Grand Canyon National Park - July 14-16, 2023

[Martin Hash]

The last time my wife, Gwynne, and I were at the Grand Canyon, we got our National Parks Passport stamped, took a cursory look over the edge then left because it was a spurious stop on our Route 66 tour, but this time we got the full experience. We came in from the north, our first stop being Horseshoe Bend then the Desert View Watchtower, and finally set up our tent next to the corral in Mather campground.



Our primary goal was to hike to the bottom of the Grand Canton, a grueling 10 mile trek each way on the Bright Angel trail. Gwynne was dressed like she was going on a casual jaunt while I was wearing a long sleeve shirt, long pants, field cap, hiking boots and a backpack full of Gatoraid.

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It took 6 hours going down in 110+ degree heat. Gwynne would soak in the occasional streams that crossed the trail. It was 107 degrees at the coolest spot along the route, midway down, a place called Indian Gardens. There was water for Gwynne to lay in there, and a nice campsite nestled in among the trees and greenery. The ranger at the permit station had recommended we turn around there but we were committed to reaching the bottom. After that, there were few other hikers, obviously because of the extreme heat, but I was motivated by the idea of a cold beer we had heard was available at a canteen at the end. We made it to the suspension bridge across Colorado River without incident, and ended up at the Phantom Ranch where indeed they did have cold beer!



There was no one visible at the campground so I bathed nude in the stream there; drying off in minutes it was so hot: 118 degrees. Our plan had been to sleep if we could until early morning then head back in the cooler night. We laid a sleeping bag out on a table in one of the many empty campsites and tried to get some rest, but it was so uncomfortable on the corrugated metal surface, combined with the sweltering heat and my slick body sticking to the nylon bag, that we gave up trying. By 11 pm we were headed out in the darkness. It was overcast so not even the stars were visible.

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Our goal was Indian Garden, 4 hours away, so we had to be careful with our light. Gwynne held onto my pack while I led the way wearing a headlamp. We we both exhausted and not very well rested. I was feeling a bit dizzy, and Gwynne was barely keeping up; I could feel her using my pack to pull herself along. Once, the tugging went away, and when I turned around to see why, Gwynne had veered off and she was one step from going over the cliff; she caught herself abruptly when she saw and quickly grabbed onto my pack. The second headlamp died when we still had a ways to go so I used the flashlight in my cellphone to navigate through the many rocks; finally arriving at Indian Garden in the dark. While Gwynne soaked in the water, I took off my shoes and laid on one of the benches to sleep. We got up when it was just light enough to see. 3 hours later we again reached the top, Gwynne had an ice cream and we took an after selfie.

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