Friday...a hike and Saturday...goodbyes

 Grand Canyon National Park

Friday,  we were up early and after walks with the pups, decided to hit the trail. We packed a lunch, salty snacks, and lots of water...poor Joe! Bright Angel Trail...here we come!

 Just after the first arch, if you look up there are petroglyphs. Bright Angel Trail was originally an Indian trail used by the Havasupai Indians to commute between the rim and Indian Garden.




 The trail is well maintained and offers spectacular views of the canyon.

 This is a look up at Trailview Point from the trail...

The spectacular views of the canyon were not at eye level. I had a really hard time walking and looking up! 

 In the late 1800s, the trail was improved by prospectors. One of the miners, Ralph Cameron, realized that the tourist trade was more profitable than the mining trade so he bought out his partners and took control of the trail.

 This little acrobat was quite entertaining!  We stood and watched for a few minutes as he maneuvered up, down, and all around!

The red in this picture is actually the right color...our shoes, socks and pants were this color too!

Look how thick the ground cover is here... and the trees a lot more dense.

The trail narrows...

 ...and finally, lunch! The rest house is 1.5 miles down. It only took us 2 hours to get to the rest house...my fault...tooooo many pictures!

The Indian Gardens, another 3.1 miles down, was our view at lunch. Joe and I had a deal...I could stop and take all the pictures I wanted on the hike down, but once we started up...

The hike back up was hard...it did seem like 10 miles Merikay!  But we made it in 1.5 hours even though we took lots and lots of water breaks! What a great sense of accomplishment!

 

Well, Saturday it was goodbyes. I am not sure who told who we were leaving Saturday morning, but thanks! We sure had a nice group of visitors wishing us "Happy trails!" and "Safe travels!".

 

 

 What a nice surprise! Six elks!

It was an emotional farewell for me...and for Wrecks (See him in the door?)
 

Our first trip...not our last...to the Grand Canyon was awesome!

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

Y'all come back!

Thursday...a walk

Grand Canyon National Park

Thursday we boarded the bus that took us to Hermits Rest.  Hermit Road, is a 7 mile scenic drive used by shuttle buses, bicyclists, and pedestrians...no cars. Our goal was to walk the 7.8 miles back to the GC Village.


Louis Boucher, nick-named "the Hermit", was an immigrant from Canada. He was a part-time prospector and full-time tourist guide who operated crude overnight camps below Hermits Rest. "the Hermit" came to the Canyon around 1889 and mined copper until 1912. He called his mule Calamity Jane.

Road builders of the 1930s placed narrow pullouts at overlooks for viewing along Hermits Road. Although Hermit Road was reconstructed in 2008, today's drive is essentially the same as the one completed in 1935. Park services began improving the foot-path back in the 1930s and continue today.

 

From Hermits Rest, we walked the 1.1 mile to Pima Point. Here the main attraction is the Great Mohave Wall...an almost sheer cliff plunging 3,000 feet.


 

Another 1.7 miles to Monument Creek Vista. This part of the foot-path is a paved greenway trail...bicycle and handicapped friendly.

For the next 3.1 miles we passed The Abyss, Mohave Point, Hopi Point and arrived at Powell Point all on an unpaved trail.

A view of the rapids at Monument Creek Vista.

In the picture below, we had a spectacular easterly view of Dana Butte with Granite Rapids visible...if you look close...at Hopi Point.







 

The Powell Memorial at Powell Point...the memorial was erected in 1915 to honor the first party to run the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. John Wesley Powell was the leader of the group. Powell set out in 1869 with four wooden boats and nine men to explore the Colorado River. Three months later, only six survivors and two battered boats emerged from the canyon's portal . Most of the scientific data was lost so Powell returned in 1871 and completed a more thorough report.


The foot-path changed to a paved trail at Powell Point for the rest of the walk...1.9 miles to the Village. We passed Maricopa Point and Trailview Overlooks.
At Trailview  Overlooks you have a great view of the Bright Angel Trail...the park service gained control of the trail in 1928. They rebuilt it to ease the grade. From the overlook you can see the mule parties, backpackers and day hikers. This is a hint of todays (Friday) adventure! 

The last little part of our walk was The Trail of Time...markers, like the one below were spaced out to give a geological timeline.

We made it! What a great way to spend the afternoon!

 

 Thanks for stopping by!

Y'all come back!