Hike Across Grand Canyon, Part 2

The previous post covered the hike down from the north rim.

Leaving Phantom Ranch, two deer wandered along the trail ahead of us. They were as tame as dogs. Around a bend this third deer didn't care that we walked by so close we could have reached out and touched it.


A short distance further we crossed over the Colorado River on this suspension bridge.



Looking up the river with the suspension bridge in the foreground and second foot bridge (used mostly for the South Kaibab trail) in the background.



Looking down the Colorado. (To me the Vishnu Schist rock at the bottom of the canyon looks like the bowels of hell.)



It was past mid-day and quite hot so we took every opportunity to get wet. Here I am enjoying the first dunking.



Indian Garden was a welcome rest with shade, water and bathrooms. Only 4.9 miles to go.



Above Indian Garden looking back down the trail.



Then came the grueling part. Many, many switchbacks and hundreds of log steps.



 There are two rest stops, 3.0 and 1.5  miles from the rim. We stopped at both. I was getting tired.

But Mark seemed to be feeling fine, and annoyingly chipper, so we hid a rock in his pack that he discovered at the top.

Speaking of the top, here's the rim:



We checked into the Yavapai Lodge, showered, went out for dinner then crashed. When I got out of bed in the morning my legs were so sore I almost fell down. I hobbled around like I was 80. I don't think I've ever been so sore.

Mark and I were taking the 1:30 PM shuttle so we had time to check out some of the viewpoints, like this:



The shuttle back to the North Rim took 5 hours, but went pretty quick. We loaded up the car and drove home, I arrived around 1 AM.

Hiking across the Grand Canyon was a good experience. I really liked the North Rim. It's a long hike, but worth doing. And now I've seen the Grand Canyon for the first time.