DESTINATION Generic 407 Photosets
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| South Kaibab-Bright Angel Loop, AZ | |
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| | South Kaibab-Bright Angel Loop, AZ | | | |
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South Kaibab-Bright Angel Loop, AZ
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| Hiking | 17.40 Miles |
4,800 AEG |
| | Hiking | 17.40 Miles | | | |
| 4,800 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | My one and only trip to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
You can count the number of times I have been to the Grand Canyon in my life on one hand. Not high on my list of places I feel I must visit, in part due to the long distance from where I live, but also because of the crowds. If I go back there it will be as a tourist, not hiker (which has been the case in all visits except this trip). I still would like to ride the train up there and stay at the historic El Tovar, but that is about it.
That said, it was pretty exciting to get together with some hiking friends and actually hike down to Phantom Ranch and back up! This trip came about because Pam H. and Sistine C. wanted to do the Rim-Rim-Rim monster hike. So, Paul and Pam drove up, with Petra G. riding with me. Randy and Sistine were already staying at the Maswik, and Paul, Pam, Petra, and I camped in the woods just outside the park entrance. After we set up camp we drove to the Maswik to meet them, and had dinner there.
The plan for the monster hike was for Pam and Sistine to hit the trail at about 4:00 AM, and hopefully getting back to the South Rim by around 10:00 PM. As I recall that is about the way it turned out. For the rest of us, we had a whole day to kill, so Paul, Petra, and I did the hike down the Kaibab and back up the Bright Angel, while Randy C. hung around on the Rim doing other things.
We took the shuttle down to the South Kaibab TH and began our adventure. No problems cruising down to the river, and I must admit the incredible views just got more awesome the deeper in the gorge you got. We went over to the Phantom Ranch Canteen and got something to eat and drink and took a break before starting back up the Bright Angel. I was thoroughly enjoying the hike, as it was all new to me. We took another break at Indian Garden and topped off our water supplies, before the final push back to the Rim.
The hike was getting a little tedious a ways beyond Indian Garden. By the time we reached the 1.5 mile resthouse I was out of gas. Pretty much hike a hundred yards, stop, and try to make some more progress (It is quite steep in that last section). Hey look! There's the tunnel, guess I'm almost done! What? There's another one? Dang. 
Paul and Petra finished strong (she had her mind set on getting an ice cream cone). After relaxing a bit on the Rim, Petra and I started the drive back to Tucson, while Paul and Randy hiked down to Indian Garden to wait for Pam and Sistine to give them some company and encouragement on the final leg of their long day.
That was quite the trip and another great memory!
"Golly, What a Gully!" |
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