What a day. With our flight being delayed we did not even reach our hotel in Bellemont until around 04:00. Three hours of sleep and we were getting ready to depart a bit after 08:00 and out the door around 09:00. Andy likes to squeeze a lot into a little time which can be a good thing but not always. A calorie-rich , no doubt unhealthy, breakfast at McDonalds and then we drove through the lightly snow covered terrain of Northern Arizona at 7,000 feet above sea level through forest of what seemed to be evergreens (pines, firs) to Grand Canyon South Rim. It was turning into a lovely day. Perhaps a bit cloudier than sunny but surprisingly warm for mid-January at 7,200 feet above sea level. Certainly in the low 40s by the time we parked the car.
With one thing and another we did not set our feet upon the South Kaibab Trail until about 13:20. We had chatted with the handful of other people on the shuttle bus including two Frenchmen who planned to trail run down South Kaibab and up Bright Angel (about 16 miles total distance and a gain and loss of about 4,800 feet each) in five hours. I bet they did it. My Hyperlite Mountain Gear Southwestern 3400 got some of its first suite of positive comments. Too bad Lil is using it instead of me. But it is the right choice given the gear she could use.
At the top patches of snow covered the rim, ice and snow covered the trail, and out beyond the canyon yawned open in its many colored hues of various rocks, curves of cliffs, towering formations, and a cloud laced sky that was steadily becoming less cloudy.
It is an immense vista and I do not really know how to properly describe it. If I had the technical expertise I could tell you about what you see and how the rocks change as you look down into the depths of the canyon and back into geological history. I don’t. There is also a quiet about the place broken by human voices and other man-made sounds but beyond that it can be incredibl silent. At this time of year sounds of life are limited. I am sure I heard more birdsong in Tucson last week than I have yet heard at the rim of the canyon or down here by Bright Angel Creek just a short distance away.
At the rim even the South Kaibab, which is considerably more exposed to the glory of solar radiation than Bright Angel Trail, has its share of snow and icy bits. We strapped on traction aiding devices of various sorts and struck out down the winding switchbacks. Views opened up as we went down. Now and then day hikers who went to check places out perhaps even a few who had gone all the way down trudged passed us climbing up and out. Two mule trains carrying supplies (luggage?) came on by too. We kept on.
Of course, Oh Ah Point elicited all the ohs and aha you could want. A little while later the expanse of Cedar Ridge enticed us to shed our packs and take a break to soak up sun, rest the legs, and just enjoy the views. We were all but alone - our group of five. It was about 15:00 when we left once more.
Down and down. Through shady bits and sunshine. Through hot spots (Lil) and tiring legs (all). The group spread out. Andy and Joni pulled ahead while Doug, Lil and I trailed behind. When I got to Skeleton Point I talked with a couple (German man and French woman) who were out for the day and definitely enjoying themselves as they got ready to turn around and head back up from Skeleton Point. When Lil and Doug caught up we continued on down into the Grotto (or is it The Box) where you can really get your first good and proper views of the Colorado River raging below. When you see that it is hard to recall that pretty much every drop of water in the river is spoken for by people and the vast majority (if not all for all intents and purposes) never really makes it to the Gulf of Mexico.
Breaks to tend feet and let legs rest. Doug was really feeling the strain. The leukotape Andy and I gave Lil was doing its job saving her hotspots. But it was slow going. But in time, just after official sunset I think, Lil and I reached the pavilion at The Tip-off. The Tipoff is on the Tonto Platform which is a great expanse of generally flat land broken up by washes and side canyons that runs scores miles on both sides of the canyon. We found Joni waiting for us. Andy had pulled way ahead and by this point probably wasn’t all that far from the campground. Doug eventually came into view. Struggling. He decided it was safest to just camp at the pavilion and Joni who was not quite as bad off as Doug but not doing well decided to stay with him. I got them sorted out with extra water and Lil and I saw them settling in before we pushed on ahead and down.
The sky was darkening and soon headlamps came out and were flicked on. Our pace slowed down. Way down. Lil was struggling herself so we took several breaks as we worked our way down the broad trail. Extra tall steps appear often enough to be irksome but they really do not hold a candle to other trails I can think of like Sweatwater and Kong’s Canyon in Saguaro National Park. we plodded on. It is about 2.5 miles to the campground and it took us about 2 hours and 20 minutes to cover that distance. We pulled into camp just a bit before 21:00. Spent.
But after a hot meal and getting tents set up with the good help of Andy (once filled in by me about the changes) Lil crawled into her tent and passed out. Andy and I were up later but by 23:30 I crawled into bed too and lay there while Andy snored and Lil made tiny sounds too.
What a day and night.
PA final note: while setting up my Tarptent Bowfin 1S Andy ccaught a huge splinter from the long carbon fiber tent pole. It just shredded in his hand. Getting the splinter out , and being sure it was all out, was a real challenge. I am pretty sure I could not have done it had I been solo. This was a major materials failure. The next day as Doug and Andy inspected the pole Doug got a splinter from a different spot on the pole. Tarptent will be replacing the pole with an aluminum one but perhaps there is something about this type of carbon fiber that is problematic for tent poles. I realize carbon fiber is used in other pole-like structures including fishing rods and trekking poles but I suspect it is used in different ways. I will be leary of carbon fiber poles, my Bowfin still has a small two-piece one, in the future].
Photos
--January 16, 2020 at 15:10:03. Grand Canyon, AZ, United States
--January 16, 2020 at 16:00:20. Williams, AZ, United States
--January 16, 2020 at 16:29:41. Williams, AZ, United States
--January 16, 2020 at 17:13:33. Williams, AZ, United States
--January 16, 2020 at 18:17:46. Williams, AZ, United States
--January 16, 2020 at 18:50:13. Williams, AZ, United States
--January 16, 2020 at 19:09:30. Williams, AZ, United States
It has taken a bit more than two hours to get to this point, the black bridge, from the tip off. We are almost there.
--January 16, 2020 at 20:21:26. Williams, AZ, United States
Stats
7.3 miles with a screw up following a lovely river path instead of the right trail into Bright Angel campground. A good 4,800 feet descent.
weather: Cloudy and then sunny with enough clouds to make the sunset nice and orange. Sun high temp easily upper 60-Second with a low in the 40s.
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