Snuffy's Grand Canyon Adventure! Snuffy's Grand Canyon Adventure!Day 3, Sunday, February 11
Shouldn't have eaten the burrito. I was up a couple of times during the night for heartburn.
Finally up for good at 5 AM. Showered and packed and cleaned out of the room before 6 AM. Only one other person stirring in the Powell Cabin so far this morning. The wind seems to have died down some, although I can still hear it in the trees. I'm expecting a breezy morning.
I check out of the Bright Angel Lodge and catch the 6:30 AM shuttle to Canyon View. Breakfast this morning was a banana and pretzels and a quart of water. I'm going light today especially after the burrito last night.
No one is on the shuttle bus as we ride toward Canyon View. We pick up one woman along the way before reaching the center at 7 AM. I browse the new facilities on my way over to Mather Point to watch the sun come up. Mather Point is a glorious sight, dark around the edges, but bright in the middle as the sun begins to light the stage in front of me.
The canyon's appearance changes as each minute of the day passes and this morning is no exception. After watching the sunrise for thirty minutes I walk back to Canyon View to catch the Kaibab Shuttle to Yaki Point and the South Kaibab Trail.
Again, no one on the shuttle. The driver is a huge NASCAR fan originally from Wisconsin. We talk shop for a few minutes. He tells me that Ray Evernham's Dodge teams blew everyone away at yesterday's qualifying at Daytona. The driver drops me off at 7:45 AM at the South Kaibab Trailhead. I make a quick phone call home and then I head down.
The temperature this morning is 25 degrees with almost no breeze. The top of the trail is a little icy in spots and I stop and put on my crampons after a few hundred yards. Much better. The South Kaibab Trail is steep but it goes quickly. I'm taking my time, but I'm headed down quickly. By 9:30 AM I reach the halfway point to the river, 3.5 miles down, 3.8 miles to go. Well almost halfway, but this is the only sign you see with distances headed down.
The river comes into view at 10 AM and thirty minutes later I glimpse the Black Bridge crossing the Colorado River a couple of thousand feet below me. I stop for a quick break of water and pretzels at 10:15 AM. By eleven o'clock I'm crossing the bridge and at 11:30 AM I reach Phantom Ranch. Three and one-half hours down. Better than I expected.
I check in, buy a lemonade, and head to claim a bed in Bunkhouse 13. It's probably 50 degrees at Phantom Ranch. I sit outside and eat lunch; bananas and pretzels and half a Snickers bar. Saving room for the stew tonight.
About 12:30 PM I decide to hike up Bright Angel Creek on the North Kaibab Trail for a ways. It's a good, fairly level trail up Bright Angel Canyon. I cross two bridges and hike until 1:30 PM before turning around. Next time I'll plan for another day here and hike up to Ribbon Falls. It's almost six miles up the North Kaibab Trail from Phantom Ranch.
I get back to PR at 2:30 PM and shower before heading down to the cantina for a beer. I meet a couple, Bob and Jane from Arlington, VA, and another couple, Sam and Barbara from Hartsville, SC. We have a couple of beers and shoot the breeze until 4 PM. Then the staff runs us out of the cantina to get ready for dinner.
I chose the second seating for dinner, and I'm hungry by the time it comes around. It is a beef stew with fixings. Great! I eat more than my fill. I waddle away from the table. No room for anything else. I sit and talk with several of the folks before heading back to the bunkhouse. Everyone is asleep by 9 PM.
