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| Hiking | 26.00 Miles |
10,280 AEG |
| | Hiking | 26.00 Miles | | | |
| 10,280 ft AEG | | 50 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | We left Scottsdale early morning on the 24th of May. Got to South Rim at about 12:30 PM just in time to check in for the trans canyon shuttle. Then we took the 4.5 plus hour shuttle ride to the North Rim. We arrived at the North Rim CG at about 6:30. I was surprised to see they sold firewood and beer at the general store! It was 29 degrees and super windy that night and I froze my butt off. We left the CG about 7AM and took the trail leaving the Camp ground over to the North Kibab TH. There was actually a bit of snow on the trail here and there. The decent into the canyon as breathtaking! Water was available at all stops along the way. I actually got most of my soreness and blisters from the hike down. We arrived at Cotton Wood CG at about noon. We set up camp, ate lunch and rested a bit. We then decided since we had so much daylight that we'd hike a few miles and go check out Ribbon Falls. Ribbon falls was so amazing that we hiked back in the next morning on our way to Phantom Ranch. The hike down to Phantom was pleasant and the scenery was just unbelievable. It got quite warm I'd say a high of close to 90. We arrived at Phantom Ranch Mid day and enjoyed some much needed ice cold Tecate. We also went and hung out in the stream that runs along Bright Angel CG. The water was so refreshing. I woke up that night to a large ring tail playing on the cliff side of our campsite. We broke down camp in the dark and set out at sun rise for the long hard trek out to the South Rim. This is hands down the toughest 10 miles I've ever done! Most of the Bright Angel trail is straight up full of unrelenting switchbacks. Luckily water was readily available at all the rest stops which meant we could carry less water. We took a much needed long rest at Indian Garden and then hiked the rest of the way out. Our group of 4 split up shortly after Indian garden and went at our own pace. It would have taken much longer if we were constantly waiting up for each other. The first in our group reached the top at 10:30 AM. I got out at noon and our last member at 3. Be aware you will run into hordes of people the last 2 miles. Most are people just visiting the South rim for the day. I've never encountered so many discourteous people in one place. I literally had to stop a few times or get out of the way from the traffic coming down hill. I even got shoulder bumped but one guy. Correct me if I'm wrong but don't uphill hikers have a right of way? I think maybe its just common courtesy, Seriously they are hiking 2 miles and I'm on the tail end of a 3day 26 plus mile hike with a 50 pound pack. Clearly I'm struggling and I don't think it would kill you to stop and step aside for 2 seconds.
This was an amazing trip. I'm so happy I did it. I'm looking forward to doing it again someday. My only advice would be to take another day. Do it in 4 days and camp another night at Indian Garden. That 10 mile hike out from Phantom is a real killer. Also check for water availability ahead of time then you can carry less water weight. |
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Route Editor
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