Hi

Just got back from the Grand Canyon.

Last April, I was lucky and able to get reservations at Phantom Ranch for one male dorm bed and one female dorm bed for the night of October 25. We bookended that with reservations at the Bright Angel Lodge cabins - a partial rim view cabin the night before and a historic (non-rim view) cabin for the night after.

We were driving there from Las Cruces NM and on the way out we stopped and did the Big Room tour at Kartchner Caverns in Benson AZ, just outside of Tuscon.

These caves are hermetically sealed with air/vapor locks and monitored to maintain them in pristine condition. Similarly, tour group size is limited (15 for the big room, 20 for the Rotunda/Throne Room tour) so as to minimize the negative impact of humans on these caves.

It was fascinating to see the various formations- curtains, stalactites, stalagmites, soda straws, fried eggs, columns, turnips (really fascinating) etc. that are that have not been degraded by human interference. It is just mind boggling to watch a water droplet fall onto a fried egg formation or drip off of soda straw and realize that what you are seeing is a process that has been going on for some 200,000 years to create what you are seeing today.

We hadn't enough time to do both tours on this trip (or see the 15 minute movie) but that leaves the wonderful opportunity to return again to Kartchner. The facilities at the park are beautiful, - a really well laid out, landscaped parking lot, nice picnic area, wonderful native plant garden and a lovely Visitor / Discovery center.

Because the tours are small, the whole park has a more intimate, uncrowded feel and a serious lack of tour buses. We are looking forward to returning for the movie and the Rotunda/Throne room tour.

Departing from Benson, we headed on to Phoenix where we stayed for the night. The next morning we made two brief shopping forays, one at Whole Foods (love their chocolate macaroons) and the Container Store (so many wonderful housewares) and then headed on towards the Grand Canyon, driving through Sedona on the way. While I loved the red rock views, the traffic was miserable - mostly due to construction.

Around 3:00 pm we arrived at Bright Angel Lodge and were able to check in to our cabin. We then checked in at the transportation desk as per our instructions on our Phantom Ranch reservations and retired back to the room to organize our gear for the next morning.

Well, this is all for now, must eat lunch, will return and actually start the part of the report on Phantom Ranch

Pamela

Looking forward to more!!

MY

You took my dream trip! I want to read this report but am afraid of being jealous. Missed out on booking this year for a very very stupid reason (total brain stoppage). Glad you had a wonderful time!

Back again

Last April we hiked down the South Kaibab trail to Skeleton Point and back and that is what gave us the impetus to attempt the trek to the bottom.

So we rose at 5:30 in the morning, moved our luggage to the car, ate breakfast at Bright Angel Lodge, checked out of our cabin and headed off to wait for the 7:00am shuttle to the South Kaibab trailhead.

There were three shuttle times - 6, 7 and 8 am - and as the forecast for Phantom Ranch was a high of 86, we wanted to get going early. However the forecast low for the rim was 22, so we were a little leery of starting before sun-up. It was quite a quandary of how to dress for the expected extremes of 22 and 86.

I decided a little chill in the morning was better than overheating so I went with a short sleeved baby rib cotton tee shirt and my fleece zipper hoody with a baseball cap and headband to cover my ears and gloves along with my prana cargo capris. I also had a very light windbreaker with me that I could have put on if needed but it wasn't as cold as forecast (only a low of 35) so the extra layer was not needed. My husband had a wicking tee, a fleecy shirt and a windbreaker with his quickdry pants.

Our descent took about 4 1/2 hours with short stops every hour or so ( or every bathroom) with a longer stop at skeleton point for a mid morning snack. The trail was relatively unpopulated, especially compared to last April. We were passed by a few groups of speedier hikers and one trail runner and met up with three groups of hikers coming up the trail as well as one mule train going up the trail but for the most part we had the trail to ourselves and only rarely heard other hikers. This was most likely due to the earlier starting time (7:30) as compared to last April when I think we started down around 9:30 or so.

The trail had been worked on since last April -when the stretch from Cedar Ridge to Skeleton Point contained a number of deep steps where the dirt had been eroded between cross logs into deep hammocked shaped depressions, making the descending step extremely tough on the knees (or at least on my knees). Now, the dirt had been restored so that it was level with the logs and the step down was onto a similarly flat surface. Many thanks to the trail maintenance crews!

The sun was strong on our descent and we were almost constantly exposed (very little shade) so I was glad to be in capris and a tee (with that hoody tied around my waist). We arrived at the Black Bridge over the Colorado before noon, so the heat was never really a big issue for us, but some of the people who arrived a couple of hours later were suffering from the heat. It must be brutal in summer.

Once we arrived at the Black Bridge, my mind felt that we were there - but it was another half mile or so to Phantom Ranch - a very long half mile when you mentally think you are done - perhaps studying a trail map ahead of time would have been a good idea! Oh well, now I know!

We checked in, selected our bunks in our respective dorms - a lower bunk for me ( head bumping and claustrophobic ) and an upper for DH ( issues with the heating system blowing cold air during the night ) - but really either choice was fine. Both DH and I had a compatible, considerate bunch of dorm mates which made for a very pleasant experience.

One of the women in my dorm, who had been there the night before, related that the previous night, there was one woman, who announced that when the 4:30 wake-up call came for the 5 am breakfasters, she was going to turn on all the lights, notwithstanding that most of that dorm had a 6:30 breakfast time and turn them on she did. Turning the overhead light on was really the obnoxious part, since it was only about four feet away from the heads of the top bunk sleepers, who all had 6:30 breakfasts. When they asked her to turn off the overhead light, she refused. What a difference a day makes, all my dorm mates were thoughtful and considerate and I tried to be the same in return.

After selecting our bunks and switching into our sandals, we went back to the canteen and got a cold lemonade and enjoyed the sandwiches which we had carried down with us and followed that with quick shower and a short nap. Later we strolled down to the Silver Bridge and crossed over to the other side but decided not to do the loop between the bridges. As it was getting later in the afternoon the sunlight on the canyon walls was quite striking. We returned back to Phantom Ranch, soaked our feet in Bright Angel Creek, watched a soaring condor and spent some relaxing time talking with the other hikers, a number of whom were staying two nights, rather than just the one like us.

The stew dinner (6:30 pm) was very good and the chocolate cake for desert was delicious. We turned in soon after dinner since we had the 5 am breakfast and I slept really well.

When I awoke to the 4:30 wake-up call and started to get up, I noticed that my calves and butt were rather tight, which surprised me. Strolling around the evening before, everything had felt fine, but even so I had taken a couple of aspirin as a precaution. I really had not expected to be tight like that and when I walked down the steps outside the dorm my calves and butt were sore!. The previous spring when we had hiked almost halfway down and back up in the same day, I had had no after effects whatsoever the next day. It was really my descending muscles that were sore so maybe a day of half down and half up is easier on the body than a day of all down.

We ate our breakfast, picked up our sack lunches and started out walking towards the Silver Bridge around 6 am while it was still dark using our headlamps. Part way to the bridge we saw a group coming the other way on the trail - a group of deer. We stopped and the deer walked almost right up to us before realizing what we were. There was the fleeting moment of recognition followed by a sharp right turn.

The tightness and soreness dissipated (at least while walking on the level or uphill) but my legs were far from spry. DH also had started out with tight calves that loosened as we walked. Shortly after we had crossed the Silver Bridge and started on the river trail, we were able to turn off the headlamps.

The next three hours were simply marvelous. We really enjoyed hiking along and above the Colorado River, but hiking the stretch along side Pipe Creek and Garden Creek up to Indian Garden was fantastic. The sound of a bubbling brook and waterfalls, cottonwoods, ferns, lush foliage, shade, mule deer, morning light on canyon walls and solitude - a hike doesn't get much better than this.

It took us about three hours from Phantom Ranch to Indian Garden. We stopped to take pictures and every hour or so stopped for a small rest break. Our pace was slow but steady, never out of breath. As one person back at the ranch had said, Bright Angel is a kinder gentler trail compared to South Kaibab (at least the part up to Indian Garden is)

Well my dogs need their walk, so I'll post this and finish up later.

So excited to read your trip report! We're making the hike next March. Questions(things I've been worrying about):

1. You mentioned a 4:30 wakeup call. Is that someone in the dorm setting an alarm, or is there an "official" call (trying to figure out if we need to bring down some sort of alarm clock).

2. I'm worried about folks not going to bed early in the dorm/being noisy when we're trying to sleep. Comments?

3. Maybe TMI, but on the way up and down, were you always able to use an actual bathroom, or did you sometimes just have to step off the trail?

4. Is there food to buy when you get down to the bottom, or must you wait until it's time for the stew dinner to eat anything?

5. How did you feel the day after you walked up? My 16 year old has a big dance competition (we found out about it long after we made our reservations) and I'm worried that she won't even be able to walk, much less dance.

Looking forward to the rest of the report!!!

Back again

Indian Garden was a very pleasant stop but we didn't stay too long - we were a little concerned about our legs tightening up if we stopped too long.

As you leave Indian Garden, the magnitude of the remaining effort becomes all too apparent. It is one incredibly long way up to the top and it looks rather steep.

Fortunately, we had the early breakfast time and had left Phantom Ranch (PR) soon thereafter - consequently almost our entire hike out was in the shade. The temperature at Indian Garden was just around 50 degrees (9 am). I was hiking in just a short sleeved t-shirt (and capris) and it was very comfortable.

Another pair of hikers left IG (Indian Garden) about the same time - actually a few minutes after us - but they quickly passed us. A little ways up the trail we passed them as they stopped to catch their breath. This seesawing continue for the next three miles - all the way from IG to mile and a half house - we became known as the tortoises and they dubbed themselves the hares - so the race (?) was on. At first we would almost catch them in their resting phase, but they would re-engage before we actually reached them. Then we started to just reach them as they restarted their efforts and each time we caught them thereafter, we would go further and longer before they repassed us. We still took our rest breaks every hour or so, but even with these stops, we passed them one last time just before the mile and a half house. So much like the fable - slow and steady won the race (?).

I think the hares might have been lowlanders and were suffering increasing greater oxygen deprivation with the altitude gain. We live at 4000 ft and many of out local hikes take us over 7000 ft so the Altitude is not such an issue for us (tired legs were however).

Last April, when we climbed the last three miles of the South Kaibab trail, we walked much quicker and were generally huffing and puffing and needed to stop to catch our breath before continuing. This time, with our rather stale legs, our pace was such that we were never "out of breath".

I would like to return to PR, but next time I think I would stay an extra night, so as to have a recuperation day for our legs. We would then try to hike out at a pace somewhere between our two extremes - not letting ourselves get out of breath - but walking on a little quicker.

It took us just over three hours from IG to the rim and by the time we reached the top our legs were spent -my calves were tight, my quads were achey and my butt wasn't really happy. Fortunately, the wonderful person who originally took our reservations, booked us for an early arrival in our Bright Angel Cabin (2 pm) and it was noted on their records that we were returning from PR. Well some angel was looking over us, because at noon, when we crested the canyon and went to check in (at noon) - our room was ready !!!

Our cabin was one of the historical off rim cabins - but it had a handicapped shower - no ridge or bathtub side to step over - just stroll right in, sit right down and let the soothing water fall over you - that was fantastic !

After showering, we made sandwiches, ate and took a nap. Upon waking, we went out and strolled the rim (with two sets of very tight calves and one set of unhappy quads). We were both okay on the level, but any incline, up or down burned. The more we strolled, the looser all our muscle got, but they still were sore.

But it was a wonderful afternoon on the rim - about 3:15 or so, condors started to return to Bright Angel Lodge area - there were about 3 or 4 different condors circling down in the area. There was also a family of bighorn sheep sunning themselves on a small plateau just below El Tovar - a mother, a young one and a wonderful ram with magnificently curled horns.

The next day we drove home to Las Cruces - stopping for breakfast at La Posada in Winslow, AZ. I highly recommend their Arizona Green Chile Eggs. Dh had the Baked Machaca Beef Chicaquiles which he said were wonderful also.

We continued, leaving I 40 in Holbrook and heading down 180 to 60, through St Johns, past the Very Large Array, through Pietown and Magdellena, to I 20 in Socorro.

We stopped at the Buckhorn in San Antonio (just south of Socorro) for green chile cheeseburgers and then it was home to the puppies (two chorgies - chow corgi crosses - and our latest addition a feist dog)

Missypie - I am going to post this and then I'll respond to your questions

Pamela

Great report, Pamela---I always enjoy reading about my favorite place!

Your dorm experience was much better than my husband's when we hiked to Phantom in late September. I was in the "group cabin" with friends, but we had too many people to fit in that cabin (more than 10), so Dh and one other guy slept in the dorm. They had very inconsiderate roommates--including the one who turned on the overhead light when he rose at 4:30. did these people never hear of headlamps????

[Note to Missypie: a Phantom employee goes around knocking in the dorm doors at 4:30 to wake up those who are having 5:30 breakfast. Unfortunately, they wake up everyone else too!]

I too love that stretch of the Bright Angel trail between the river and Indian Gardens. Great close-up views of the rock formations.

We have always found our rooms ready (whether at El Tovar or Bright Angel) when we arrive after our hike up, even as early as 1:00. I never realized that Xanterra makes a note in the file that one is hiking up from Phantom and might need the room early. Great customer service! (I have always found them to be very courteous, helpful, and professional.)

I can answer a couple of missypie's questions:

For sore muscles, I think the best thing is ibuprofen, taken several times. This in on DH's advice (he is an M.D). It works for me. But gentle walking and stretching help too. You may feel stiff and sore when you first wake up, but a bit of walking around (and maybe a hot shower if you have time) will help.

Food at Phantom: they sell a few things like sports bars and nuts in the "canteen". But they close at 4:00 pm to get ready for dinner, so you have to get there before then (a good idea so you can buy some lemonade). I think it's better to carry what you might need in the way of snacks, rather than count on them.

Is it impossible to obtain a cabin if you are hiking? I understand that those are rserved for people on mules. But I think I have read several places about hikers in cabins not the dorms. Any info or insight on how to obtain this would be helpful.

Thanks for the report - glad you had a good time and made it down and back! It's good to hear they've done some work on S. Kaibab - those big holes sucked.

Missypie - On S. Kaibab there's a bathroom at Cedar Ridge (1.5 miles down) and another at the junction with the Tonto Trail (4.5 miles down). I believe they're both composting types with no water. On Bright Angel, there's a bathroom at Indian Garden and another at the 1.5 mile resthouse - similar distances from the rim as the bathrooms on S. Kaibab.

I think they still sell bag lunches at PR, not sure if you have to reserve them in advance or not. I was able to get some sort of breakfast in a bag - bagel and some snacks in the morning without a prior reservation.

Missypie

1. One of the staff comes and knocks firmly on the each of the dorm doors and announces "four-thirty wake-up call". It was loud enough that I would think most people would wake up - unless you were one of those dead to the world, like a log sleepers.

I had brought my cell phone with me for the sole purpose of using it as an alarm clock - but in the end I didn't bother setting it. Six of the ten people in my dorm were getting up at 4:30 - so I doubted that I could sleep through them getting ready.

2. We had the 6:30 stew dinner and we retired to bed shortly thereafter. There was a ranger talk that you could have gone to and the sky was ablaze with stars, so if inclined, you could stay up later, but about half our dorm was in bed by 8:00. I never heard the others coming in, and was only briefly awakened when the person in the upper bunk climbed in.

In the morning as we were getting ready at 4:30, everyone tried to be very quiet and not disturb the remaining sleepers. We had a wonderful bunch of women in our dorm - they were all very considerate of each other.

I think this is generally the way it is - however there is always the slight chance of having a self centered idiot in the mix - but I think the concentration of these type of people is much lower in the hiking population than the population at large, so I wouldn't worry about it. I got a wonderful night's sleep.

3. On the way down, there are bathrooms at Cedar Ridge (1.5 miles down) and at The Tipoff (4.6 miles down) as well as at the ranger station on the other side of the Colorado (6.8 miles down) and of course there were bathrooms at the trailhead on top.

On the way up Bright Angel, there is a bathroom at the junction of the River Trail with Bright Angel Trail - 2 miles from PR, another restroom at Indian Garden, 5 miles from PR and another at the Mile and a Half rest house (8.1 miles from PR). While I used most of the restrooms, I never felt the need to go off trail.

4. At Phantom Ranch, the office and canteen are combined, so as you check in, you can purchase some snacks/drinks. They have cookies, bagels, bananas, candy, lemonade, iced tea, beer, wine, maybe peanuts and energy bars, no soda. The food was more like snacks - no sandwiches or meal like food.

We carried our own sandwiches down with us and ate them shortly after we arrived (around noon). We also had fig newtons with us, so we were good until out 6:30 dinner.

Please note that the canteen shuts down at 4:00 pm to start preparing for the evening meals and reopens at 8:00 after they clean up from the last meal. You can however buy bear or wine during dinner.

5. We were sore the next morning-which did surprise me, but also we are 57 and 56 years old so our recovery rate is much slower than than a teenager.

It also depends upon conditioning, in August we had hiked in Glacier to Iceberg Lake and back (9.6 miles 1200ft elevation gain/loss) as well as to Grinnell Glacier and back (7.6 miles 1800 ft gain/loss), with no ill effects, no soreness. However there was a day in between the two hikes where we did the red bus tour.

Last April, we went down and back the South Kaibab as far as Skeleton Point (6 miles 2000 ft elevation gain/loss) without any ill effects. However we had been hiking weekly during the winter and in Las Cruces, the best hiking trails go up 1200 to 2000 ft and then back down the same amount, so last April we were probably in better shape.

If your daughter is in good shape she will probably be able to dance but not be as quite as sharp/energetic as normal. There is a world of difference between a teenager's ability to recover quickly versus a 55+ body, so she will probably be fine.

Next time (oh yes, I plan to do this again), in the afternoon, I will soak my legs in Bright Angel Creek or in the Colorado at the Boat Beach to aid in muscle recovery. When I ran marathons (in my late 30s, early 40s), my post race routine always include a soak in cool/cold water and the next day I would feel fine.

You will have a wonderful time in March. The canyon is an amazing place. I really enjoyed the contrast between the South Kaibab trail, with it's open views of the canyon and the Bright Angel Trail, with the bubbling brook, waterfalls and lush foliage.

In March there will still probably be patches of ice on parts of the trail. Some of this ice will not be obvious - because of the dryness of the climate - there may not be any wetness around the ice - so you won't see a different color dirt (i.e wet dirt) on the trail next to the ice. In fact the ice may be covered (camouflaged) with a little dry trail dust - this is how I landed flat on my back last April on the South Kaibab trail. Be especially careful on the north facing portions of the trail, since they get very little sunlight.

Have a great time. Let me know if you have any other questions or need clarification on anything I have written

Pamela

Eveningcrane - Thanks for posting a great trip report, I really enjoyed reading it.

Spirobulldog - There is one cabin available to hikers, but it's almost impossible to book. You need to call Xanterra on the 1st of the month for the following year. (ie: 1st October 2008 to reserve for October 2009) I think more cabins are available to hikers in the winter months when the mule rides are not as popular.

We have "muled" down 3 times in December and will be doing our 4th trip this December - last year there were a total of 5 riders and the year before that only 4 riders.

To book the 1 hikers cabin, you need to be dialling Xanterra before 7am, and try to get as many family and friends as possible to help you - the more phones, the better.

I tried on the 1st October for next year and I eventually got through after 45 minutes, but the cabin was only available for 1 night on the 31st (too late for our plans & I was hoping to stay 2 nights).

Only 46 more days!!
GIDDYUP

The other way to get a cabin is to book the 10-person group cabin and invite 9 of your best friends, like we did.

;-)

I did South Kaibab down and BA up in March (2 years ago) and there was a lot of snow and ice on the trail for the first mile or so. We had bought Yak Traks which worked great and gave us a lot of confidence. They only cost around $20 and fit on any shoe.

We've been to the Grand Canyon in March before and hiked down the Bright Angel trail to the first bathroom. I remember the snow and ice. My native Texan kids loved it so much that they didn't complain a bit about the hiking.

Hi

Just made reservations for November 2009 at Phantom Ranch. It took about two hours to finally get through, then 30 minutes on hold. Of course one of our dogs thought this was the appropriate time (while I was on hold) to jump on the side stone wall, use it to jump on the back stone wall, run down said wall behind three or four properties and jump off the other side. Fortunately DH was around to go round up our escapee - following the same route!

This time we will stay two nights (and do more climbs and descents in our preparatory conditioning) so I don't think we will be so sore (or sorry) and hopefully can do some hiking on the trails around Phantom Ranch on our rest day - Anyone have any suggestions for trails accessible from Phantom Ranch?

Missypie, which trail are you to use going down, which one are you to use going up?

Pamela

Hi Pamela---congratulations on your success with the reservation! It is really nice to have 2 nights there.

The two trails we have hiked when we had a layover day there are the Clear Creek trail and the North Kaibab trail. Both depart from Phantom---just keep going past the dorms and upstream on Bright Angel Creek.

The Clear Creek trail forks off to the right about 1/4 mile up the trail. It takes you up onto the Tonto Plateau, so you climb about 1200 or 1400 feet (I am relying on my memory here). Once you reach the level of the plateau, you can continue as far as you like. There are points from which you can see the river and the Black Bridge. We also saw a collared lizard on that trail, which was fun.

The North Kaibab trail stays along the creek on a nearly level path for about 4 miles, through the narrowed canyon area known as "the Box". It is a very different feeling from the rest of the trails there. The trail crosses the river several times on bridges.

Some people like to follow the North Kaibab trail up to Ribbon Falls, which involves some uphill and is 6.9 miles in each direction. We've never made it that far, although we did visit Ribbon Falls on our way down from the North Rim to Phantom in September.

If you want a recommendation. . . I'd say do a bit of each---a 2- or 3-hour hike up the Clear Creek trail in the morning, then an hour or two on the North Kaibab along Bright Angel Creek in the afternoon. That's what we did our first time there, and it wasn't too tiring. I think it helped to stretch our legs and get past the soreness from the hike down.

I think Enzian listed a couple of good dayhikes from Phantom Ranch. I just wanted to add a few things to that:

I think there's a typo - from what I've read Ribbon Falls is a bit under 6 miles from PR, not 6.9.

I only did the Clear Creek trail as far as the CCC bench which was nice enough as a leg-stretcher. Just beyond the bench to the right of the trail is a little social trail that takes you to a great overlook of the inner canyon. It's maybe 20 feet beyond the bench and another 10 feet max to the overlook, but that last 10 feet is a little exposed.

Another good dayhike on North Kaibab is to Phantom Canyon - it's a small slot-type canyon about 2 miles north of Phantom Ranch. You have to cross over Bright Angel Creek to enter the canyon (it's on your left as you head up N. Kaibab). There is no trail in Phantom Canyon and there is some scrambling involved if you want to go further than the first waterfall, but it's relatively easy. This canyon is subject to flash flooding so you need to check if there's been recent rain above it before going.

WhereWeAre---you are correct. I was thinking of Cottonwood Camp. According to the NK trail profile, it is 5.4 miles from Phantom Ranch to Ribbon Falls:

http://www.nps.gov/grca/parknews/upload/2008NR.pdf

If you have been there, could you provide directions to Pamela? We did not actually get all the way to the base of the falls---we lost the trail where it met the creek about 50 yards below the falls. In the midday heat, with the rest of the way to Phantom to complete (a 14-mile day), we decided to content ourselves with that more distant view.

That bench on the CC trail is a nice turnaround spot.

I've not been to Ribbon Falls so I don't have any good directions. I've only done the 2 hikes I described - it was either Phantom Canyon or Ribbon Falls, and I decided the canyon sounded a lot more interesting and not nearly as far away.