My youngest daughter Sophi wanted to transfer from Health Careers High School, much to the shock of her mother and myself. We felt safe with her in a small magnet school and did not want her at Marshall High School. But that is where she wanted to go and we eventually agreed to this. A side effect—our trip to the Grand Canyon. Ever since seeing it in 1993 on my first motorcycle trip I’d wanted to hike to the Colorado River. Now was a chance to do that and bond with my daughter, open up that communication again.
We flew into Phoenix and rented a car to Flagstaff where we decided to stay because we figured the canyon would be booked solid. We were about 75 miles south of the rim. That afternoon we drove to the Bright Angel Lodge and tried to negotiate a Phantom Ranch reservation. Phantom Ranch was full but we got our name on a waiting list. The next morning we got up at 3:30 am, had breakfast at Denny’s and arrived at the Bright Angel Lodge by 6:30 am, in time for any vacancies that opened up. To my disappointment, they canceled the waiting list. Phantom Ranch had no water and only those with confirmed reservations would be allowed to go down. So, our first day at the canyon was a bit of a bust. We toured around the rim, snapped some photos, and generally did tourist-type things.
The next day we arrived at 6:30 from Flagstaff and experienced the same disappointment. But this time we were going to hike and not mess around like we did the day before.
Our first hike into the canyon was the Grandview Trail to Horseshoe Mesa. This very difficult hike is a standard day hike recommended in the Grand Canyon Guide, given out at the Park entrance. The Guide describes the trail as
Unmaintained steep trail requires caution…For experienced desert hiker. Hiking boots recommended. May be extremely icy in early spring.
It gave us a good flavor for what to expect and how to prepare. We each had two small bottles of GatorAde (bad mistake—warm GatorAde becomes thick and sticky and not suitable for satisfying thirst). When we did exit the trail 6 miles later we were worn out. But we also felt empowered—people at the view area asked us about the trail, what it was like to hike, and Sophi and I both felt we had actually accomplished something.
We found a motel room in Tusayan, only 2 miles from the South Rim. In fact, that had probably been available to us all along. No more 75 mile drives from Flagstaff—we were going to stay in Tusayan, a village of restaurants, motels, and tour shops.
The next morning we stopped by the Bright Angel Lodge to see if we could get a place at Phantom Ranch; not expecting much. Surprisingly we were #1 on the list and had a choice of a cabin, if we wanted, which of course we did. We were a bit unsure of what we were getting into as we had the difficult Grandview Hike the previous day. Our bodies were stiff from the beating of that hike. But in the words of Sophi,
We just have to suck it up big time.
And so we set off down the Bright Angel Trail.
I look back to this day as a big accomplishment for us. It had been a goal for 9 years, to hike to the Colorado.
That night, both Sophi and I were seriously cramped and stiff. We wondered how the next day would go when we had to walk out. Our intention was to walk out the Bright Angel Trail, 9½ miles.
We had a huge breakfast and were provided with a sack lunch. We began at 5:30 and were out by 2:00, none the worse for wear and brimming with confidence. As we neared the trailhead we would encounter people dipping down for a short hike into the canyon. It felt good to hear Sophi share her experience with various tourists and hikers we met along the way.
We concluded our week in the Grand Canyon with day trips along the Rim Trail on the South Rim.
Here are a few pictures from the Bright Angel portion.
