Grand Canyon- Climbing Out

The canyon walls re-radiated the sun’s heat all night so that at 4AM it was still 86°. Cappuccino and I used the red light of our headlamps to break camp as a courtesy to other campers nearby. The bright white searchlight abilities of modern headlamps are good for hiking at night, but much too glaring for use when others might be trying to sleep. We were on the trail at 4:35AM.

As soon as we cleared the campground we switched to our stronger white lights and walked the 200 yards to the Silver Bridge across the Colorado. As we crossed the bridge by headlamp, we could only see the foot way in front of us while the sounds of a roaring river just below filled our ears. This was a a bit unnerving. Once across the span, we started west on the River Trail toward Bright Angel Trail. It was still 86°.

The River Trail parallels the Colorado for a mile and a half before turning into the Bright Angel Trail and veering south away from the river. Hiking through the dark, one is always aware of the great churning roar off to the left and some very close, but unknown distance away. So when we turned south it was kind of a relief to leave the river behind.

Now the trail began to climb in the darkness. There were massive walls and drop offs well beyond the view of our tiny headlamps. Our world was diminished to the circle of the light beam. Up we moved along some kind of creek between walls and abyss. Slowly the sky began to lighten. And the first tiny breath of cooler air hit us. As we ascended the breeze picked up and for the first time we thought we might not be cooked to death. The temperature dropped to 79°.

We had planned to stop where the trail turned south to have a quick trail breakfast, but we realized that we couldn’t waste the cool darkness on eating and needed to use it for moving. The sun would be up soon enough. So we pressed on.

By 5:30 it was light enough to navigate without the lights. We had arrived at a set of switchbacks known as The Devil’s Corkscrew. Short and steep we tackled the Corkscrew with the hope we could put it behind us before the sunrise hit and raised the temperature. And we did. The Corkscrew spit us out into the riparian corridor that surrounded Havasupai Creek. A creek we would follow almost to the top of the South Rim.

From the desert and now through a marsh and stream bed, the Canyon has its surprises. Soon cottonwoods and other trees became more numerous and after a mile and a half we were at Havasupai Gardens Campground. We grabbed a picnic table and had our delayed breakfast. We had covered nearly 5 miles and it was 7:40AM.

The sun was definitely up, but a smoke like haze seemed to be tempering its heat. Yet, it did not smell smoky. We headed out from breakfast renewed, and climbed into the box canyon that was the headwaters of the creek. The perfect red disk of the sun was just able to shine through the haze.

Soon we were tucked up against the steep walls of the canyon going up innumerable switchbacks. Most of the switchbacks were in the shade of the canyon’s western wall and we had a pretty pleasant 76° for the rest of our hike. Up we went to 3 mile Rest House, a small shelter along the trail. Then up switchbacks to 1.5 mile Rest House and then up the final switchbacks to South Rim. It was 11:00AM when we topped out. A cool breeze was blowing and we headed over to the lodge to get ice cream and some tea before driving back to Tusayan and our motel.

We made it out, 4,460 feet of elevation gain in 9.3 miles. The temperature was the hottest when we started and actually cooled off as we climbed. The haze and the western exposure really helped. But it was a demanding ascent and we were spent when we got to the top. Once again stunning scenery and a magical, if tough, trip.

We head back to Albuquerque tomorrow and I will post one more blog about the trip on Friday.

Until Friday, Happy Trails!