On Monday June 29, 2015, my friend and I got up at 3:00 am and packed our gear for the hike down into the Canyon. Mom drove us over to meet the shuttle bus that would deliver us to the trailhead. We boarded the bus and it delivered us to the South Kaibab trail head and then we had 7 miles to the bottom of the Canyon and our campsite at Bright Angel Campground. Now we are talking some very serious down hill and frankly down is my special nemesis. In that 7 miles we would descend 4780 feet. We set off and entered an alien landscape. The sheer size of the Canyon got personal. Due to the extreme heat we were carrying extra water and salty snacks. I also had some Gatorade. We stopped at Ooh Aah point to watch a beautiful sunrise with a group of folks, most of whom were heading back up. Resuming our journey we were passed by a mule train taking supplies to Phantom Ranch. As the sun rose and we descended the heat became more and more a presence. Let me assure you that a mile of savage switchbacks is a long way. We reached Cedar Ridge then proceeded to Skeleton Point. 3 miles of 7 and my feet and my knees were complaining about the harsh treatment.
South Kaibab trail has no water stations like Bright Angel Trail. At Skeleton Point we looked down on an impressive series of intense switchbacks. They seemed to last forever until we got to the TipOff where there is a comfort station and we entered another zone in the Canyon. The last 2.6 miles were difficult and seemed to last forever. I am slow going downhill my buddy left me in the dust as the dirt trail turned from white and grey to red. I could see his figure ahead and below me as I went one step at a time, one foot in front of the other. The warning against hiking in the heat of the day in direct sunlight is one one should heed. Craig waited for me at the tunnel and we crossed the bridge over the Colorado River. We did it. We made it to the bottom of the Grand Canyon in 5 hours. We made our way to the Campground and looked for shade. There was very little of it. I took off my boots and put my feet in the cool water of the creek. Craig was so excited he couldn’t be still. He went back to wade in the Colorado River, located lemonade and Frozen Snickers at Phantom Ranch and even brought me some ice a little taste of heaven at the outer gates of Hell to be sure. It was 116 with the heat index over 120 degrees.
The heat was oppressive. It sucked the vitality right out of your bones leaving you lethargic and stealing your appetite and there was no escaping it. I would submerge myself in the cold water of the creek and then lie on my sleeping mat until I grew too hot and I would repeat the dunking and I would drink and snack forcing myself to eat. I went to Phantom Ranch with Craig and got a lemonade and candy bar of my own then convinced Craig he needed to cool down in the creek and rest up. After all going down is optional coming back up is mandatory.
The Rangers came by to check our permit and I asked them about going back up and they said that many folks especially on moonlit nights opted to hike out overnight to avoid the heat of the sun. It wasn’t going to cool down after all. Craig could never rest so we decided to head out. We left camp at 8:30 with the full moon rising. The hike out felt surreal as the moon lit the path a silver thread making its way up now, ever upward. The 1.5 mile river trail along the Colorado leading to Bright Angel our chosen route out of the furnace had stretches of deep white sand and your feet sank and slipped as you walked. We rested at a potty house and watched a storm roll by, thunder and lightening big fat raindrops that did nothing to alleviate the heat. Our goal was Indian Gardens Campground where there promised to be a water station. The degree and intensity of the heat was lessened only by the absence of the sun. Climbing is hard work. Once the ascent got serious I lost Craig. From 8:30 to 3:30 in the morning it was a lot of stopping and waiting as Craig lost his battle with the exertion and the heat. I gave him the last of my Gatorade and encouraged him to persevere. The pace was agonizingly slow. I would go ahead a little ways and wait on him to catch up. My reserves were being slowly chewed down by the sheer amount of time we were spending in the Canyon. The heat sucked it out of you a slow steady bleed. The sights and sounds and physical challenge of the trail will always be a highlight of my life. The moon and shadows made it feel like I had stepped into the pages of a fantasy adventure. The trail practically glowed under foot. Details of the scenery were lost in shadow and the moon hung in the sky like a beacon. The river below was a distant roaring heard and felt on a primal level but unseen. Finally, on a rocky ledge Craig gave up and told me he needed more help than I could give him. He was hurting, muscles cramping up on him and he was starting to feel sick. I was wearing down myself, I made sure he had water and was in a place he could semi comfortably wait while I went in search of aid.
At Indian Gardens I found the ranger station and woke a nice middle age lady ranger named Beth. I explained the situation and she set me up at a campsite and went in search of my erstwhile companion. Thank you NPS and Beth for being there. She located Craig, we had been so close to Indian Gardens, and brought him to the campsite gave us electrolytes and snacks told us to rest and head on out when we felt able. It was 1.5 mile to a water station, then 1.5 mile to the next water station then a mile to the Rim. We rested and hydrated and when Craig said he couldn’t stay there one more minute he had to get out of the Canyon out of the heat…we started up. The traffic on Bright Angel is pretty constant. As the primary corridor trail with water stations it sees a lot of people. A mile and 1/2 does not seem all that far until you begin to climb in the heat of the sun. It was catching up to me. I was losing my vitality. I could only go so far before I had to rest. I was wearing down but still doing better than Craig. I made it to the rest house at mile 3 and waited for my friend. People came down, they went up, all were friendly many offered help. I took a couple of different groups up on sharing electrolyte drinks. The terrain is steep, you really can’t appreciate the true magnificent magnitude of the Canyon until you go down into it then climb back out. It became my endurance test as I waited on Craig. He finally made the rest house. I spoke to him, he was struggling but determined. I told him I would wait on him at the next station and proceeded up. It was grueling and a test of grit and determination. I was moving slower but I made it. At the 1.5 mile rest house I waited and waited and asked fellow hikers if they had seen my buddy. I got positive confirmation he was on trail and making slow progress so I waited and the day passed. Traffic thinned and then the phone rang. I had signal this close to the Rim. It was Craig…Beth, the Ranger and rescuer from the night before, had caught up to him, recognized and evaluated his condition and was sending for a medic. She wanted me to go on out of the Canyon. They didn’t need two of us misplaced hillbillies below the Rim. This last surge towards the Rim was the hardest yet. I was depleted. I walked a short distance and rested then got up and made my way up until I had to rest again. I looked for places to rest and went from one to the next one on sheer willpower alone. The medic passed me at a jog heading down to give Craig medical assistance. I walked 100 paces rested, repeated. A storm rolled in Thunder and lightening and blessed cool rain. A family caught up to me about .3 from the top and the man offered to carry my pack. God bless this man and his family. I almost couldn’t keep up with them, but I did. At the top I called Mom. It took Craig and I 18+ hours and medical intervention to make the 9 miles out of the Canyon. Craig got 2 IV’s and a nap and walked out by early morning.
Life is an adventure for sure. So many things could have gone so much more wrong. The Rangers told us more folks die from heat related issues than from falling. I can believe it! I learned so much about practical hiking in that environment. Rim to Rim is on my bucket list. I will be better prepared knowing the challenges of the terrain and environment.
MrsSmithsLifeUnexpected 