South Kaibab to Phantom Ranch

I traveled to Flagstaff on Wed night to spend the night with Kurt and Julie. It was my first time using the gps and I heard the term "recalculating" a number of times as I missed numerous turns. It turns out that it tells you to turn even though it really doesn't want you to. I took the machine at it's command and it had to recalculate until I got the hang of it.

Eventually I made it. The drive was pretty but longer than I expected especially with those "recalculations". The nicest part was going by Lake Mary as the sun was setting. It was great catching up with Kurt and Julie but I tried to hit the sack earlyish (9:30).

I planned to leave by 6am but hit the snooze and actually left around 6:30. I am not sure the gps took me the shortest way but I made it to the Grand Canyon. On the way in I saw a few elk. They crossed the road right in front of me.

It was quite chilly when I arrived. I saw several elk on the way in. I caught the 9am South Kaibab Hiker shuttle which was very full when it picked up. A boy scout troop from Tucson was on it as well as a group from Canada. I tried to wait them out and let them get on the trail ahead of me but to no avail. We got on the trail at exactly the same time. No problem I passed them at their first rest break.

The trail was in great condition. I didn't need the yaktrax I bought and brought. The weather was also great. The colors inside the canyon were lovely. I hope the pictures do it justice.

It was so amazing walking down and hard to describe the sheer size of the colorful rock faces around me as I walked down. It was magical and I hope that my photos can reflect some if this. I felt so awed by the towering rock formations near and far.

Although there were many people on the trail like Milford track, I was generally alone to ponder the beauty and magnitude of it except for a squirrel now and then. One cheeky fella put on a little show for me. I got a few cute photos of him.

On the way down I passed a trail maintenance crew using a jack hammer. Although this was loud and obnoxious it reminded me the work required to build and maintain the trail. I guess the same goes for the mule train carrying the trash out even though I almost got a face full of trash as it passed.

As I walked down the temperature rose steadily and I rapidly stripped off my layers- jacket, fleece, hat, and finally long sleeve shirt.

Eventually I made it down to the Colorado river and passed over the Black Bridge. All mule trains go over the Black Bridge which has wood planking. The other bridge has a grate bottom which scares the mules.

Across the river were 800 year old Indian ruins, the Bright Angel camground and finally Phantom Ranch. It took me 4.5 hours to hike down. I checked into my dorm and ate lunch contemplating what to do next. There are a number of hikes from Phantom Ranch. I wanted to do two of them - Clear Creek and Ribbon Falls. With only one full day down at Phantom Ranch and a ten mile ascent to the South Rim it was a hard choice. So I decided to hike out part of the Clear Creek trail after I finished my late lunch and go to Ribbon Falls on my full day.

The first section of the Clear Creek trail goes up without relent for about a mile but you are paid off with more stunning views of the river - this time from the north and heading east. I walked along the trail for a out another mile or so. Then I returned to it dorm room for a hot shower. By now it had cooled down so that even in a long sleeve shirt I was chilly outside.

I ate dinner with one of the women from my dorm and her husband. The were very nice. I also met a film mker who made a documentary about the first blind man to climb Everest. The food was awesome. I had veggie chili and there was also stew. This was accompained by salad, corn bread, and chocolate cake. I also bought a beer to go along with it. The other women in my dorm went to the earlier meal which was steak. (All meals must be booked in advance)

After dinner I went back to the dorm and discovered my roommates in bed. I decided to type up this blog entry on my iphone and then hit the sack myself.