Day 1: South Kaibob Trail from South Rim to Phantom Ranch
We lift Miceli’s house at 8:30 in the morning and began our drive north from Phoenix. Potter and Miceli chatted away in the front, while I spent most of my time in the back with my eyes glued to the windows, enthralled by all of the cacti. They looked like something straight out of a Wile E. Coyote tv show- something I’ve never encountered before. They were everywhere- the way we have deciduous trees back east (only shorter). They don’t grow arms until they’re 70 years old, and some of them were covered.
When we got into the park, we parked the car, loaded on our frame packs, and headed to the shuttle that would take us to our trailhead. We caught glimpses of the Canyon- but only fleeting. The first full view wouldn’t come until we reached the very edge of the rim at the head of the South Kaibob trail.
We took in the view and I uttered what would become my usual refrain for the trip: “so. damn. beautiful!” I couldn’t find any other words. The views were so expansive, and at the time, I didn’t even comprehend how far down we were going to climb: 5,000 feet.
We started down the trail, jovial and full of energy, but we knew that all of the people huffing and puffing their way back up the trail would be us in two days (although we would take a different trail out). In the beginning there were lots of people on the trail; many people do short day hikes, going down part of the way and returning back on the same day. Everyone we met was friendly, and when we told a group that we’d be camping on the bottom that night, they told us they’d be thinking of us while they drank margaritas at their hotel- we told them we’d think of them when we had beers at the bottom!
As we descended (stopping frequently so I could take pictures- I’d take 800 for the entire trip), we marveled at the views, and had fun looking ahead and trying to figure out which trails were ours. Some of them looked so far away, and it was hard to believe that we’d be there in only a few hours. We kept on hiking, and marveled at the change in terrain. The color and texture of the rocks and ground changed dramatically over the course of our hike- some areas were flat and red (Potter nicknamed one area “The Flatness”), others were steep and whitish-grey. By the end of the day, we were covered in red dust.
We snacked on trail mix and cliff bars on our way down, and only had to stop for the bathroom once- thankfully there are composting toilets scattered along the trails. We saw lots of little lizards along the trails (maybe 4-5 inches long) and a few squirrels. We even saw one ram, climbing along a steep cliffside. It was the typical scenario, where you wonder how the hell he got up there (steep and in the middle of nowhere), and then remember that that’s what goats do: climb. I named him Billy. Get it? Billy the goat?
As we got lower and lower into the canyon, we saw significantly less people, and it got closer and closer to dusk. There were times when I felt like we were the last people on earth. Potter and Miceli strategized that this would be a good place to hide out during the zombie apocalypse. In some of the particularly red and dusty areas, we kept remarking how much it felt like we could have been on Mars.
For the majority of the hike, we couldn’t see the Colorado River, which runs through the basin of the Canyon, where we would be camping. When we caught our first glimpse of it, we could also see the campsite (and mule paddock). It was late in the day, and we were tired and sore, and seeing the campsite felt a bit like seeing an oasis in a desert. Unfortunately, we still had quite a ways to go until we got there. The end of the trail was a lot of switchbacks, and Miceli’s and my knees were both pretty sore. (Miceli had hiking poles, which saved him, and I regretted not splurging the $100 to get my own before we left.) Potter, however, seemed to have knees made of steel and scampered down the cliffs as Miceli and I called out for 5-minute breaks.
I don’t want to sound like I’m whining, though. For as sore as we were, we couldn’t have asked to have been in a more beautiful place. The texture and colors of the landscape were amazing. I was particularly taken by the red rocks with shards of turquoise (color, not gemstone) scattered throughout. It reminded me of the tribal patterned clothing that is so popular now, but in a much more beautiful and authentic way. It reminded me of Native American artifacts, and I couldn’t help but think how inspired people must have been living out in this climate centuries ago. We had also visited Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West the day before, and the rocks reminded me of his favorite Cherokee Red that he insisted on using on structure throughout. I felt like I really connected with his inspiration and love of the color.
We finally reached the bottom of the switchbacks and came to the Black Suspension Bridge (built in 1928) that carried us over the river. From there it was a short (mostly flat!) walk to the campsite. There were people playing frisbee on a beach on the river, but not only were we too sore to join, but we also had to set up our tents before we lost the sunlight.
The Bright Angel campground and Phantom Ranch are located along the Bright Angel Creek, which feeds into the Colorado River. The campsites are basically just little plots of ground, arranged in a line along the Creek. Because we arrived so late in the day, we hiked far into the canyon (up the creek) to claim one of the last sites (but we knew that there had to be at least one available, since we had a permit & reservation). The little campground felt like a mini oasis after having hiked through the Mars-like desert. Since there was fresh water, there was an abundance of beautifully green trees lining the creek. It felt amazing to rinse our sweaty, salty faces off in the cold water. We pitched our tents, hung our packs up on a pole (you can’t leave them on the ground for fear of animals rummaging around), and found the little concrete square on the ground meant for cooktops next to the picnic table.
We used Miceli’s jet fuel water boiler (which basically just boils a thermos of water very quickly) and added the water to our dehydrated astronaut food. We were all very pleasantly surprised by how good our meals were! Potter and I split a pasta primavera with a parmesan sauce, and Miceli had chili. By the time we were eating it had gotten dark, but we used flashlights to see. Honestly, though, the moon was so bright that we barely needed them. We sat around at our picnic table for a while, sipping at the Talisker scotch Potter had brought. Now, if you know me, you know I am not at all a scotch / whiskey / bourbon drinker. At all. But in the spirit of the hike, I decided to try a little bit. And I wouldn’t say that I liked it, but I sort of...got it. I could understand how you could like it. Perhaps someday I will.
After sitting around for awhile, we decided to walk further upstream to find the Phantom Ranch. After a short walk we came upon cabins (which you can rent out if you’re feeling fancy), and finally the canteen. It was strange to see so many people in one place, but the room was packed. They had electricity and best of all, beer! We all got Tecates and sat down to enjoy our drinks and write postcards home. The postcards are mailed by mule- literally! They’re carried out in packs by mule before they make it to a post office. There were some really interesting people in the canteen (“Yeah, I’ve been hiking for 5, maybe 6 days. Drove here from Chicago.”), but we were too tired to be very social. After finishing our beers and purchasing me a walking stick, we headed back to our tents and fell asleep pretty quickly.
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