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| Backpack | 54.16 Miles |
11,311 AEG |
| | Backpack | 54.16 Miles | 2 Days 9 Hrs 50 Mns | | |
| 11,311 ft AEG | | 20 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | The 2nd of 3 Grand Canyon backpacking trips for 2023.
Preface
As college students, the best time for vacation was during the summer, which can be brutal in the canyon. My hiking partner was only available in late July for their first trip to GC. I previously did a R2R in 2017. We decided on South Kaibab - North Kaibab - Bright Angel with 2 nights at Cottonwood Campground. We had 2 interesting encounters in the early morning of Day 3.
Day 1 - Lemonade and Ribbon Falls
The first Hikers' Express shuttle arrived arrived at 4 AM to take us to the South Kaibab TH. Today was ~14 miles from the TH to Cottonwood. We topped off our water and headed down the canyon by headlamp. The shelter at the Tipoff enticed us to stop and have a quick break, followed by crossing the black bridge. We made it to the Canteen right at 8 AM and enjoyed a few cups of lemonade before entering the Box section of North Kaibab. We also collected out passport stamps at the Ranger Station. After an hour or so in the Box, we decided to cool off in the Bright Angel creek by laying down in a shallow section and it was very relieving to escape the intense heat. Around noon we crossed the creek to visit Ribbon Falls before arriving to camp. We thought about visiting Upper Ribbon Falls, but we were content with our time with the lower falls. We arrived at Cottonwood at 1 PM and collected our passport stamps and above us was a thermometer in the shade reading 102F. We spend the rest of the day eating food and enjoying the creek.
Day 2 - North Rim
The plan for today was to keep our tents and other non-essential gear at our campsite at Cottonwood as we ascend to the North Rim and visit the Visitor Center for the passport stamps. We started down the trail at 5 AM followed by a quick break at Manzanita to fill up water and sketch a doodle on the chalk board. We had to wait for the bathrooms to be finished cleaning before using them. It was fascinating seeing all of the equipment to perform the trail repairs due to the rock slides earlier that year. There were several steel cables spanning across the canyon nearby. We also spotted a fresh pipeline fracture across the canyon from North Kaibab trail where the water was gushing out spraying against the canyon wall. As we were nearing the final ascent to the Coconino Overlook, a nearby horse escaped a tour group and the wrangler shouted to us to grab it, which we were able to stop it! We made it to the TH at 11 AM and debated on stopping at the gas station store or just to proceed to the lodge and visitor center. There is no shuttle on the North Rim like the South Rim and we debated on asking to hitch-hike, but being from NJ we have never done that, so we just followed the path to the lodge. We collected our stamps, enjoyed the views, inhaled lunch at the deli, and started back down North Kaibab at 4 PM. I have not been to the North Rim since 2017 and I completely forgot the powerful moment of seeing the San Francisco Peaks above the South Rim. I thought it was interesting that visitation to Roaring Springs is off limits now as I remember in 2017 that we could take the side trail to the base of the springs. Luckily it was partly cloudy today so the temperature at Cottonwood was only 90F when we arrived back at 7 PM.
Day 3 - Strange Encounters
Since this was the first time for my hiking partner to visit the corridor trails, I splurged and reserved breakfast at the Canteen for late seating (6:30AM) so we woke up at 3 AM to complete the ~7 miles to make it on time. The moon was very bright and lit up the canyon, but we still hiked with headlamp. On the way to Phantom Ranch, we observed a skunk on the side of the trail, a first for me. Soon after, we had another encounter. This time, a woman in a white dress was approaching us in the opposite direction with no headlamp. When we crossed paths, she appeared to have no pack or gear. We were very confused and we asked if she was okay and where she was heading. We do not remember exactly recall, but I remember being confused because she said something along the lines of going to a meadow, which does not make sense to me. We arrived at the Canteen by 6AM, but the staff was able to feed us early since it was just the 2 of us for breakfast. My partner and I really enjoyed the meal and felt it was worth the money to receive all of the fresh food and calories considering our relatively aggressive itinerary for the time of the year. We crossed Silver Bridge at 7AM and making it to Havasupai Gardens before 10AM. Side note, we passed a mother/daughter descending North Kaibab on Day 2, they passed Cottonwood around 8PM with the plan to hike R2R through the night. We passed them again on the way to Havasupai Gardens and they looked exhausted. We took quick breaks at the 2 rest houses and made it to the TH at 2:30PM. Until next time in November. |
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