Sue in the Grand Canyon:
“The 3 of us started out at sunrise down the North Kaibab Trail taking the side trip to Roaring Springs to cool off in the water. Ribbon Falls was the highlight of the first day after setting up camp at Cottonwood and playing in the creek. Setting off at daybreak again on day 2 got us to Bright Angel campground well before lunch with time to relax at Boat Beach before hiking the River Trail loop for more fabulous views. On our layover day we hiked almost half of the 9 mile Clear Creek trail, a very hot trail even on a day with some cloud cover. Lots of sun exposure and great views from this trail. After lunch Ribeka and Lucy also visited the waterfall at Phantom Creek and did a very worthwhile exploration further up the creek. Wildlife included 2 rattlesnake encounters and 1 sighting. Scorpions and a black widow spider were revealed by Ranger Pam at one of her several informative talks at Phantom Ranch. Great weather with t-shirts for all except the first hour from the North Rim and very warm nights. Hiking out the Bright Angel Trail for the first 2 hours with headlamps allowed Lucy and Ribeka to venture quickly out on the side trail to Plateau Point for sunrise before the final 5 mile uphill stretch. Early rising was worth it to avoid the extreme heat of the day. A 4am start got us up to the South Rim well before 11am hiking in almost total shade. Lots of chit chat with the many tourists on the upper section of the trail. We were reportedly the only hikers with smiles on our faces at that point and we were sad to have the trip coming to an end so soon. A great trip and couldn’t wish for better company. You can’t help but love the Grand Canyon for all its fabulous expansive views every step of the way. I expect we will all be back to explore more trails here in the future.”
