Hiking the Grand Canyon

At the bottom of the Grand Canyon lies Phantom Ranch. Every year, 20,000 people make the 8-10 mile trek to the bottom to spend a night there. Reservations are usually made several years in advance. With our off-season luck continuing, we were able to fill a last minute cancellation and make the journey to the bottom of the canyon.

The Phantom Ranch is hardly a rustic experience and I was ok with that. It’s charming and old-fashioned. Considering everything there comes on the back of a mule, the clean bunks, a shower house, and delicious family style meals are a bit of miracle and one that I thought the prices were fair for. We would recommend it to anyone in shape enough for the strenuous hike as you don’t have to carry much with you: a change of socks, a clean t-shirt, toothpaste, and maybe a book and you’d be fine.

Here’s the deal with the hiking: I’m a bit afraid of heights, and even more so when it involves the possibility of clumsily tripping on a lose rock to my death below. For most of the toe-bending descent on the Bright Angel trail, there was ample room to fall directly on to the trail. It was the Kaibab trail on the way up that made me a bit queasy. Of course, it could be that I was wheezing up my lungs. It took us all day to get down and all day to get back up.

We have lots of pictures. When I get back to Seattle, I’ll post a gallery and link to Vic’s.

Pictures from the Grand Canyon