First things first, this was among the top favorite hikes I’ve ever done. If you ever have a chance to do it, get yourself in shape if you aren’t already, and DO it! It’s a stretch, yet within the limitations of most reasonably fit people. There are enough logistical challenges and safety concerns to keep it interesting, and the views are as exceptional as almost anywhere, just in a different way than standing on a mountain peak and looking out over hundreds of miles of wilderness. Each are spectacular in their own way!
I did this with my most elderly boy on a family trip out West just before his graduation. I kind of figured this hike would be a great “last hurrah” for the stuff we’ve done together over the years. He’s always been an adventure boy, but we’d never taken on anything quite like this!
I hope to fill in the details a bit at a later date, but here’s a brief rundown of the journey:
Starting Early
We started at the South Kaibab trail head on March 26th, 2015, pretty much right at sunrise, I think that was about 5:45 am. The temperature was roughly 35 F. We planned to get down to Phantom Ranch early in the day and then return up the Bright Angel trail. My only real goal was to make it back to the top before dark, but we were prepared with lights and a wee bit of emergency gear just in case I was overly optimistic about my fitness. I had NO worry about my mountain goat of a son. In the end, I just felt bad he had to hold back for me so much.
We dropped down into the canyon with a boat load of excitement and a good bit of nervousness on my part, I wasn’t entirely sure I was in good enough shape to finish before dark or without injury as we have almost no opportunity at home to climb hills. Here’s the first picture just a couple minutes onto the trail when I remembered I should take some pictures:
Within 20-30 minutes we were pulling off our light jackets and gloves. It was obvious the temps were going to rise quickly, but I wanted to a jacket if I got stuck on the trail overnight. I’m glad I brought it in spite of the extra weight.
Huh. I guess I never bothered to finish this post. What a shame.
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