We were up at 4.30am and having breakfast at 5.00 - Eggs and pancakes which went down well. We were also given a packed lunch to take with us on the trail. ’Team South Africa’ were carrying our own gear out, whereas the rest took day packs and had the mules take the heavier things. This was only because we had to catch a shuttle from the rim at 3.15pm to get back to Flagstaff and they couldn’t guarantee that the mules would be up by that time. We set off just after 5.35am and made our way to the bridge that crosses to the other side and the start of the Bright Angel Trail. This trail is the most popular in the park, and is 16km from Phantom Ranch to the top, ascending some 1340metres. We knew it was going to be a long morning. We said goodbye to the beautiful jade waters of the Colorado as we ascended slowly through many corkscrew bends. The day was starting to heat up but the one saving grace was that it would become slightly cooler as we ascended in height. We stopped at Indian Garden for a rest - this is a camp spot as well and offers welcome shade under Cottonwood trees as well as water on tap. We filled up and also wet our clothing before setting off once more. We continued ever upwards with the magnificent canyon walls surrounding us and the river now far below. At the start of our walk a guy who was running down passed us and about an hour later, passed us again on his way up - the mind boggles! There are several rest stops on the way up and all of them have water available which is a necessity. The views are nothing short of stupendous and as trite as it sounds, the photos will never do it justice. Although there were quite a few people on the trail, it was not as crowded as I feared it would be. We reached the rim after 6 hours, and were all glad to get there - I especially was feeling the weight of my pack. The Wisconsin family were up in a matter of 3 hours, and there were bets held as to whether Team South Africa would be next. We made it into third place after Brennan ( who was training for some iron man event) but I have no doubt Kirsty and Kevin would have been second if they hadn’t had to wait for me! We had a few hours to spare before our shuttle, so made our way to the Yavapai Lodge which had several restaurants to choose from. Pizza, chicken salad and White Claw ( a soda, vodka and fruit flavour combination) took care of lunch. I also visited the gift shop as I had a newly found obsession with all things Grand Canyon and wanted to get a few books and of course the obligatory t-shirt!
Our shuttle back to Flagstaff took almost two hours and I think we all dozed a lot of the way. We collected the rest of our luggage from the Holiday Inn and then made our way to our accommodation for the night, a comfortable place not far from the centre of town, but set amidst fir trees and very quiet and peaceful. I think we all slept well that night.
Our flight back to NYC went faster than expected, and I watched Free Solo ( Alex Honnold in Yosemite) again. It was nice to recognise the area now and know we had actually been there. We arrived at JFK just as the sun was setting. Beautiful views towards the far distant skyscrapers on the horizon made for a magical ending to a most memorable trip.
