the Canyon because all of the rock, even the layers at the rims, is too old.  Not being well-acclimated to the heat, we continued to drink a lot of water and the pace slowed a bit.  Some clouds helped provide some occasional shade, but the final couple of miles were not as enjoyable as the first part of the hike.  The canyon narrows in this part of the Canyon dubbed "The Box" and gets very hot.  There was also a sense of Groundhog Day as each section of the winding trail kept looking the same - each time we got around a bend, it looked just like what we had just hiked.  The Canyon gets hotter as the elevation drops, with temps above 100 degrees F common at this time of year, so I wanted to complete the hike before too long.  We took a good break in a small spot of shade along the trail, ate lunch to replace some of calories we'd burned, and rested a bit. 

We then continued on and passed a park work crew that was working to fix the pipe break.  They had been helicoptered in with their gear and were using a jackhammer to get through a section of the trail that consisted of some rock and mortar, likely constructed to help prevent trail erosion from the creek.  Those guys were definitely earning their pay as we waved and continued on.

Finally after eight hours on the trail, and a 50+ degree rise in the temperature since we started in the morning, we walked into Phantom Ranch and dropped our rucksacks on a bench near the canteen building in the shade.  We went inside, got some drinks and snacks, and spent some time resting and talking with other hikers.  I also sent a couple of postcards, as the novelty is that the mail is carried out by mules to the post office on the South Rim.

Since there were no evening meals available at the canteen building, we ate a quiet dinner at a picnic table near the creek.  It was nothing fancy given the MRE entrees, but it was nice to relax after the long, tough day.  We have a joke that we tell people when they ask why we'd do something like this hike - 'Some wives get to go on vacation, my wife gets to go on adventures.'  Following dinner, we got on our swimsuits and waded into the knee-high creek to cool off in the cold waters.  It was great to rinse of the sweat and dust of the day.

After a change of clothes, we went to the evening entertainment - an interesting ranger presentation on some of the failed expeditions in the Canyon - and then went to bed early.  The plan was for a 5am wake up time and a 5:30am start.  The park rescue team at the Grand Canyon has a motto: Down is optional, Up is mandatory.  

Next up: We get an early start on the 10-mile hike up the Bright Angel Trail and back to the South Rim.