Down in the Canyon - DOWN IN THE CANYON!!

Monday, April 14th, Descent on the Bright Angel Trail

Around 10:30, we began our descent into the Grand Canyon.  The Bright Angel Trail is wide (mostly) and clear and affords hikers a reasonably simple way to become more acquainted with the Canyon. 

(courtesy of azraft.com)

 

The trail goes out for several miles, descending several thousand feet from the 6800+ foot rim.  Our goal was to hike in to the 1.5 mile mark, losing 1100 feet of altitude along the way. 

We came up just a bit short of that goal, though the nearly 3-hour trip was an unqualified success!  Some highlights:

Early on, there is an excellent short tunnel pass-through, the result of erosion and amplified by human hands.  On the far side of the tunnel, we spotted some petroglyphs in red  dye . . .  clear symbols that must have been words, followed by several rudimentary drawings that were elk-like.  I must admit that we did not see this on the way down but were alerted to it on the way back up by a pair of shoeless hikers who were Canyon pros!

Along the way, there were several tight turns from which Liam learned the meaning of "hairpin."

The views from within the Canyon are, naturally, remarkable and the recognition that one is now inside the scene is hard to describe.  It's as if one had entered a painting after long admiring it from the gallery floor. There's a constant tension, however, of both looking down to assure your footing and looking up to take it all in.

After descending several hundred feet, one is treated to an near-instant transformation.  The ground below you turns from sandy yellow to brick red in a matter of 100 paces!  The sharp division, between the colored layers of rock that one sees from the rim, is a treat to experience personally.  It feels like a milestone (sandstone, limestone, "milestone?"). . . "we're in the red!"

Deep into the red, Beth and I decide that, though we're about a half-mile short of the first rest station, our knees and muscles were announcing their displeasure.  Knowing that uphill would be harder than downhill, we paused, took some additional photos, and began the slow ascent back to the rim.