The Bright Angel Trail

This is the Grand Finale of our Upper Grand Canyon Rafting Trip, and it concludes with a strenuous hike out of the Canyon, via The Bright Angel Trail.

Starting at the Bottom

It might be difficult for you to find information on the Bottom Up Bright Angel Trail. Most people who start this trail are coming from the top down, and there are very few people only traveling one way. Some of the information I will be quoting is just information from AllTrails about the complete top to bottom to top trail.

The Trail is supposed to be approximately 8.8 miles up, with an elevation change of 5000ft. When you start off, you make goals to hit certain milestones, like the Indian Garden Campground, or the 3-mile Resthouse, but your happy attitude is not even going to carry you that far.

We got off the raft at 7:05am, and after grabbing packed lunches, and a last water refill, we started up the trail at 7:30am.

This hike was dramatic. There was a sense of danger. It was really hot, and it was going to be a straight uphill battle for several hours in the July Heat in Arizona. There are slightly unreliable water sources on the way up the hill. So we all have to decide whether to risk carrying too much or too little water.

The first mile only took us 20 minutes! We were essentially climbing out of a canyon wash and it took more than a mile before we first stepped out of shadow into the sun. My confidence started growing.

The second mile crossed a stream. I dipped my hat in the water but I should have dipped my shirt. It was another 45 minutes until we reached another water source and the sun was beating on us.

I was collecting data on Fitbit and Alltrails. I wasn’t worried at all. When I was planning out meals and snacks, I was even thinking about whether I should just start intermittent fasting now. I don’t usually eat while marathoning, and this was going to be a marathon of sorts.

Indian Gardens

We got to Indian Gardens at 9:15am. I was really excited about our pace. I ate some of the trail mix that I packed myself and then reapplied sunscreen. It was important to do it in that order!

I started dipping my rash guard t-shirt in the water at every opportunity. It was upwards of 95 degrees in direct sunlight.

3 Mile Rest House

3 Mile Rest House is so named, because it is 3 miles to get back to the rim. At this point, we were 5.8 miles into a 8.8 mile hike and I was relying on delusions about how short 3 miles really is to carry me through. There’s a very small crowded shady area. I ducked in, pounded a sandwich, reapplied sunscreen and dipped my shirt in the water.

But 3 miles is not short. It’s short when you are running a flat street race, or walking the dog for an hour, but 3 miles is actually an infinitely long distance. The suffering really kicked into overdrive here.

At this point the strategy started collapsing. The adventure and trail mix had worn off, the pride and vanity also gone, and now we were really just left with our own selves. Early in the hike you use photo opportunities as a convenient time to rest. Later in the hike resting to take photos is an afterthought, because when you are at rest you don’t even have the mental energy to look around or frame the shot.

1.5 Mile Resthouse

The torture continues. We know we are close to the top, but you can’t see it. All the personal grief you experience and you can’t even bargain effectively with your brain. You say, “It’s just around this corner,” But there is always another corner. I was really gritting my teeth through the end, and I was utilizing a interval timer on my phone. A Buzz means stop, a Beep means go.

Did I mention that the trail becomes steeper in it’s last final miles? You find that every step forward will be followed by an even steeper step forward.

Reaching the Rim

When you reach the Rim you need to continue on with that pep in your step, because you still have a long way to go to get inside. Susan and Chris had reached the top before us and were reserving a table at the El Tovar Hotel

I know we had Prickly Pear Martinis and Navajo nachos. But mostly I remember walking through the hotel in a trance, offended by all of the unnatural lighting and crowds.

The service in the bar was painfully slow. But we did get our Prickly Pear drinks. And we started planning our Lower Canyon Rafting Trip for 2021 on the barstools.

Las Vegas

We finished our trip by connecting with our car, which was still parked by the Bright Angel Lodge.

We drove for almost 5 hours. This was a huge mistake. We should have stayed in Williams again.

This concludes our Upper Grand Canyon Rafting Vacation.