Day 50- Indian Garden to Bright Angel
Woke up and broke camp at a leisurely pace since we were only doing 4-ish miles and 2000 feet of descending today. In fact, we were just about the last ones to leave camp. The hike down to the Colorado River at the bottom of the canyon is really something that can't be described. Each layer of the canyon, hundreds of feet tall, is so distinct and represents millions of years of history. Brett had read in the aforementioned book that the rocks at the bottom near the river were 1.5 billion years old. To walk through such ancient and majestic rock formations is kind of like staring into space on a clear night. The mammoth size and unfathomable time scales just makes you feel so small and insignificant in the grand scheme of things. It is truly humbling and something anyone who is able should try to experience.
In fact, this was the day we learned that our preconceived notions of the Grand Canyon were dead wrong. Generally the best viewpoints when hiking tend to be the high ones, so we had assumed that the views from the rim would be the best and that hiking down into the canyon would be underwhelming. Wrong wrong wrong. Of all the places we've gone, pictures probably do this place the least justice.
After a few hours of hiking we reached the Colorado River whose fast, blue waters cut this entire canyon out of the Colorado Plateau over the course of hundreds of millions of years. Its just a very special place.
Pulling ourselves away from sitting by the cool water of the river we decided to move on to Bright Angel Campground. Even though we left late ,we got there early enough to score a campsite right next to Bright Angel Creek. This was great because at the bottom of the canyon it was 96 degrees in the shade and 104 out of the shade!!!! Since it was so hot we decided to head over to Phantom Ranch where we heard they sold beer and lemonade. Talk about delicious....an icey cold lemonade at the bottom of the Grand Canyon??!?!?! Does it get any better?? No. No it doesn't. We downed two of those bad-boys and headed back to camp for a swim. The water of Bright Angel creek was deliciously cold. When I say it felt amazing I mean it felt AMAZING. We both stripped down to our skivvies and took the opportunity to get "clean".
As the sun went down some, we decided to go back up to Phantom Ranch to have ONE beer before dinner. One because tomorrow would be a day that would truly test our bodies and minds. 5 thousand feet up with backpacks over 8 miles. They say canyons are like reverse mountains when it comes to hiking. If you can get UP a mountain you can usually get down because on the way down gravity is your friend. A canyon is the opposite. Lots of people can manage to get INTO a canyon but end up having to get heli-lifted out. We enjoyed our beers and the AC before heading back to camp for dinner. Before leaving we also sent postcards to our family which would be delivered out by mule. Nice.
On our way back to camp we decided to stop and say hello to Helen and Della and grab some tape to bandage some blisters Brett had forming on his pinky toes. While we were there we mentioned to Helen that we had read a book about the formation of the Colorado Plateau and how much we had enjoyed it. She asked us if we remembered who it was by. "Wayne something or other from Arizona State, he signed and donated his book to the Indian Garden campground" we replied. "That's my husband!" she said happily. As it turns out Helen's husband quit his job after visiting the Grand Canyon which inspired him to get a degree in Geology. How neat is that? She insisted that we get back in touch and have her husband guide a rafting trip down the Colorado river when we're ready. Something we are very likely to do!
After eating, we walked back down to the Colorado River to watch the last rays of the sun disappear before bedding down around 8 PM so that we could get started around 4AM. An early start when doing river to rim is non-negotiable. If you don't start early you risk hiking the final 2 thousand feet in direct desert sun. This can get you into REAL trouble, as the sign so graphically points out.
That night in the tent was extremely hot, but luckily the sound of Bright Angel Creek was so loud in the tent it reminded me of the crashing ocean in Shi Shi. Thankfully sleep came more easily that it would have otherwise in such hot conditions. Definitely a blessing.