On The Bright Angel Trail

A year ago March, Carolyn and Sara hiked the Grand Canyon. They brought back pictures of a lush Grand Canyon, recounted the joy of seeing the Canyon from the inside, and shared their sense of accomplishment in achieving a challenging goal. Matt, Becky and I knew we had to do it too. Last week we kept up the new Lawlyes family tradition.


It was 29 degrees just before 7:00 am when we reached the trailhead of the Bright Angel Trail.




We saw a beautiful sunrise at the Grand Canyon.





Ahead of us we had a 12.2 mile trek.


Bright Angel is one of two superhighways into the Canyon. Originally an Indian trail used by the Havasupai to commute between the rim and Indian Garden, it was improved by prospectors in the late 1800's. One miner, Ralph Cameron, realizing that tourism was more profitable than mining, bought out his partners and took control of the trail. He extended it to the river and charged $1 for its use. The Park Service built the South Kaibab Trail thereafter to provide free access. In 1928, after a long battle with Cameron, ownership of the Trail was transferred to the National Park Service.



Our goal was to go to Plateau Point and return. It was 6.1 miles down to the Point, 3200 feet below the South Rim of the Canyon. From there you can overlook the Colorado River another 1400 feet below.



We descended into the Canyon and into the morning shadows. Although it was chilly, walking down the steep grade warmed us up quickly.



We stopped occasionally to take in the views, snap some pictures and to get acclimated.



The upper section of trail looks easy enough on the way down. It is fairly wide in most places. This year it was much drier than when Carolyn and Sara hiked it a year ago because of this winter's drought.


The top section of the trail has long switchbacks. This part can be a killer on the way back up, depending on how far you went down. If you're hiking up from the river, or anywhere from Indian Garden or beyond, it seems to take forever to get from one switch back to the next and it feels like you'll never get back to the top.



Down in the Canyon, it is always remarkable to look back and see how far down you have come down.




As you approach Indian Gardens you begin to see greener vegetation and the trees leafing out because of the moisture available from the small stream that runs through there.




Indian Gardens is 4.5 miles from the rim. It is a good place to take a break or have a picnic lunch. The trees provide shade.





Despite the aridness, the desert has wonderful varieties of plant and animal life. Here Becky is standing next to a dried up Century Plant. They are so named because it was once believed that it took the plant 100 years to get grow this tall.
Beyond Indian Gardens our next destination was Plateau Point one and a half miles further on. As the name suggests this section of the trail is relatively flat and easy to traverse in the winter or spring before the summer sun becomes an issue out here.



Reaching the Point was a highlight of the trip. We were all feeling pretty good at this stage. From here we got a good view of the Colorado River and took our first (and only) extended break of the day.



From Plateau Point you can look directly down upon the Colorado River. It is a remarkable sight. Notice how green the water is. Because of the drought the river does not have much sediment in it from the run off of the many streams that feed it throughout the Canyon.



Compare how it looks to a picture Sara took a year ago this month when Arizona had record spring rains. (Notice too the helicopter that Sara captured on film. It had landed near the river's edge. Click on the picture to enlarge it.)



We stopped for lunch on the Point and recharged our batteries before starting the most difficult part of the hike, 6.1 miles up hill. We had guests join us. Here is a little squirrel who tried to get in Becky's backpack to get her apple. He later grabbed my bag of trail mix and drug it off before I caught him in the act.



These two ravens were also undaunted by people and got up close in hopes of snagging a morsel.



When the mules arrived with a group of tourists, it was time for us to head back up. We wanted to try to beat the mule team out of the Canyon.



You don't want to spend four hours hiking behind a pack up mules on a narrow trail. (It is not a pretty sight to see or smell.)



The scenes were gorgeous as we headed back up. It was harder to appreciate them, however. The hike out of the Canyon took us a little over four hours. (About the same time it took to get down to Plateau Point.)


On the way down we stopped to look and take pictures. On the hike out our attention was much more focused on the physical effort it took to climb. Becky and I did well until the last mile and a half. At that point it became a serious struggle. For Becky it was the challenge to her cardiovascular system. For me it was combatting fatigue in my legs. Matt surprised us both by getting a second wind. He beat us out by 15 minutes and met us at the rim with hot chocolate, a very welcome sight.


We were all pretty well spent that evening. After a quiet dinner it was time to crash and to find comfort with those who are most important to us.


Hiking the Canyon is very much like going through childbirth (so Becky tells me). You look forward to it beforehand. The early stages are exciting and you are filled with anticipation. The last moments are excruciating and you wonder why you ever thought it was such a good idea. When it's over and a little time has passed, the memory of the pain subsides and you are filled with a wonder, appreciation, and a sense of accomplishment. And then slowly you begin to think -- I'd like to do it again.



That night it began to snow ending a drought of more than four months. By morning, when we awoke there was nearly six inches of heavy snow on the ground. We went back to the Canyon to see it in another light.



It was a beautiful sight. The rim was covered in snow but the lower reaches being much warmer were untouched.



We felt very lucky to have the good fortune to hike the Canyon in ideal weather and then to see it in snow-covered all in the same trip.