Grand Canyon -- We Did It!

Day 1 -- Wed., Apr. 26, 2006
After going through the 4 day wait process at the Back Country office for overnight hiking permits, we got our permits Tuesday morning. It has been my sister Jenni's dream to some day hike down the Grand Canyon and now it was about to become reality! As you can see, we've got our back packs loaded and we're ready to head down the 7 mile hike to the Colorado River on South Kaibab Trail.
It took us 8 hours to get to the Phantom Ranch at the river where we stayed the night in the ranch dorms, had a steak dinner, a hot breakfast the next morning and they even packed us a sack lunch for the hike back up. So, it was a long day carrying 30-35 lb. packs!
Day 2 -- Thurs., Apr. 27
Now we're ready to start the hike back up. Bright Angel trail was a beautiful trail. We got to hike along the canyon next to the stream and saw waterfalls, lizards, squirrels and deer. We often had to hug the inside of the trail to let the mule riders go by! We hiked almost 7 hours to our half-way point where we spent the night at Indian Gardens campsite.
Day 3 -- Fri., Apr. 28
We got up and started our hike early, leaving the campsite around 5:45AM. It still took us about 6 hours to hike the rest of the way up! What an exhilarating feeling of accomplishment at the end of 3 days of hiking. They say 5 million people visit the Grand Canyon every year and only 1% of those attempt to hike to the bottom and back! It was awesome, challenging, a test of endurance..... and painful! But, we are glad we did it an we're still smiling.... Doug, Elaine, Jenni & Dottie!