So did you use poles?
I did not. I should have. I did the last two miles on very wobbly legs, in the dark, as it was getting cold. I think the dropoffs beside the trail weren’t bad by that point, but maybe I’m better off not knowing for sure.
If anyone in the future is planning this trip, and should happen to find this thread, use hiking poles.
There won’t be very many pictures to post. It was all I could do to keep walking. Stopping and fishing around in my pack for the camera weren’t my first priority. I didn’t even dip my feet in the Colorado River, and it was 150 feet away. I sat down in Bright Angel Creek, poured bottles of water over my head, threw up, and barely made it to dinner on time. It’s eight days later and I’m still trying to stretch my calves.
Casual readers of the thread may not realize that your hike out of the Canyon was a 14 mile uphill slog. If you had heat exhaustion the day before, I’d imagine it must have felt like a death march.
I hiked down that trail to Roaring Springs and back–9.4 miles–I was in good shape, and that was tough. Even if you’re prepared, the canyon can kick your butt.
14 miles sideways wasn’t the problem. I did the first half in about 5 hours. It’s beautiful there; never far from the creek, but very deep in the canyon. I didn’t want to linger, though. I’ve heard it gets very hot in there once the sun is high. 1 mile up was the hard part.
Roaring Springs? Everybody told me that wasn’t even worth the side trip off the trail. And contrary to its name, it was the one place on the north trail where you couldn’t get water. It’s an amazing trail to get there from the North Rim, though.
If I’m ever in the neighborhood again, I might hike down as far as the Supai Tunnel, just to see what I missed in the dark.
Ask and ye shall receive. Eventually.
Who are you?
Ahh…the good ol’ days! Mr. Surrounded and I met and married on the North Rim. We lived year round mostly on the North Rim, but sometimes we were stationed on the South Rim. DH was trail crew on those trails for a few years. MY GOD! HIS ASS AND LEGS WERE LIKE GRANITE! Is it hot in here? I think its hot in here…
Anywho. You picked an excellent time to go. The North Rim in the fall has always been worth an October trip. The changing aspens always made me think of LOTR elven wood.
Sorry about the ranger in need of a pitting. I would defend her, but having been a ranger myself, I know exactly how ‘pit worthy’ some of them can be. I had one pull me over and give me a speeding ticket while riding my bike! It was a 15 mph zone and I was approaching light speed at 20 mph. And South Rim rangers have a higher asshole ratio than the North Rim.
Im surprised that water wasn’t available at Roaring springs since that is the source of water for the entire park. They stop pumping from the springs for the winter, but that shouldn’t happen until the 15th.
Congratulations on your accomplishment. Nobody said it would be easy; only that it would be worth it.
Check the dates on the thread. I went in September. Two years ago. I was looking up something else from this thread and discovered that I never responded to the request for photos.
But it’s nice to read about your experiences at the canyon. Despite some bad advice from one ranger, I tip my hat to everyone who makes a trip like mine possible. I don’t even want to think about what it took to build those trails, lay the water pipes, build Phantom Ranch and the campgrounds, and everything else.