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.
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| 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.
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| Guido getting ready for the "Devil's Corkscrew". |
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| Yuri, posing and enjoying a leg-stretch. |
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| Guido, leading the way on Bright Angel Trail. |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
The last picture is indeed spectacular. I know what you mean by traveling at your own speed... when I was on my trip with Gary down to St. Tropez I also had to adjust to the group's speed and rhythm. There was not as much opportunity to stop for photo ops. On the other hand... it might have taken me double time to get there had I stopped each time I wanted.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sonja, spectacular is the perfect word for that last photo.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great hike. And it really sounds as though you ate well too. Maybe Eddie knew to feed you well so your hike was better.
Thanks Ladies! Yes, nature is simply spectacular there and we were lucky to catch this location in beautiful light, too. That's when clouds come handy for photography. ;-)
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