AZT 36 – GC – Bright Angel

Daily miles 7
Total miles 707
Camp elevation 2400

Good night sleep at the 7 mile Lodge. We ran into Mr. Furious (we had met him at the Flagstaff hostel) and he ended up crashing on our floor in the motel. The owner was very accommodating and gave him an extra towel and pillows.

We headed out this morning not knowing what the day would bring. After a fine breakfast at Wendy’s, our first stop was the backcountry ranger station to see if we could get our permit adjusted. We succeeded as there was a cancellation today for the camp area that we wanted to add into the itinerary. This change allowed us to come down into the Canyon today and hike just 7 miles to a campsite and be able to explore and relax down in the Canyon tomorrow, having only 7 miles to hike. We thought it was a long shot to get the change, and there was only one site open, so it seems the stars are in alignment.

After the permit change, we took a park shuttle around and got out at a couple of the view points on the Canyon Rim. The views are amazing. The Canyon is so immense, it is a bit hard to comprehend. Really neat, we were all blown away.
We grabbed some lunch at the cafeteria and left for our decent around 2 O’clock.

Walking down into the Canyon was pretty incredible from start to finish. The trail itself is one of the best built and graded trails we have been on (Kaibab Trail). Nice grade that wasn’t too hard on the knees, properly switchbacked as well.

The views were wonderful as we descended , and we were continually delighted by what we would see around each corner. Not sure that our pictures do it justice.

At the very bottom of the Canyon flows the Colorado River. There is a nice suspension bridge to cross and a 150′ tunnel through the rock to get to the bridge. The water looked a beautiful green when we arrived and we can hear it flowing from our campsite.

We made it to the bottom around 6pm and had our dinner at the first picnic table that we came across. The campsites are very near the Canyon floor. There is over 30 sites and they are one right after each other. Lots of people in this little area. Probably a hundred or more….. Not the camping we have become accustomed to (just setting up wherever we please and nearly always alone), but we are very happy to be able to camp in the Canyon tonight.