Hiking Bright Angel Trail -Grand Canyon

Richard At Mather Point

On Saturday, July 21, Richard was up and dressed by 730am for our hike down the Bright Angel Trail in the Grand Canyon. We had not even seen the Grand Canyon yet as we got in too late last night to drive the 75 miles from Flagstaff to the Southern Rim. So after a quick continental breakfast at the hotel, we stopped at the little store across the street and bought water and food for the hike. Once I assured myself we were going in the right direction for the southern rim, I relaxed a bit. I had one little oversight; I forgot to gas up before leaving Flagstaff. This oversight became scarily apparent to me when I saw the access road into the national park was long and void of much in the way of gas stations. I did find one, however, and seeing as they had a monopoly on the business and seeing as I needed fuel, I willingly paid the $3.99 / gallon, a full 60 cents over what was being charged in Flagstaff. Lesson learned (I hope).

We parked the car, used the restrooms, lathered on some sunblock and took a walk over to Mather Point for our first look at this natural wonder. OMG! Spectacular! Incredible! Jaw-dropping! The vastness of the canyon and the various colors of sandstone, limestone, and shale owas (is) hard to comprehend. I wanted to forego the hike and walk the rim all day! But we didn't. After taking a few photos from here and knowing we would be back 2 or 3 more times, we turned away to grab the shuttle bus which would take us to the Bright Angel Trailhead. The buses were quite crowded, it must be tourist season. Nonetheless we made it over there and after a few photos from this rim perspective, we headed down the trail.

At the Beginning of the Hike

There were many families with young kids starting down with us...but they soon turned around and went back up. Hiking Bright Angel Trail in sandals and Crocs and carrying a bag of Cheez-Its was not going to make the cut. I would guess we got on the trail a bit after 10am. Of course, it was a photographer's dream to be surrounded by this wonder so our trek down took longer than it should have. I think I got a few good photos, almost filled a memory card, LOL. We made a few water and snack stops also.

We made it to the 3-mile mark where we rested up a little, relaxed, fed the squirrels (Richard made a few friends!) and chilled out before heading back up. I liked the sign I saw here, "Going down is Optional, Going up is Mandatory". Richard also noted, which I hadn't thought about, that usually you hike UP and then go DOWN...we were doing it opposite today. But our excitement was just beginning.

Looking back up to the rim from below

The air turned cool (a good thing), a breeze flowed through the canyon (also a good thing) and the sky began to darken (well, not such a good thing). We then heard thunder in the distance and saw spots of rain. We moved a bit faster. Then it started to rain, then it stopped...then the sky opened up; thunder and lightning rolled up the canyon. We lucked out a little as by this time we were near the 1.5 mile restroom stop. We ran up to the small cabin that held two "national park-style" restrooms which also had a small deck with roof. There were a few other folks taking refuge there already. By this time we were drenched, splattered with red mud and laughing (believe it or not)! The canyon was nearly non-discernible through the driving -rain. Then we were pelted by hailstones! Cold hard winds raced across the deck! Richard took refuge in one of the bathrooms and it wasn't long before I and three others joined him in the 4' x 7' room. At least it had protection on all four sides. The five of us were in there for about 20 minutes waiting for it to blow over.

When it seemed to be almost over, we ventured out and began our trek up again. We splashed through streams of water running down the trail and off the sides of the canyon walls and there were piles of small stones displaced from the rain that left small gaps in the trail edges. The rain left behind some trail work for the NPS. Before we reached the top, the sun was out and the colors in the canyon, as I expected, were even more vibrant than before. It was a wicked exciting way to end our hike in the Grand Canyon!! I wouldn't have traded that rain experience for anything!!

Tomorrow: Sedona and beyond.