Descending into the Grand Canyon - the vertiginous Bright Angel Trail

The vista of the Canyon
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I've got the time so I thought I'd spend two days at the Grand Canyon. Yesterday was exploring the vertigo inducing rim, today will be to see how far I can get to the bottom.

They kept stressing to me at the hostel to take liquids down with you and I borrowed a small daypack. Myself and an English girl called Hazel were the only passengers on the bus this morning - well, until at least we reached the steam train junction at Williams and a lanky Scot called Gavin Munro and joined us. When we got there the other two did not feel like doing the Bright Angel Trail and I said I will meet them on the bus back. So I found my way to the start of the Bright Angel trail, hoisted my daypack and set off down into the depths of the canyon.

But I was getting tired and the last hour had me gasping and sweating as I put one tired foot in front of another. Imagine what it is like in summer

The changing colours of the canyon
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The first stretch is easy and narrow and is full of people who have attempted a little way into the canyon and are on their way up. Then it passes under yellow cliffs and small tunnels, then descends very steeply. Little switchback trails loop down and down for about half an hour and you can see the extraordinary feat of the Bright Angel Trail. Its man-made and is the brainchild of two brothers who built it in the 1870s - its the only way from one side of the canyon to the other unless you want a 1,000 mile detour. The brothers used to charge a massive fee and it used to take the mule trains five days from one side of the canyon to the other.

At this point the decline is very steep and you have to pace yourself or your feet run away from you. At the back of my mind was the thought that I will have to come up this way on my way back. As I trotted down the looping trail the walls of canyon became apparent and what looks like a sheer drop as you look down from the rim is actually a steep decline.

The ecology changes as you descend with more vegetation and animals - at one point in the path a deer sprawled across it heavily asleep - no one paying it a blind bit of notice. Then the walls begin to close in and the strata of rock becomes more red as you near the bottom. The red rock dust starts to get into your clothes. At the four mile stage it starts to get very warm and water is advised. But there is nary a sound...not even the wind.

The five to nine mile stretch was the canyon floor and an amazing set of switches and turns. Some parts were so eroded that if you took the wrong turn you ended up at the edge of a cliff. But I finally stumbled into Indian garden - the oasis at the bottom of the canyon. Its another six miles to plateau point where you can overlook the Colorado river. But I was worried about getting back up and after an hours rest lazing in the sun. I refilled my bottle and started on the trek up.

Its OK for the first mile or so but soon you begin to notice the incline you are walking in your ankles, thighs and small of your back. Your body is tilted to compensate for the steep incline. I paced myself and every half hour or so had a ten minute rest where I sat on a boulder and fended off ground squirrels. The thing about the canyon is that it is constantly changing due to angle and time of day. I never got tired of looking at that great mass of red mountain looming above me.But I was getting tired and the last hour had me gasping and sweating as I put one tired foot in front of another. Imagine what it is like in summer? No wonder emergency services are called in to help hikers. For the last mile I was praying the next bend in the trail was the last one and it was with great satisfaction that I reached the top.

Phew!

When we got back to Flagstaff it did mean a good story over dinner that night with Gavin and Hazel. Hazel is trying to persuade me to see the Indians at Monument Valley tomorrow.

I'll see how I feel. I feel I have done more then enough today..