Day 14: Grand Canyon Rim to Rim Trip: Rafting the Colorado
Sunday, October 23
In the morning it rained lightly for a short time. This was our “day off” at the bottom of the canyon (elevation2,546). I thought I was going to be lazy and do nothing but of course I wanted to hike. I hiked through Bright Angel campground and crossed the bridge over Bright Angel Creek. At the beach area on the Colorado I saw large rafts and kayaks as I walked by and crossed the black bridge over the Colorado River , went through the tunnel on the south rim side and began walking up the South Kaibab trail. I turned right onto the River Trail and was high above the Colorado River with a great view of the two bridges… black & silver. I was and hoping the rafters/kayakers would head downstream so I could photograph them. I was soon rewarded with seeing paddlers navigate the rapids… what a sight. I crossed the silver bridge and headed back to camp for a lovely lunch.
After lunch I trekked through Phantom Ranch and walked up the North Kaibab trail and turned right on the Clear Creek trail. I walked about a mile up the trail until I came to a vantage point where I could see the Colorado River. I was in clear sight of the south rim and was able to get cell service. I called Kate… it was great to hear her voice. Initially she was worried that something was wrong because she didn’t expect to hear from me until the end of the trip. We had a terrific conversation and said our goodbyes. I met up with the others from my group and we hiked back to camp together. We had dinner in one of the cabins at Phantom Ranch… the one couple in our hiking group had put their name on the waiting list for a cabin rental (one of them did not like sleeping in a tent… not mentioning names here!!!) and they got lucky and got a cabin near the Phantom Ranch Canteen. We had our backpacker dinners at the cabin and it was really nice to be indoors… and I was sitting in a chair and seated at a table… what a luxury. After dinner we headed back to camp & we all turned in early… it was becoming a standing joke for us to try to stay up until 8 pm.
