Bright Angel Trail - Grand Canyon

In August I visited the USA to see my daughter and her husband  ( Kirsty and Kevin) who live in New York.  During this time we visited Yosemite, Grand Sequoia National Park and the Grand Canyon.  The latter has always been a dream of mine and did not disappoint!  After a 3 day boat trip down the Colorado River, we spent the night at Phantom Ranch before our hike up the Bright Angel Trail the following day.  Temperatures at the bottom of the canyon were extreme, an unbelievable 50 degrees C and without the aircon in the cabins,  would have been unbearable.
We were up at 4.30 and having breakfast at 5.00am - Eggs, bacon sausage and pancakes which went down well.  We were also given a packed lunch to take with us on the trail.  Our river team had dubbed us ’Team South Africa’  and we were carrying our own gear out, whereas the rest took day packs and had the mules take the heavier things.  This was only because we had to catch a shuttle from the rim mid afternoon to get back to Flagstaff and they couldn’t guarantee that the mules would be up by that time.  We set off just after 5.35am and made our way to the bridge that crosses to the other side of the Colorado and the start of the Bright Angel Trail. This trail is the most popular in the park, and is 16km from Phantom Ranch to the top, ascending some 1340metres.  We knew it was going to be a long morning.  We left the beautiful jade green waters of the Colorado as we ascended slowly through many corkscrew bends.  The day was starting to heat up but the one saving grace was that it was getting slightly cooler as we ascended in height.  We stopped at Indian Garden for a rest - this is a camp spot as well and has water on tap.  We continued ever upwards with the magnificent canyon walls surrounding us and the river now far below.  At the start of our walk a guy who was running down passed us and about an hour later, passed us again on his way up - the mind boggles! There are several rest stops on the way up and all of them have water available which is a necessity. We took the opportunity to pour water over ourselves to try and remain cool and made sure to keep hydrated.  The trail is very well maintained and fairly easy walking with wooden logs laid out at frequent intervals as you climb ever higher.  Towards the top it does get steeper and is pretty sustained.  The views are awe inspiring and endless, really beautiful and had a lasting impact on me. We reached the rim after 6 hours, and were all glad to get there.  I especially was feeling the weight of my pack!  The Wisconsin family that had been on our boatwere up in a matter of 3  hours, and there were bets held as to whether Team South Africa would be next.  We made it into third place, but I have no doubt Kirsty and Kevin would have been second if they hadn’t had to wait for me!  We had a few hours to spare before our shuttle, so made our way to  the Yavapai Lodge which had several restaurants to choose from.  I also visited the gift shop as I had a newly found obsession with all things Grand Canyon and wanted to get a few books and of course the obligatory t-shirt! An unforgettable experience and I would recommend that if you ever have the chance to visit, you need to do the river trip as well to totally enjoy the whole Grand Canyon experience.For more on my Grand Canyon trip see:
elainebushell.myportfolio.com/grand-canyon-day-one
elainebushell.myportfolio.com/grand-canyon-day-two
elainebushell.myportfolio.com/grand-canyon-upper-river-day-three-1