Four months after fleeing the south rim to escape hordes of tourists, I went right back to hike to Phantom Ranch, a campground at the bottom of the Grand Canyon on Bright Angel Creek near its confluence with the Colorado River.
It still surprises me that Stephanie has no interest in hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. It is without a doubt one of the best hikes ever.
Phantom Ranch has tent sites, single sex dorm rooms, and a few cabins. The prices are steep but worth it. Lodging is primarily obtained through a lottery. In the winter months you might get lucky and find an available spot. After we returned to Memphis from our vacation, on a whim I looked up winter availability and found that a few spots were still available in a dorm in January, 2020. One of those was on a Friday night.
Barely able to contain my excitement, I quickly found a reasonably priced flight to Arizona. Incredibly American Airlines offered a Thursday-Sunday roundtrip flight from Dallas to Flagstaff, and Dallas is one of the few cities easily reached by plane from Memphis. Done. I had a flight, rental car, and bed in a dorm.
I flew to Flagstaff on a Thursday morning, hopped in my rental car, and drove to the south rim arriving in mid-afternoon. What a difference. The place felt empty. Entering the park from the east, I spent some time at Desert Watchtower, drove right past the Visitor Center and Grand Canyon Village without stopping, and headed down Hermit Road (which is allowed in the winter) to Hopi Point. I had hoped to go farther, but it was getting dark and I did not have much time left in the day.
After spending the night in Tusayan, I drove back into the Grand Canyon and parked at the Backcountry Information Center. There I caught the first blue line bus a little after 8:00 AM, switching to an orange line bus at the Village to get to the South Kaibab Trailhead. I was the only passenger on both busses that morning.
While the south rim had patches of light snow on the ground, the start of the trail was in shade and covered in a sheet of ice. I carried a small backpack with two liters of water, a change of clothes, a book, camera, snacks, trekking poles, and micro spikes (metal spikes that slip on over boots to provide traction on snow and ice). I could see that the ice did not last for long so I did not bother putting on micro spikes. Instead I half walked, half slid down the first couple hundred feet of the trail.
It was a perfect day for hiking. Temperatures on the south rim were in the mid-40° F range, with sunny blue skies. It was not long before I took off my outer jacket. On the way down to Phantom Ranch I took short breaks at Cedar Ridge, Skeleton Point, and the Tip Off.
I was amazed to have cell phone service at Cedar Ridge, so I gave Stephanie a call to let her know how the morning was going.
Around Skeleton Point I was passed by a couple of younger hikers also heading to Phantom Ranch. They were two of about six other hikers that I encountered on the South Kaibab Trail. Not much farther, I was passed by a group on horses heading up the trail.
The hike down is pretty tough on your joints, even with trekking poles. Many sections had stairs cut into the trail at irregular heights. On the plus side, the South Kaibab Trail is in full sun. It would be brutal in the summer but was perfect in January.
Around 1:30 PM, about five and a half hours after I started my hike, I arrived at Phantom Ranch. The temperature was in the mid-60° F range. I checked in at the canteen and got my dorm assignment. The dorm had 5 bunk beds and a small bathroom. Beds were first come first served. I claimed a lower level bed away from the front door and bathroom. Linens and a towel were provided. There was also a critter box for food storage.
I took a quick shower, changed into some clean clothes, and explored the area. At the canteen I bought a hat, t-shirt, and a refillable cup of lemonade. The first cup costs several dollars; refills were $1 each. I drank quite a few while I sat outside and read my book.
Meals, served in the Phantom Ranch Canteen, are purchased in advance. For dinner the choices were steak and potato, vegetarian chili, or beef stew with a salad, cornbread, and a desert. I opted for the steak and potato dinner and splurged for a beer. It was surprisingly really good. Like a real restaurant, the portion sizes were huge.
It gets dark and cool early in January, and it was lights out in our dorm around 9:00 PM.
Saturday morning we had a wake up knock on the door at 5:00 AM followed by the first breakfast serving (eggs, sausages, pancakes, fruit) at 5:30 AM. I was the only one in my dorm at the 5:30 AM breakfast. Honestly I was still full from the steak and potato dinner and probably could have skipped breakfast, or just eaten some of the snacks I brought with me.
Most folks at the first breakfast serving wanted to starting hiking back up to the rim sooner rather than later. Afterward, as I returned to the dorm, the other hikers were up and moving before going to the late breakfast at 7:00 AM.
A sack lunch is available for sale as well (bagel, sausage, apple, energy bar). I ordered one and picked it up at the canteen after breakfast. Finally, around 7:15 AM, I stared the long hike up the Bright Angel Trail.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but once moving I felt pretty good. I was one of the last of the early morning hikers, so over the next several hours I passed quite a few people and even a few groups heading up the trail.
Unlike the South Kaibab Trail, which was almost entirely in the sun, the hike up the Bright Angel Trail was almost entirely in the shade. I decided to stop at Indian Garden (now Havasupi Garden) for lunch. Upon arriving it was cold, around 40° F. I only had enough of an appetite to eat my apple, which was good because it was way too cold to sit there for a longer lunch.
I kept the rest of the sack lunch for dinner. Next time I’ll skip buying it.
It was slow going uphill. I quickly learned that the best thing to do when hiking up to the rim from the Colorado River is to not look up. The rim always looks a ridiculous distance away. Looking back, however, is a good thing as you can see how far you’ve come.
At the 3 Mile Resthouse, named because it is a three mile hike from the rim, I decided to take an extended break of about ten minutes. It was the first time all day that I started to feel a bit worn out. I didn’t care how cold it was at the time (still about 40° F).
Another short rest occurred at the 1.5 Mile Resthouse, partially because I was tired but mostly because the trail was now covered in ice. This is when having micro spikes came in handy. I can walk a short distance on a sheet of ice, but not well over a mile. On went the spikes.
About half a mile from the rim I started encountering tourists, many of whom were literally sliding down the trail in loafers and other smooth soled shoes. I made it a point to stay well clear of them as I was seriously afraid of being taken down by a slipping, sliding, and falling tourist.
I took my final rest break about 100 or so yards from the end of the Bright Angel Trail. I was exhausted, but more importantly I was in the sun. It felt good to just sit down and warm up a bit before the final, albeit very short, push.
Seven and a half hours after starting, my hike finished at 2:45 PM. Instead of reflecting on a great hike, all I could think about was how empty the south rim was compared to four months ago. There was no one around.
After removing my micro spikes, collapsing the trekking poles, and throwing away trash, it was a short bus ride to the Backcountry Information Center parking lot and my rental car. Twenty minutes later I was at the McDonald’s in Tusayan celebrating with a Quarter Pounder and a Diet Coke, before driving to Flagstaff for the night.
At the hotel I continued my celebration with a couple of beers and the rest of my sack lunch. I was way to worn out to even think about going out to dinner. On Sunday morning I caught a flight back to Memphis and was back at work on Monday.
Garrett and Stephanie
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