10/7/11
We woke up at 5:00 at the Bright Angel campground so that we could get an early start for the long hike back to the rim. We made a breakfast of instant oatmeal and packed up camp. We were able to hit the trail by 6:45. It was light out, but the sun had not yet rise above the rim to shine its rays directly on us. The first couple miles of the Bright Angel trail took us along the Colorado River and did not climb much altitude.
As we began climbing altitude, we made sure to take it easy. We took breaks every hour to eat food, hydrate and rest our legs. We also made sure to stop and enjoy the views. The trail going up seemed easier than the trail going down. There was more shade and it was a more gradual climb. This trail had more water and bathroom stops than South Kaibab. Indian Gardens campsite is one of the landmarks with such amenities and marks roughly the middle of the hike. The Indian gardens area is the one with more vegetation of both trails and we suppose the reason for it's name.
As on the other trail, we encountered many other hikers and took time to chat along the way. At our lunch stop we were surrounded by a number of fat, aggressive squirrels that we had to continuously scare off to keep them from our food. We guess that they are often fed by the hikers on this route. We tried to keep an eye out for one of the 75 California Condors that now inhabit the Grand Canyon. At one time, these creatures with a 9 foot wingspan, were the rarest bird on earth, with a total population of only 22. In 1996, a group of condors was reintroduced to the Grand Canyon. We were happy to hear the ranger report that they have begun to reproduce naturally in the Grand Canyon again. There were three nests this year, one of which came from the original group of reintroduced birds. Unfortunately, we were unable to see one.
We reached the top of the Canyon and finished our hike at about 1:00, making for about 6 hours of total hiking time. We considered this to be great time for ourselves and felt great about completing the hike.
In the afternoon, we left the Canyon for Flagstaff as we needed to take the car in for a scheduled service the next morning. We ate some burgers at a cool place in Flagstaff called Diablo Burger. Afterward, we got a beer from a local brew pub. Sitting in Flagstaff, enjoying good food and beer and sleeping in a warm bed, we felt worlds away from the bottom of the Grand Canyon where we had started the day.
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