Tuesday, October 18.
I drove to the visitor center and caught the orange bus out to the South Kaibab trail and arrived about 11:30. This is the trail that I took last February to descend to the bottom on my rim to river trip. The trail was as beautiful as I remembered it. Someone coming up told me to look for some bighorn sheep on the side of the mountain. Soon after I spotted four sheep — two mommas and two youngsters. They were fascinating to watch. I shot lots of photos and then moved on. At Ooh Ah Point there were so many people on the rocks taking selfies I snapped a few photos and kept going. I walked to Cedar Ridge and had lunch there then turned around and headed back. I kept looking for the sheep on the way back up and finally close to the trailhead I spotted the original four that I saw and two more. I shot even more photos… it was simply a spectacular moment. They are so agile with the way they hop around on the rocks and their feet are just on the edge… wish I had that kind of sure footing. I finally finished shooting and caught the bus back to the visitor center. Then I headed back to the camper to fix dinner and turn in early. I went to sleep early and got a great night’s sleep.
@ludwigsdiana thanks Diana… I’ve been hiking & exploring alone since I arrived last Friday afternoon. I had hoped to hike Hermit’s trail with the woman who helped me with my hydration pack but it turned out she had to work… I was disappointed but hiked South Kaibab trail instead. It is a more maintained trail and has lots of hikers in case of trouble. I meet up with my backpacking guides today and there are 4 other hikers for a group size of 7 total. Once I begin my trip to the North rim I will be with the group.
