19 miles
95.3 AZT mile marker
I thought we would be able to see the sunrise since that was my recollection from last year, but it was hidden by trees. As everyone gathered for breakfast, I was already ready to go when Katherine, another AZT hiker showed up. We took off together. I wanted to leave a little earlier than the others since my designated campsite was further and I had some climbing to do at the end of the day with 93 degrees forecast.
We easily flew down the North Kaibab Trail from the North Rim to start our 6,000 foot descent to the Colorado River. I climbed this last year, and it was very nice to be able to descend this time. Early on we encountered a lot of rim-to-rim hikers going up who had started from the south rim very early in the morning. We agreed we didn’t see much point in that besides the bragging rights.
At one pint we chatted briefly with a father and his kids. We mentioned we were on the AZT and it was about 800 miles. As we were leaving, one of the kids asked his dad “800 miles?”, and his dad replied “and you were complaining about being tired”. We got quite a laugh out of that one.
We took a short side trip to the scenic and unique Ribbon Falls. Well worth the trip.
On the way down, we crossed running water for the first time of this entire trail, at almost 100 miles in. Aside from the other streams and river in the canyon, it will probably be the last for a while.
We stopped often for pictures, and I relished the luxury of the frequent water faucets so I could only carry a liter of water. A far cry from the norm on this trail. The canyon corridor is beautiful, and I will let the pictures speak for themselves. It was a pretty fast and easy hike down to Phantom Ranch at the river.
At Phantom Ranch we had the traditional lemonade and took a good break. Katherine was staying here for the night so it was on me to decide to leave and continue on. It was warm and sunny, though I’m not sure it made it to the forecast 93. However, some cloud cover popped up, and I decided this was the obvious time. I refilled my water yet again and took off, crossing the Colorado River.
After hiking along the river, before turning uphill, I took a brief douse and scrub in it at a beach since I had not showered in a week and have been hiking through the hot desert. Even I can smell myself very well. The water was dark and muddy like chocolate milk, so I’m not sure if I got cleaner or picked up more dirt from the river. I scrubbed my poor feet and legs at least which were caked in dirt.
Feeling a little refreshed and only slightly less smelly, I started uphill to Indian Garden where I was camping. The clouds had continued to roll in and there was some wind too, so the uphill hike was actually not that bad and I cranked it out. I had not been on the Bright Angel Trail before, and it was very nicely graded and had far more flowing water and vegetation than I was expecting.
I passed a bunch of flagging hikers and backpackers on my way up, and offered encouragement to all. I was in good spirits and just flying while enjoying the scenery.
I reached my campsite and it is quite a setup. I have my own bear box, picnic table, and covered pavilion; pretty fancy for hiker trash. It is supposed to storm tonight and it’s quite windy, so I just pictched my tent under the pavilion and threw my entire pack in the bear box because I could. #hikertrash
The ranger stopped by and even offered me more snacks after I mentioned I was on the AZT and started at the North Rim this morning. I had plenty of food and declined, but I was surprised to be offered. They seem to treat the AZT hikers well here which is a nice break from some other trails.
