A good night's rest does wonders for hard-working muscles. Knowing it's going to be hot again, I wanted to get up early and get going. After the sun gets up, the slopes of the South Rim won't have a lot of shade.
I hike much slower than David, so I set out in advance and he'll join up (and pass me) later.
There's a full moon this morning, and a great clear sky. Packing up the tent is easy and quick.
Walking across a narrow suspension bridge, in the dark, with the sounds of the river below, is a new experience. The bridge creaks and sways while the metal plates make clicking and clanking sounds as I start off.
You can see a line of light between the bridge masts. These are hikers' lights way off in the distance, making their way through the sand dunes, going toward the first rest house on the Bright Angel Trail up to Indian Garden. They're about 10 minutes ahead of me.
As I approach the center of the bridge with my headlight beaming, I glimpse a flash of light up ahead. And then it's gone. But wait, there it is again, and it's two quick flashes, down low on the bridge.
As I started on one side of the bridge, a small animal had started across from the other side, heading over to the campground.
I stop and can just hear it running away, with a backward glance every few seconds. After few seconds I slowly move forward, wanting to give it plenty of time to get back off the other way. But there's a fast approaching hiker behind me, and he wants to get past on the narrow walkway. Well that's not going to happen, so I keep moving slowly and tell him there's an animal on the bridge trying to get off so he'll just have to be patient. He keeps right behind me but there's no way to squeeze past, and so the critter gets off the other end after what must have seemed a marathon wind sprint for tiny legs.
I'm not even under the bridge mast posts before the guy is past me like a shot. It's 5:15 in the morning, and he's moving like he's chasing the last bus of the day.
Our little friend, a Ringtail, was hiding behind a tuft of vegetation right on the cliff edge, and I managed to get a gritty video.
In the inky blackness, there's something surreal about hiking through sand dunes near a roaring river. Soon the trails starts to climb, and there's this pitch black dropoff on my right side, about 4 feet away. I've got a pretty bright headlamp, and beaming it over the edge gives me nuthin'- just the roar of water and the sense of being "out there"
In places like this, I walk on the inside, not because I'm worried about my footing or balance, but because at any moment a large deer, or sheep could come fast around a corner or down a slope and you'd have a big surprise.
The first resthouse is pretty plain, and just a composting toilet. It's still pitch black so there's not a lot to take pictures of. I keep up my slow plodding pace, grateful that the air is cool- right now cool enough for me to be comfortable in a light tee shirt and thin shorts. For me, getting rid of heat is the rate-limiting step in hiking speed.
Soon it's back to the open switchbacks up big slopes, and the sky is getting lighter. At one point, I'm looking up trying to figure out where the trail goes far ahead. Well, on what looks like a massive rugged pretty vertical mountain side, can you see a little glimmer of a headlamp?
It's the single white dot on the mountainside.
Part way up that part, here's a stereo image of the terrain. If you can get you eyes crossed to see a third image, then you can see the dropoff between the trailside and the far canyon wall.
The effect is very similar to another stereo image I took some years ago on the Lava Falls Trail near Toroweap. Have a look at the stereo pair looking across the Colorado river:
A less rugged part of the switchbacks on the way up.
At long last the vegetation starts to suggest nearby water, and the humidity picks up. At one point on the trail, you brush past tall grasses and sedges on the right.
Looking up at the South Rim.
Turning around and looking toward the Colorado, which is out of sight beyond the flat Tonto Plateau.
A Pack Train with Passengers heading down to Phantom.
Without a doubt, Indian Garden is an oasis not that apparent either from the top of the South Rim, or before you get there and see the vegetation. Today, part of the reason is the waterworks and distribution system The buildings are powered from high voltage lines coming down from the South Rim.
Our spacious campsite is just 50 feet away, complete with trees, water, picnic tables, roof shade and greenery everywhere.
The downtrail watering hole is the last outpost of benches and toilets before the trail heads down to the Colorado. The thermometer is well into the shade, and it's only early morning still. The signs are trying to tell day hikers from the South Rim that it's not a simple walk in the park
Later in the day after a cool rest and a great lunch, David and I decide to walk out onto the Tonto Plateau and head to the lookout. It's only a 3 mile round trip with no heavy backpacks.
Something happened to this Yucca. I call this "Corrective Action".
Net Forward Progress.
Way out here on this one way trip, the transcanyon water system is hiding, for the most part. The upright pipe is actually a shutoff valve to isolate a section, because there are often line breaks due to shifting rock.
At the far end there's water for the mules, and even an old fashioned drinking fountain!
The fence is more of a reminder than anything else. Safety is your responsibility.
On the way back from the bottom canyon sunset, I get talking with Mike from Scottsdale.
He's visited the canyon many times over the years, and is here again enjoying the scenery with his wife. We may see them later on back at the campsite.
Back at Indian Garden, it's dark. As I get on the main trail to the campsite, I turn around to snap this sign. Although we're going up to the rim tomorrow, it's a reminder of what's ahead in the morning!
