Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009
As I looked down the Bright Angel trail and the Indian Gardens far below during our 2008 trip to the Grand Canyon, I made up my mind that I had to hike the trail.
Then and there I decided to come back next year and do it! I was in good shape, but for how much longer...I needed to do it soon....
I wanted to hike down the trail past Indian Gardens to at least to the plateau that overlooks the river.... I wanted to see it! the river....
So in 2009, we came back...
Every thing I had read about this hike screamed about how difficult and
dangerous this hike can he...."Be prepared", "Don't even think about hiking to the river and back in one day", "Tour-morons* on trail", "ultra- marathoner dies", "Carry 4 gallons of water", "Don't run out of food", "you need protein", "no water available late in the year", "Don't want to be rescued", "going down is easy, coming back up is brutal", "don't hike from 10am to 2 pm".....
And then there was just the normal stuff to worry about.... what shoes to wear, will my socks cause blisters, do I want to carry a hiking stick, how far can I reasonably hike?, What will the weather be like, what time do I need to start, how many layers of clothes to carry, will I end up hiking in the dark, what if I twist an ankle....
* "Tour-morons" : a tourist who is a complete moron. Usually seen on the trail with no gear, perhaps a plastic water bottle as a
concession that it might be hot, wearing shorts and flip-flops.
Needless to say, Doris and I were PREPARED! Well yes, perhaps we overdid it a little....
Before we left California I had purchased new extra gear that I thought we would need:
- Camelback style water and day pack - 2 liter capacity.
- Hiking sticks
- Extra flat 2 liter water bags
- First aid supplies including ankle wrap and altletic tape
- Extra water bottles to carry
- Small thermometers and whistles to clip to our jackets
- A signaling mirror
I thought briefly about getting some hiking boots, but I've done a lot of hiking wearing just running shoes with no problems, and I wouldn't have time to break them in anyway.... I did worry about sore feet though... success would depend on what the trail was like in terms of rocks and surface.....
For food: we carried a sandwich, beef jerky, extra electrolyte, salty snacks, energy bars, and chocolate.
We stayed at the Maswik lodge only @ 1/4 mile from the Bright Angel trailhead, so we could get an easy and early start to our hike.
We couldn't have asked for a better weather forecast, clear with temperatures range from 40-75.
With good weather forecast we put away our heavier clothing, and figured that we could wear shorts.
It was about 45 degrees when we started on the hike, crisp and clear and fairly easy.... but after the first part of the trail, it really started going down.... their are log and rock "steps" on the steeper parts of the trail and they are fairly deep late in the year, so the hiking became more difficult having to step over or on top of the step and down. This step down motion took it toll and we both had to alternate our step leg to keep the knees from getting sore.
After hiking for almost an hour, I thought we must have passed the 1.5 mile rest station... but no, at 1 hr we made the 1.5 rest stop.....That worried me a little.... 1.5 mile an hour! I thought that we would do at least 2-3 mph going down.
There are rest stops at 1.5, 3.0 and at Indian Gardens at 4.5 miles. They are a welcome stop with water, toilets, and shelter. Late in the year, the pipes freeze, so water is shut off at the 1.5 and 3.0 stops. Luckily the water was on, but you cannot depend on that being the case.
With the temps being cool, we had only drank from our hand bottle bottles...and had carried down on our backs 2 liters of water each! We probably should have dumped the water in the
camelbacks, but didn't.... what if I
needed it???
We did start seeing hikers that had camped overnight coming up from the river, or Indian Gardens... breathing heavily, carrying full packs, and looking pretty beat. They had probably been on the trail since 5 or 6am....
We also begin seeing the "tour-morons" bouncing down the trail with their plastic water bottle, giving us the "look at the silly old people" pitying look....{They didn't look so happy later though... most got some smarts and turned around at the 3 mile rest stop.}
We continued down to the 3 mile rest stop, and began the see the mule trains going down and also coming up the trail. Mules are big!! Wide! Though they look slow, they are really moving fast on the trail. {One of these years, I've got to do the mule ride down to Phantom ranch at the river....}
3 mile rest stop at 2 hrs. Short rest, let the mules pass...
On down to Indian Gardens. We make it there by 11AM. It's cool and shady... we find a nice picnic table, take off our shoes and have lunch....
But I'm thinking... 3 hrs down, perhaps 6 hrs up.... and I don't want to be hiking in the dark with all those steps going up.... So we decide not to hike the additional 3 miles round trip out to the plateau overlook. I'm disappointed, but know this is a good decision, not knowing the effort that lies ahead.
We use one of the extra 2 liter bags to mix up some
electrolyte, drink
alot, and refill our hand water bottles and
camelbacks.
At 12:00 we start back up. It's sunny and warm, but not hot, perhaps 75. The bottom of the trail at Indian Gardens is in sun, no shade. We feel good after lunch and are hydrated and hiking up at a good pace.
Surprise,
surprise we make it back to the 3 mile rest stop in 1 hr!!! I'm both happy and sad, since it looks like we could have easily made it out and back to the plateau overlook.
By 1:30 or so, the trail is in shade, as the sun has moved over the rim to the west.
1 hour later, we are at the 1.5 mile rest stop, but now the trail gets steeper....
The last 1.5 mile out is getting to be hard, but we also manage to cover that in 1 hour.
We pose by the arch near the top of the trail. We're tired but made it in very
good shape. No sore feet, knees, or ankles.
Back to our cabin for a hot shower, and then on the bar for a cold one or two.
All in all a great hike, not as difficult as I thought is would be. But I could see how the weather smiled on us that day. Late October is a great time to do this hike, but just 4 days later,
temperatures were in the mid-30s {all-day} at the Grand Canyon... and a week later it was in the 90s at the river.
Here's a link to an online album of more photos from the hike:
View Hiking Bright Angel Trail Album
