Day 1: The Green Canyon
May 16, 2023
Mather Campground to Bright Angel Campground via the Arizona Trail/South Kaibab Trail
9.0 miles
Finally after three days of travel, we have begun our hike in earnest. We set our alarms for 4:30 AM to try to get most of our hike in before the heat of the day set in. The bottom of the Grand Canyon can be 20°F warmer than the rim. We started from Mather Campground and took the Arizona Trail which runs by the campground up to where the official South Kaibab Trailhead begins. It was about a two mile hike to actually begin the descent into the canyon. On our way we ran into a group of about six elk who were having an early breakfast trailside.
As a brief aside, the original plan was to hike from the North Rim, down and out the South Rim, and on to Flagstaff. But record snowfall this winter has destroyed parts of the North Kaibab Trail, wiped out drinking water pipes to the North Rim, and demolished the employee dining hall in the North Rim village. So needless to say, we weren't able to do rim to rim, which was a huge bummer. It's been a lifelong dream of mine, but I suppose it's just an excuse to come back and do it some other time! So our altered plan is to do the same route I did 10 years ago with my Dad, and he did in the 70s with his brothers and dad which is down the South Kaibab and up the Bright Angel Trail. We will likely walk the 2ish miles from the Bright Angel trailhead back to Mather Campground once we hike out. And from there we'll continue on to Flagstaff as planned.
We got to the rim at 6:30 AM. We ran into another Canadian couple from Ontario who was hiking down and out all today. They recognized Kristin's MEC hat (Canada's REI). It's so funny now that I live in Canada. When you travel and run into other Canadians, there's often not too many degrees of separation from where you live and where they live. Usually someone knows somebody who's from Halifax, Barrie, etc.
The trail was surprisingly busy as we began hiking down. Many day hikers who end up turning back at some point fill up the trail, but I was also surprised at the volume of backpackers as well. It's really strange hiking on what feels like an incredibly remote and rugged trail with tons of other people on it.
Another mental note I made was just how well built this trail is. When we first moved to Halifax, Glowworm got a job trail building at some local trails. I never fully understood what went into building what otherwise seems like a simple path. Sometimes she would spend a whole week working on a 20 foot segment. So to come here and see the incredible rock work, bench cutting, and drainage is a sight to behold. It's truly a feat of engineering.
Walking down, while hard on your joints, isn't too bad. You're not getting your heart rate up and besides watching your steps, you can really take in the surroundings which are astounding. The further you make your way down each switchback, the more you're in awe of just how fucking huge the Grand Canyon is. The towering cliff walls and expansive views are mind boggling. And then you look down at the switchbacks below and realize you've only scratched the surface.
We stopped at Cedar Ridge to use the privy and have our breakfast. On the PCT we got in the habit of eating a bar of some sort out of the tent and then having our overnight cold soaked oatmeal a few miles down the trail once our appetite built up. So it was here that we had our instant oatmeal and made a cup of tea (coffee for Glowworm) and had a quick stretch before continuing on.
As we hiked on we began noticing just how green the canyon is. It's been a decade since I was down here last, but I don't recall so much lush greenery dotted with vibrant flowers. Even the scent of the air was floral. With the high snow year, there has been higher than normal water levels. That on top of recent, regular rain has transformed an otherwise completely red, brown, and tan landscape into something completely unexpected. The desert is full of life.
The sun began to beat down on us as we worked our way further down into the canyon. By the time we reached Tip Off, the last place with a privy (which was closed), I was feeling pretty roasted. Still full of energy, but the sun was starting to get to me. There was a metal shelter with some hikers in it taking a break. We popped into the shelter for a snack break. While we were there, dark clouds started rolling in, as did the thunder. Sitting in a big bird cage probably wasn't the best of circumstances but the shade was blessed. Fortunately it never really seemed to rain so we decided to head out, despite the rolling thunder in the distance. At least we were far from the highest point around…
It did start the sprinkle just after we left Tip Off, but the merciful clouds remained and provided a most welcomed reprieve from the sun. The trail turned a Mars-like red. I recall this section from the last time—it truly does feel like you're walking on Mars. It's so otherworldly. By now we can see the Colorado River rolling down below along with the mule corral right on the banks.
The last few miles flew by, driven by our eagerness to get to the bottom with views of the river and suspension bridge drawing nearer. After 6.5 hours, we finally made it to the bridge and crossed the suspension bridge over the Colorado. As we crossed the bridge the sun came out again and I was surprised how much it zapped me of my energy. Until then I was feeling pretty good. But by the time we got to our campsite I was zonked. I took a moment to suck down a couple litres of water and splashed some cold water from the Bright Angel Creek on my face and that helped immensely.
After making camp we walked up to Phantom Ranch to drink their famous lemonade, which I'm pretty sure is just Minute Maide but people suck it down like it's water from the Holy Grail or something. It is good, though, for the record. When I hiked this with my Dad he didn't drink enough on the way down and in hindsight was probably pretty dehydrated. Think he had like four of them; tossing them back like it was green beer on St. Patty's Day. Anyway, we spent the afternoon relaxing. The thunder we heard earlier turned into lighting and rain so we napped in the tent while the storm passed over us. But the lack of direct sunlight in the heat of the afternoon was blessed. It can get so hot down here so I'm thankful we were spared that.
I wanted to try and call my Grandma while down here, but service is near impossible to find. The last time I was here I know I was able to hike up a bit to the North Kaibab Trail and had just enough to give her a call, but was unsuccessful this time around. The Grand Canyon has become an important place for the Hart family. Like I said my Dad and his brothers Mark and Russ hiked it with their Dad when they were high school age. And then my Grandma and my Uncle Tom hiked it together in the 80s. My Uncle Russ has ran rim to rim in a single day a couple times; once alone and again with his sons. Hiking the Grand Canyon remains one of the proudest accomplishments of my Grandma's life—she'll tell you that. So I was a little bummed I couldn't call her from down here again, but I sent her a postcard to be hauled out by mule and I'll call her when we hike out tomorrow.
Before dinner we sat and chatted with a Dutch couple from Amsterdam who hiked down with their one year old! There's weirdly a lot of middle aged folks down here so it was fun to chat with people closer to our age who also seemed to be kindred spirits.
I definitely brought too much food for dinner. Like I said yesterday, it's hard packing for a couple days of food on the trail. We really won't be entering the ravenous hiker hunger that we experienced on the PCT and it's really easy to misjudge how much food you actually need. In any case, I couldn't finish my pasta for supper, which is rare for me. I tried, but even as I write this the thought of doing so makes me queasy.
We're going to try to get up at 4:00 tomorrow morning and get moving to make as much mileage as we can before the sun gets too high. It'll be exhausting hiking 4200 vertical feet so no need to make it harder on ourselves.
