Making a Dream Reality: Hiking the Grand Canyon - Day 3

Day 3 of our adventure started cloudy but dry and with a wonderful pancake breakfast. This was also the beginning of our 4,380 feet (1335m) uphill climb over the next two days. We crossed the Bright Angel (Silver) Bridge and followed the trail along the Colorado River for a while.

On the south side of the Colorado River, across the Silver Bridge.

Before attacking "Devil's Corkscrew", the first really steep and strenuous part of today's hike, we took another break and fueled up our bodies with snacks and water.

Guido getting ready for the "Devil's Corkscrew".

Yuri, posing and enjoying a leg-stretch.

Guido, leading the way on Bright Angel Trail.

Conquered "Devil's Corkscrew"!

Several mule trains came along our way. Yeah, what a nice option to get at least our backpacks hauled down and up the canyon. Maybe next time? But I certainly prefer to do the walking myself, unless I want to feel sore at other parts of my body.

Past the "Tapeats Narrow" along Garden Creek we reached the Indian Garden Campground. This place was so green and wet that it rather reminded me of Hawaii than the semi-arid Grand Canyon.

Eddie and Guido chatting at our Indian Garden campsite

I must admit that I normally prefer individual travels rather than in a group. I prefer to walk at my own speed and stop whenever and wherever I like to take pictures and to enjoy the view and surroundings. Yes, Eddie encouraged me multiple times to do just that. But nevertheless, I adjusted to the group of course as I did not want the others to wait for me all the time. The thing I enjoyed most of all at this guided trip was that Eddie took such good care of us. The food he prepared was excellent: tasty, diversified, healthy and rich. It even included some fresh veggies and fruits. We had pasta, burritos, filled wraps and on day 3 multi-grain pita flatbread filled with chicken-cashew-raisin curry. The one time we were not able to finish it all, we made our campsite neighbors happy with the leftovers. We also had dessert for each meal: dark chocolate or cookies.

Curry-filled pita bread for lunch.

In the late afternoon, we took off for a short 1.5 miles trip to Plateau Point. During hot summer months it is recommended to bring at least one liter of water for this relatively short hike and to avoid doing the hike between 10am - 4pm as there is no shade at all.

On our way to Plateau Point.

The trail ends at the vista point, 1,200 feet above the Colorado River and with a spectacular 360˚ panorama of the Grand Canyon. We were lucky and had the vista point just for us for almost two hours. We simply sat there in silence and absorbed nature's beauty.

Making a Dream Reality: Hiking the Grand Canyon - Day 2

Saturday, May 22nd greeted us with a grey sky. It had not rained over night and it was cold, but we had slept well in our wonderful down sleeping bags. However, it did not take long for the first droplets to start falling out of the sky again as soon as we got out of the tents. After a yummy oatmeal breakfast we quickly packed up our gear and continued our hike on the North Kaibab Trail towards the south-southwest.

About 1.5 miles from the campground we took a side trail to Ribbon Falls, a beautiful little waterfall.

Ribbon Falls - hidden behind vegetation

The thick moss blanket on the rock underneath the waterfall proves that the water is running all year round. The little pond in front of it certainly provides a nice opportunity to cool sore feet in case it is hot outside.

There they are!

Resting near Ribbon Falls

To get back onto the North Kaibab Trail there is a shortcut that would have saved us half a mile. However, it crosses through a creek which can be knee-deep at this time of the year. At 100 F/38 C, I would have grabbed my Teva sandals, tucked up my pant legs and would not have hesitated to walk through the water. But our current circumstances were a little different, so we took the regular trail.

We took frequent breaks to eat some salty snacks, drink water, set down the backpacks and to stretch our legs. Eddie had brought "Glide", an anti-blister balm to treat hot spots in order to prevent blisters. Luckily, this was the only medical treatment that several of us required those four days.

Elliott treating his feet with blister prevention balm.

Eddie and Andrew peeking over the canyon map. 

Later that morning, the weather cleared up quite nicely for a while. We kept walking south-southwest for another few miles. The canyon walls started to close in on us and we got to an area called "The Box". In this section of the canyon the 1.4-1.7 billion years old black Vishnu Schist heats up a lot in the sun and it can feel like walking through an oven. It is therefore recommended to get past this area before noon. We however did not have to worry about that.

Crossing Bright Angel Creek,
shortly after Phantom Canyon.

After a total of 7.2 miles (11.6km) that day and a descent of 1,600 ft (488m) we reached the Bright Angel Campground around noon. Eddie treated us with some yummy avocado-bacon wraps and later we enjoyed a beer at Phantom Ranch, near the campground. It had started to rain again but by that time it seemed that we had gotten used to it. The rain did not prevent us from doing a nice stroll over to the Colorado River. As it got dark, we grabbed our headlamps and did a relaxing hike on the river trail which connects the South Kaibab Trail and  Bright Angel Trail on the south side of the Colorado River and runs between the Kaibab (Black) and Bright Angel (Silver) Bridges. Too many clouds though for seeing a starry sky!

Making a Dream Reality: Hiking the Grand Canyon - Day 1

Hiking through the Grand Canyon - this was one of those dreams or items of my bucket list since we first visited this breathtaking location in 2004. I wanted to walk all the way down to the Colorado River, "listen" to the silence of this remote place, absorb its magic atmosphere and hopefully experience a stunning starry sky at night.

The most popular trails that connect both rims are the 14 miles long North Kaibab Trail with its trailhead at the North Rim (8,241 feet elevation) and those two South Rim trails: the Bright Angel Trail (9.5 miles) and the South Kaibab Trail (7 miles). For a map and additional data click here.

Our preference was to hike from the North Rim to the Colorado River in two days and then back out again in two days via the Bright Angel Trail. However, making this reality was easier said than done. In 2012, we were very close, had everything scheduled for doing the hike in June and every little detail worked out, but ... had to cancel last minute due to a family emergency. In May 2014, we applied for the backcountry permits again which are required for any overnight stay in the canyon, but got denied. And again in October, but got denied again. Finally, we decided to sign up for a guided tour in May 2015 with the Wildland Trekking Company. And bingo! Got the permits for the Memorial Day weekend!

On Thursday, May 21st, we flew into Arizona to met with our guide Eddie (the guy with the yellow hat) and the three others of our group: Andrew from Sacramento and Elliott and Yuri from Chicago. Early Friday morning we then got shuttled to the North Kaibab Trailhead.

North Kaibab Trailhead: Final distribution and packing of gear

Unfortunately, the weather was not in our favor: rain and thunderstorms in the forecast. And indeed, we had light snow at the North Rim and got rain showers as soon as we hit the trail!

Ready to take off!

In nice weather, the Coconino Overlook at 0.75 miles from the rim gives a beautiful view into Roaring Springs Canyon. Well, not so this time.

Pouring rain and thunderstorm!

Heading towards "Hell's Kitchen' and the Redwall Bridge at 2.7 miles.

With the ongoing rain the trail became muddy, slippery and harder to walk. Gosh, what if this would go on like this?! For three more days hiking and camping in the rain?

Guido and Eddie, not too excited about the weather.

After 6.8 miles (10.9km) and 4,161 feet (1268m) drop in elevation we reached Cottonwood Campground for our first night in the canyon. While we quickly set up our tents in the rain, the ranger greeted us with "Oh, you guys are lucky. Usually, it's 100 F and people are vomiting!"

To close the day, Eddie prepared some hot tea/coffee and stir-fried veggies with rice for us. Even a simple meal can taste like heaven!