We spent the night at the top of the south rim and although it was May, the weather was nice, so we didn't feel rushed to be up at the crack of dawn to beat the heat.
We headed down the South Kaibab trail and it wasn't long before Preston and Garret were light years ahead of Terry and I. With my bad knees I'm slow at going down and the Kaibab trail is extremely steep - almost 7 miles of switchbacks.
While the trail is steep the views are breathtaking and I wanted Preston and Garrett to see how beautiful the canyon is. You get a completely different perspective of the canyon as you hike down into it than the view you get from the top just looking over the edge. Everything is so much larger than it looks from the top and so much further away.
After about 4 hours Terry and I finally made it to the river and the ranch. Preston and Garrett beat us by about an hour - youth!!
Phantom Ranch was built around the turn of the century and is the only place where the post office delivers by mule. In fact, all their supplies are delivered by mule.
We stayed in dorms that house 10 men or women and you get the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. You receive a 4:30 am wake up call each morning for hikers who are hiking out that day.
We all enjoyed a nice soak in the freezing water of Bright Angel Creek that runs through Phantom Ranch. The temperature at the bottom is about the same as Phoenix's, so the creek was a nice place to stay cool as well.
The next day we headed up the trail towards the north rim about 6 miles.
A good portion of the trail follows Bright Angel Creek crossing it several times and is shaded by cliffs and cottonwood trees.
In the end you are rewarded with Ribbon Falls - a beautiful waterfall. This picture doesn't do it justice or give you the perspective of how big it is. We arrived early and were the only ones there for about an hour. The falls were still in the shade and the water was freezing!
While this looks like the top of the waterfall, it really starts hundreds of feet above this spot. I think places like this are what make the Grand Canyon so wonderful. You are hiking along in the dust and then you come to a place with ferns and moss and beautiful water - so unexpected.
Preston was the bravest of us all and while the falls were still in the shade and very cold, he went in under the falls and on the top of the falls.
He also hiked as far as he could along the crack in the wall and you can see him - just a little spec. Again perspective is everything and you can't tell how high or far he is.
We spent most of the day playing and laying around the waterfall, and when it finally warmed up enough, I made a couple of treks into the falls.
Preston was also the first to check out the hole under and inside the falls which we all ended up making our way into.
Here is Terry gingerly picking his way to the little "cave" through the icy water. The wind was blowing and would shift the falls and the mist and absolutely take your breath away if you were hit by either.
The little rocks were sharp and none of us had brought water shoes.
Here I am looking through a hole you could climb up to after going in the bottom hole. You can see it just above Terry's head on the previous picture.
We got nice and wet and then started the 6 mile hike back to the ranch to listen to the ranger talk and have dinner.
The next morning we got up early to start our climb out of the canyon. Here I am crossing the Colorado River on our ascent.
Preston and Garrett decided to hike back up the Kaibab trail, while Terry and I headed up Bright Angel. We had three more miles to go than the boys, but Bright Angel is not as steep and we are old. The boys ended up beating us by about an hour again, but they both said that hiking out was one of the hardest things they had ever done (wait until they get on their missions).
Here's Terry smiling away as we leave the river.
This is looking back at the part of the trail known as Devil's Corkscrew. It is a devil of a trail, and we were glad when we had finished this part.
While the trail can be daunting, you are rewarded with unsuspecting jems like this waterfall
He also hiked as far as he could along the crack in the wall and you can see him - just a little spec. Again perspective is everything and you can't tell how high or far he is.
We spent most of the day playing and laying around the waterfall, and when it finally warmed up enough, I made a couple of treks into the falls.
Preston was also the first to check out the hole under and inside the falls which we all ended up making our way into.
Here is Terry gingerly picking his way to the little "cave" through the icy water. The wind was blowing and would shift the falls and the mist and absolutely take your breath away if you were hit by either.
The little rocks were sharp and none of us had brought water shoes.
Here I am looking through a hole you could climb up to after going in the bottom hole. You can see it just above Terry's head on the previous picture.
We got nice and wet and then started the 6 mile hike back to the ranch to listen to the ranger talk and have dinner.
The next morning we got up early to start our climb out of the canyon. Here I am crossing the Colorado River on our ascent.Preston and Garrett decided to hike back up the Kaibab trail, while Terry and I headed up Bright Angel. We had three more miles to go than the boys, but Bright Angel is not as steep and we are old. The boys ended up beating us by about an hour again, but they both said that hiking out was one of the hardest things they had ever done (wait until they get on their missions).
Here's Terry smiling away as we leave the river.
This is looking back at the part of the trail known as Devil's Corkscrew. It is a devil of a trail, and we were glad when we had finished this part.
While the trail can be daunting, you are rewarded with unsuspecting jems like this waterfall that looks small but really was quite large.
Here is Terry finally making his way out- after 10 miles and 5 hours. You really have to admire him. He carried a 25 pound pack down and up and is 71 years old! All total, we hiked about 30 miles in 3 days, of which 17 of it was straight up or straight down.
Here is Terry finally making his way out- after 10 miles and 5 hours. You really have to admire him. He carried a 25 pound pack down and up and is 71 years old! All total, we hiked about 30 miles in 3 days, of which 17 of it was straight up or straight down. The Grand Canyon is a magnificent place but it can really kick your butt! Garrett, we loved having you, but Jip we wish you had been with us!
1 comment:
OH my word! I don't think I could do that! Well I probably could but I wouldn't be able to walk for about a week. It is so beautiful there and I'm so glad you get to do it with Preston. Good memories:)
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