After a great steak dinner and a wonderful 5 a.m. breakfast, we are ready for an intermediate 5-mile hike up to Indian Gardens. If you click on the photo you will see the Silver Bridge we crossed to get to the other side of the Colorado River.
Note: One thing that I wanted to mention, is Phantom Ranch offers a duffel service that you can request for the mules to carry a sack, not to exceed 30 pounds, up the canyon to the North Rim. Well, that being said, Kathy and I revisited all the items we had in in our backpacks and decided to pay the $75 fee to reduce our weight by 19 pounds. They could have said $150 dollars, and we would have paid it!
The Silver Bridge was constructed in the late 1960's to support the pipeline carrying water from Roaring Springs to the South Rim. We would have departed Phantom Ranch earlier to beat some of the heat, but we did not want to miss breakfast and we were only hiking just a little over 5 miles.
The trail follows the river for about a mile and a half before it starts heading up the canyon. The River Trail also passes through a sand dune habit which tends to make hiking a little harder.
The Bright Angel Trail and River Trail meet where Pipe Creek enters the Colorado River. A Rest house which is located here is a great spot for a quick break and snack before you begin your climb.
The portion of the trail from Phantom Ranch to Indian Gardens gains 1400 feet in elevation. The rule in the Canyon is pack in, pack out. Which means take everything including your trash with you when you leave.
The majority of the gain is hiking the brutal Devil's Corkscrew which you can see below us. It is a series of switchbacks that appear to never end. You will definitely take a few breaks ascending this section of the trail.
This is a photo taken from the top of Devils Corkscrew looking back down to where it begins to ascend. Mighty glad we finished this section.
We are very close now to Indian Gardens an oasis in the canyon.
The campsites here are outstanding. You can see we have a framed cover over our picnic table and an abundance of shade for most of the day. We were careful to select the right campsite where late in the afternoon the sun is shielded by canyon walls. Rest and relaxation are the new order of business.
There was a group of ladies camped next to us at Indian Gardens. I took this shot to see what the commotion was going on down below us.
Finally, got to see all the excitement. A mule deer decided to stop by for dinner.
The nightly star show at the Canyon was incredible! Every night in the campgrounds we were amazed to see the beauty of the night sky.
A couple of facts you might not know about the Grand Canyon
THERE ARE LOTS OF OTHER FOSSILS IN THE AREA
While the dinosaurs might have missed out on seeing the Grand Canyon, lots of other fossils have been found that suggest other creatures frequented the location. They range from ancient marine fossils dating back 1.2 billion years to fairly recent land mammals that left their remains in Canyon caves about 10,000 years ago.
FISH ARE RELATIVELY UNCOMMON IN THE GRAND CANYON.
Prior to modern flood control measures, the Colorado River provided a uniquely difficult habitat for fish, with heavy silt, frequent floods, and temperatures ranging from extreme heat in summer to sub-freezing in winter. As a result, only eight fish species are native to the Grand Canyon, six of which are found nowhere outside of the Colorado River.
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