A view of Grand Canyon's north rim from Skeleton Point.
Photographer: Joseph Bowman
Grand Canyon, located in northwestern Arizona, is over a mile deep, 18 miles wide in places, and 277 miles long. The Colorado River snakes and crashes through the bottom of the Canyon, flowing from northeast to southwest, eventually emptying into the Gulf of California. In her review of “A Walk In The Park,” by Kevin Fedarko, outdoor adventure writer Blair Braverman described the Canyon as, "a living oven, full of scorpions, cactuses, venemous snakes, flash floods, and various other incarnations of hell on earth." (Braverman, Blair. "He Took a Terrible, Horrible, No-Good 800-Mile Hike So You Don't Have To." New York Times, May 25, 2024). Indeed, the U.S. National Park Service rates Grand Canyon National Park as one of the deadliest national parks in the nation.
Al Havinga, Mike Kilby, Mark Noland, and I , all ranging in age from 65 to 73, entered the National Park Service’s lottery to secure the necessary camp permits for a hike across the Canyon.
We won!
Our route started on the Canyon’s north rim at Bright Angel Canyon, one of many side canyons that lead to the Colorado River at the bottom of Grand Canyon. We hiked 14 miles descending 5,740 feet on the North Kaibab Trail to the Colorado River, then crossed the Colorado and hiked 10 miles up Bright Angel Trail, ascending 4,340 feet to the south rim. The 24-mile hike took three days and two nights, and gallons and gallons of water.
There are hikers who cross from rim to rim in a day. There are even some who will cross from rim to rim and back to the first rim in a day - a rim to rim to rim hike. They are typically twenty or thirty-something hardbodies. Late one night I was standing next to the trail near my tent. A rim to rim hiker wearing a headlamp came walking fast up the trail heading to the north rim, from where I had hiked that day. He stopped and asked me how far to the north rim trailhead. I told him it was about seven or eight miles away, and that the trail was a steep climb and would be treacherous in the dark. I advised him to have a seat and wait for daylight. He declined and hoofed on up the trail. I had to wonder what was the point of doing this hike in a single day, much of it at night, at such a pace. There was no way such a hiker could appreciate the awesomeness and beauty of the Grand Canyon, and the risk of serious injury, or worse, was too great.
Mark (left) and Al on North Kaibab Trail.
Photographer: Joseph Bowman
Mike on the first day of our hike.
Photographer: Joseph Bowman
Roaring Springs roars out of a mountainside near North Kaibab Trail.
Photographer: Joseph Bowman
We made our first camp at Cottonwood Campground, seven miles into the hike and 4,200 feet lower than where we started. The steep hike down was hard on toes and knees, so hiking poles were essential. The rocky switchback trail hugged canyon walls where a misstep could send a hiker over the edge, and the switchbacks were so steep that, at times, the trail we just hiked was a hundred feet directly above us. At one point, fist-sized rocks tumbled down around Mike, one barely missing his head. We wondered if a careless hiker high above kicked a rock off the trail and started the slide.
Joe, in blue, and Al, in red, make their way to the bottom of the Canyon. This
photograph illustrates the tight switchbacks on North Kaibab Trail.
Photographer: Mark Noland
By the time we reached our campsite and pitched our tents, I was achey, grumpy, and hot. I boiled some water to rehydrate my dehydrated chicken and rice dinner, which turned out to be pretty tasty. Over dinner and for a while afterward, we talked about our day and the day comimng up. As the sun began to set, we gawked at the ancient, colorful canyon walls surrounding us. I crawled into my tent and hit the sack. As the sun rose the next morning, I peeked out of my tent and saw Bright Angel Point, a rocky promontory lit up by the sun. The early morning air was cool and clean, not yet stifling hot from the sun and its energy that would soon be radiating from the canyon’s walls. To take advantage of the cool morning temperature, we wolfed down a quick breakfast of coffee and biscuits, broke down and packed up our camp, and started hiking.
Bright Angel Point
Photographer: Joseph Bowman
Mike adjusts his hiking poles as he makes his way along North Kaibab Trail.
Photographer: Joseph Bowman
Bright Angel Campground, was seven miles further down the trail where Bright Angel Canyon opens into Grand Canyon. The descent from Cottonwood to Bright Angel Campground was only 1,540 feet, so this stretch of the hike was a breeze compared to the previous day, but by the time we reached our camp, the temperature had risen to 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Our camp at Bright Angel, at the bottom of Grand Canyon.
Photographer: Joseph Bowman
Mike, Al, and Mark take a break after setting up camp at Bright Angel Campground.
Photographer: Joseph Bowman
A short distance down the trail from Bright Angel Campground is Phantom Ranch, a luxury cabin camp designed in the 1920s by famed architect Mary Colter. Phantom Ranch is small, rustic, and charming. It is in such demand that chances of getting reservations to spend a night or two are remote. After we set up our camp at Bright Angel, we strolled over to the Ranch to see what was there, and found a snack bar in the Ranch’s canteen. The guy at the cash register agreed to sell us each no more than two beers. I could’ve drunk an entire six pack, but that combined with the afternoon heat would’ve knocked me out. The two ice cold beers were heavenly after our long hike in the intense heat. Al, being the smooth talker in our group, managed to snag dinner and breakfast reservations for all of us at the canteen for that evening and the next morning. My sirloin steak dinner was perfect, and my pancake, bacon, and sausage breakfast the next morning sustained me during the 10-mile, 4,340-foot ascent up Bright Angel Trail to the south rim.
The Phantom Ranch Canteen
Photographer: Joseph Bowman
Bright Angel Trail is one of two trails that lead up to the south rim from Bright Angel Camp. The other is South Kaibab Trail, which stretches seven miles from the Colorado River to the south rim. South Kaibab Trail is more scenic than Bright Angel Trail, but there is no water on South Kaibab. So, on a warm day and given the 4,340 foot ascent, a 170 lb. hiker should pack at least five litres of water, which would add 11 pounds to the rest of the hiker’s camping gear.
For that reason, we chose to hike Bright Angel Trail to the south rim, despite that it is two to three miles longer than South Kaibab Trail. Garden Creek flows along most of the length of the trail, and there is also a good water stop at Havasupai Garden, about half way up the trail. We crossed the Colorado River at Silver Bridge, and started the long, hot 10-mile trudge, aiming for a water stop at Havasupai Garden, named after the Native American tribe that has called the Canyon home for 800 years. The tribe’s name, Havasupai, translates to “People of the Blue-Green Waters.”
Silver Bridge leads to Bright Angel Trail.
Photographer: Joseph Bowman
The Colorado River, as seen from Silver Bridge.
Photographer: Joseph Bowman
When we reached Havasupai Garden, we encountered a young, athletic looking man sitting on the side of the trail. He had just hiked down from the south rim in blazing heat. He was drenched with sweat and looked exhausted. He asked, "Are any of you guys smart?"
Mike, a retired paramedic and one of the first-responders to the Pentagon after the September 11, 2001 Al-Qaeda attack, asked the hiker a few questions. The hiker said he was "cramping up," despite having already drunk about six litres of water. Mike determined that by drinking so much water, the hiker was flushing electrolytes (salt), and was starting to feel the ill effects. We gave the hiker packets of electrolyte powder to mix with his water and Mike instructed him to immediately drink a litre of the mixture. About fifteen minutes later, the hiker seemed to have recovered. He thanked Mike for the advice and help and went on his way to the Colorado River. We continued up the trail to the south rim.
We made it to the Bright Angel Trailhead on the south rim about mid-afternoon. Did we earn the right to call ourselves Canyoneers? Probably not, but we felt like something more than mere tourists.
After checking into our hotel rooms on the south rim, we showered up and took much needed naps. We had a celebratory dinner at the famous El Tovar Restaurant, located a short walk from the Bright Angel Trailhead.
Al Havinga, Joe Bowman, and Mike Kilby at the Bright Angel Trailhead.
Joe Bowman, Mike Kilby, Mark Noland, and Al Havinga having dinner at El Tovar Hotel.
ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOE BOWMAN FOLLOW:
This section of the North Kaibab Trail is known as "The Box."
The hike down to Red Wall Bridge is very steep.
Mike makes his way down the trail to the bottom of the Canyon.
Al and Mike take a much needed break.
On our first night, we pitched our tents at Cottonwood Campground.
We came up those switchbacks on the Bright Angel Trail,
leading up to the south rim.
THE FOLLOWING PHOTOGRAPHS ARE BY MARK NOLAND
Joe, Al, and Mike at the North Kaibab Trailhead, where the hike began. Note the cold weather gear we are wearing. When we started
the hike, the temperature was a cool, refreshing 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
Al, the novice camper in the group, has pitched his tent. Note the use of heavy rocks at
the corners of the tent. Rocks were used instead of tent stakes to anchor the tents because the ground was too hard to accept stakes.
Joe makes his way down the North Kaibab Trail.
Joe, in blue, and Mike, in red, make their way to the bottom of the Canyon. This
photograph illustrates the tight switchbacks on North Kaibab Trail.
Mark, Mike, Al, and Joe have packed up their Cottonwood Camp and are ready
to start the second day of the hike.
This thermometer was posted at Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the Canyon. The
temperature reading, 100 degrees Fahrenheit, is probably correct. The temperature at the
north rim was 40 degrees when we started the hike, but was 100 degrees when we reached the bottom of the Canyon. The dramatic change in temperature is typical.
This mule "string" was carrying provisions to people working at the bottom of the Canyon, such as rangers, trail crew workers, and probably Phantom Ranch staff. The wrangler is keeping a close eye on the photographer (Mark), and cautioning his lead mule to be calm. In 1991, a mule string fell 200 feet off the edge of Bright Angel Trail. All were killed except for Susan, the lead mule, who managed to pull herself free from the string before she could be pulled over the edge.
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