Down

There's a 400 ft long bridge there somewhere.

(click picture to enlarge)

Sleeping fitfully is putting it mildly. I kept waking up about every hour or so. By the time the alarm went off, I had already been awake for a few minutes. We took our time getting around just trying not to overlook anything. I ate an extremely large breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, hash browns and coffee. I had a subconscious fear that I would not have enough food I guess. We made our way to the rangers office and got a quick update on trail conditions. The lady there informed us we would need a ratsack to store our food and trash in. There are ammo boxes in the corridor campgrounds but not at the other ones. After a brief discussion, we decided this was a wise decision. Which meant another 30 minute delay. Not that we were in a hurry, just getting anxious about getting on the trail. When we returned to catch the shuttle, I was a bit confused so we missed the first one to come by. After another 20 minute delay, we finally were on our way. But of course we still had to change shuttles again and wait some more... It was almost 11:00 am by the time we headed down the trail. The top part of the South Kaibab Trail is definitely a sight to behold. Steep switchbacks and narrow passages make for quite the adrenaline rush. Also, the trail is shared with the mule trains that travel to the bottom so careful attention to your steps is a good idea. On this day, there were trail repair crews working every so often. Day hikers are also much more concentrated near the top. Firm footing is necessary to counteract the blustery gusts of wind that come out of nowhere. Arriving at Cedar Ridge, we took advantage of the solar toilet there. Nothing fancy (at least what is visible anyway) just adequate. The trail continues on to O’Neill Butte. We took a lunch break on the eastern slope and got our first up-close glimpse of what would become our arch nemesis of the trip. The dreaded Kaibab Squirrel. They seem to be curiously cute at first. Sniffing, standing, begging... vile creatures. My backpack (did I mention it was a rental?) would become an innocent victim of one of these evil little monsters the very next morning. The rest of this afternoon would be spent attempting to make it to the river. It would appear so deceptively close and still be so far away. Switchback after switchback. It was quite a relief to finally step into the tunnel that leads to the black bridge which is 80 feet above the water. There were still a few more minutes to Bright Angel Campground. It was just a little past 6:00 pm as we found a spot along Bright Angel Creek. Very pleasant way to wrap up a long but fulfilling day.