Grand Canyon going up Bright Angel Trail - 29 March 2011

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We had a wonderful breakfast at the canteen at 5:30 a.m. which included pancakes, eggs, bacon and peaches. We arrived at the Bright Angel trail head at 6:40 a.m. to begin our hike up to the canyon rim.

We began our hike by crossing the Silver Suspension Bridge. The Bridge was built in the late 1960s connecting the Bright Angel Trail from the South Rim to Phantom Ranch and the North Rim. Only hiker traffic may cross this suspension bridge but that’s not the only thing moving across the canyon here. The Silver Bridge also provides a support structure for one of the great engineering feats of the Grand Canyon and a vital support for tourism at this popular national park—the transcanyon water pipeline. Through an extensive system of pipelines and pump houses, 500,000 gallons of water a day are piped from Roaring Springs near the North Rim down Bright Angel Canyon through Phantom Ranch, across the Colorado River suspended from Silver Bridge and then pumped up to the South Rim tourist area.

After crossing the bridge you walk along the river for a mile and one half before starting your ascent.

This photo shows some of the trail we hiked to get up to this point, however we are not even close to the half way point of our hike which is Indian Gardens.

Below you can see the mules going down the trail heading to Phantom Ranch.  You must be extremely careful and listen to the trail guide when the mules approach.  You have to get to the inside of the trail and be very still not to make and sudden moves as this is a highly dangerous situation for the mules and their riders. 

From Indian Gardens which is the green area way at the bottom of this photo you still have 4.6 miles to go to the rim. They only bad thing is we had to hike 5.4 miles to get to Indian Gardens.  Its all uphill from here!

Click on this photo and you can better see the riders going back up to the rim. This is a photo I cropped from the one below which shows just how dangerous trail conditions can be.

Here's the original photo. WOW, glad I'm not one of those riders!

Here's Kathy I don't know why she seems happy since we still have a mile or so to go.  Maybe she is suffering from high altitude sickness.  Get back on the trail! 

This photo shows how far we have come up the rim.

 Click on this photo and you can see Kolb Studio in the center of this picture, look left of center along the rim. We are almost there. We had to put on our yaktracks to help make sure we did not slip on the ice along the trail.

 Here we are after completing 10 miles of hiking.  We are very proud of our accomplishment!  Now for some food and rest.  30 minutes after this photo I could hardly walk to lunch.  I wonder how the heck I made the trip.

Kathy being the detailed person she is created this spreadsheet outlining our cumulative miles we hiked, elevation at various points, total time, break time and percentage of slope for the different levels of the trails.  She has way too much time in her day.

I saved this photo for last. Hiking is fun and can be a great experience but it also can be very dangerous. This article is about Margaret Bradley a marathon runner who died here in the Grand Canyon in July 2004. She underestimated the food and water required for her hike.  We made sure that we had the items we needed for each leg of our trails.  We also carried some survival items, that if needed, would allow us to safely camp overnight, then proceed the next day. 

Phantom Ranch - March 28-29th 2011

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Welcome to Phantom Ranch. Having descended more than a vertical mile below the rim of Grand Canyon, you have reached the bottom of one of the largest canyons in the world. The ranch continues to be one of the most popular destinations in the national park system; its accommodations are often sold out for a year in advance.   The only modes of access to the ranch are by foot, mules or rafting the Colorado River. The two suspension trail bridges near the ranch are the only Colorado River crossings within a 200-mile distance.

This is one of the first views of the ranch when hikers arrive. Designed by Mary Colter and constructed in 1922, Phantom Ranch provided food, lodging, and comfort against an austere backdrop.  The site now includes cabins, two male and two female dormitories, a restaurant (serving only people who book meals ahead of time), a mule corral, emergency medical facilities, and a park ranger station.  The ranch can accommodate about 92 people on a nightly basis. 

These are the only two cabins that have a queen beds for lodging.  Kathy and I were extremely lucky to obtain cabin #2 on the left.  The cabins have heat and AC along with an inside toilet and a small cold water sink.  The showers are only a short walk away.

Here's Kathy enjoying her chocolate cake after our wonderful steak dinner. Everything here is brought in and out by mules.  This is the last place in America where the mail is delivered and taken out by mule. 

Somewhere up there is our destination for tomorrow's hike out. Time for a good night's sleep.

Grand Canyon South Kaibab Trail - Down on March 28th 2011

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The trail head for the South Kaibab Trail is located off of the Yaki Point Road, which is closed to private vehicles.  The free Grand Canyon National Park shuttle bus is the only way to access the trail head. Many people underestimate this hike because it is all downhill.  We can tell you we certainly feel every muscle used for our hike that descended 4740 feet.

Here's Dave with his 20-pound pack and hiking sticks ready for the plunge.

As you can see the trail has some ice and snow left over from old man winter.  We were very lucky to have excellent weather for our trip down the mountain.

Here's Kathy with her 12 pound pack enjoying a view of the canyon below.  We had packed smartly anticipating any weather or condition changes which happen quickly in the canyon. We had heard that rock slides frequently occur during seasonal changes.

 

Here you can see other hikers along the trail.  Notice that this portion of the trail is outlined and more defined.

Here's a view of where our hike began. Elevation at the top is 7260 feet.

Through the first ¾ mile, the trail cuts through the eastern side of Pipe Creek Canyon until Ooh-ahh Point, where the canyon walls turn around Yaki Point and the view of the eastern canyon opens up. The point is named after a common reaction to the view

Here you can see Phantom Ranch but you still have a few more miles to travel.  This photo better shows the typical steepness next to most of the trail.  The slope of the trail averages 12% overall with some segments as high as 15%.

Here's a great shot of our first glimpse of the Black River Suspension Bridge over the Colorado River.  This bridge is the one used by the mules because they cannot see the river through the bottom of the bridge.  Kathy liked that too! 

 

Building the bridge in the remote and difficult-to-access Inner Canyon posed hazards and challenges to construction. Motorized vehicles such as cars and trucks could not access the deep recesses of the canyon along the river, so all materials were transported by mules or human power. National Park Service mules carried most of the 122 tons of materials for the construction of the bridge into the canyon. The one-ton, 550-foot- long suspension cables were carried down the canyon on the shoulders of 42 Havasupai tribesmen who walked single file down the trail while carrying the cables. They carried the cables over nine miles of trail and down over 4,000 feet from the rim.

 We finally arrive at Phantom Ranch.  The hike down took us 5 hours and the elevation change was 4598 feet.  We arrived at 12:30 and were napping in our cabin by 1:30 with two alarm clocks set to wake us up for our Steak dinners at 5:00 p.m.

In Loving Remembrance March 2011

We think of you in silence and often speak your name, But all that's left to answer is your picture in a frame, If we could have one lifetime wish, One dream that would come true, We would wish with all our hearts for yesterday and you. If tears could build a stairway and heartache make a lane, We would walk to anywhere to be with you again.

(author unknown)

Kathy's Dad on the Wii balance board.  Actually he was pretty good.

Kathy's Dad with his pulling team.

Kath's Dad and a family gathering

Dave and his Mom

Dave his Dad and his son

Dave's brother Billy

Dave's friend Harry Gaffney

Our friend Leo

Casey in one of his favorite lounge chairs

Casey at Christmas

Kitty

Kitty always loved rolling in the grass or dirt.