Solo Backpacking Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim: Day 4

After sleeping soundly with Marionberry, and still sated from my Lodge lunch of veggie burger and fries, I was in no particular hurry to get moving. I moseyed as I made coffee and broke camp. Other than getting through the Box before mid-morning, I saw no reason to leave before 6:00 or 6:30. My backpack Platypus had plenty of water for the hike, and my filter bag had enough for two cups of joe. The day would be easy, a gentle slope downhill to Bright Angel Campground, 1,340 feet of descent spread over eight miles. I could easily knock this out in under three hours.

I kept this equanimity until late morning, when I found my Bright Angel camp site had been attacked. More on that later.

I left Cottonwood a bit after 6:00, and temps were already creeping up to the mid-seventies. This being a Tuesday, there wasn’t nearly as much day-hiker traffic as the weekend, and I only met a handful of hikers and a couple of backpackers. Once again, the granite and schist canyon walls shaded my journey most of the way, and I even made it through the Box well before the morning sun baked the black walls and cranked the heat up to 150º. 

I was able to watch the sun slowly creep up in the southeast as I walked. And I simply stopped every few minutes to document the gradual, almost imperceptible, back-lit illumination of the canyon, in slow time-lapse. So here it is, your moment of Zen.

Ok, back to work.

There are a few of these wonderful New Deal CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) walls built during the 30s. We need to resurrect the CCC and put them to use rehabbing our national parks. Even the Grand Canyon is suffering from budgetary neglect. We need to infuse the parks with adequate cash for improvements and upkeep. We probably also have to limit the number of day hikers by introducing a permit system. The park just can't sustain the millions of annual visitors.

Nice and shady in the Box at 8:30, and it was a good time to take a short break.

This bridge signals I am close to Phantom Ranch, and by proximity, Bright Angel Campground.

I pulled into Bright Angel Campground a little after 9:00, and once again had my pick of the spots. I chose no. 16, the same spot I had three days ago. This time, anticipating the arc of the afternoon sun, I pitched my tent to follow that arc, and added my fly cover so I could make use of a tent feature that, with the help of a pair of hiking poles, turns the flap of each doorway into a shady awning. I will remove the cover after the sun arcs behind the backdrop of cliffs.

After setting up my tent, I decided to knock out the little 2-mile River Trail loop I noticed on my trip down the South Kaibab on my first day. That trail connects the Kaibab, Bright Angel, and North Kaibab trails, and gives a nice elevated view of the silver bridge, and the Colorado River. The trail starts just up the hill from the Black Bridge, so there would be a little bit of climbing at the start. But I was carrying only a water bottle so no worries. My little hike took all of 30 minutes.

The Black Bridge, 440 feet long, built in 1928. It would remain the only way to cross the river in the Grand canyon until the 1960s, when the Silver Bridge was built.

The River Trail starts just a few switchbacks up from the east side of the Black Bridge.

The Silver Bridge, connecting the Bright Angel Trail to the South and North Kaibab trails. Below the bridge, a motorized raft tour. There are both noisy, motorized tours, with 20 or more people on board, and quiet, oar-driven tours, with half as many people. 

Bridge shot, sans boat and noise.

Burro stables. Glad the poor, pathetic creatures aren't here.

When I arrived back at camp, one of my neighbors informed me I had left the lid to my critter box open and a squirrel (pine rat 松鼠🐿️ in Chinese) had ripped open my treasured bag of chemical-laced cheddar-flavored Ruffles potato chips, which, along with a bag of peanut M&Ms, was to constitute my lunch. The neighbor shooed away the critter and shut the lid of the box. To my relief, he wasn’t a typical greedy Trumper pine rat and only made off with a chip or two. Since I didn’t mind sharing a squirrel-sized portion, and didn’t fear pine rat cooties, I had ample for lunch.

Plenty of lunch left, and conveniently pre-opened.

The mule deer are all but domesticated here, as are the squirrels. But still cute.

The awning doing its work.

Cooling down nicely by 7:30.

From the Phantom Ranch Canteen. Situationally worth 8 bucks.

 

Photos the Editor Didn't Deign to Include as Not Comporting With His Obviously Limited Aesthetic