Metro to Mountain Journal

We stopped for a minute at the edge of the Rim to read the posted warnings for hiking in the heat. Half of the trailhead kiosk was devoted to the problems encountered with the extreme heat of the Canyon. With our early start, we were confident that we were not going to have severe heat related issues. So we said goodbye to the Rim and headed into he Canyon.

An easy ramp made for fun hiking. It was chilly that morning and we walked at a brisk pace. This was our first trip into the Canyon and were overwhelmed with the views. The Rim has many great viewpoints but so does the trail - they are just different.

A few other folks were headed down at about the same time that we were. They seemed to heed the heat warnings more than us, because they were just hiking to the 1.5 or 3 mile rest houses. We soon found that these rest houses were indeed, good destinations, but we continued lower into the Canyon. The hikers we saw heading up in the early morning were moving well, but it was cool.

The Bright Angel Trail is simply a great path. It descends at mostly a moderate rate, but it also did not seem to waste steps. The path had direction and purpose.

At about mile 4, we felt the heat of the morning sun. We were still heading downhill but the air was thicker.

At Indian Gardens, we were amazed by the development. It was quite a complex. The campsites at the Gardens included shelters. There are several Park Service buildings, some to house the staff, and a rest area along the trail in the cottonwoods. A stream traveled through the oasis of green but the centerpiece of the area was the all important water spigot. Many hikers were gathered around filling their water containers and drinking their fill.

Without stopping, we passed Indian Gardens and continued toward Plateau Point. The trail was mostly flat and easy to follow. The only problem was the heat. It was intensifying with each passing minute.

Our destination, Plateau Point, is an overlook that looks down on the Colorado River. Several other hikers had also made the trek to the point. It was worth the extra effort, but the three miles round trip cost us over an hour of time. We felt the full power of the heat during our return to the Gardens. We were going to be able to experience the extreme Canyon heat, after all.

Before leaving the Gardens we drank all of the water possible and prepared for the sun by adding sun protection.

It was time to step into the sun and head up into the heat as we started toward the rim.

Happy to Hike the Bright Angel trails - part 2

Grand Canyon - Bright Angel Trail - part 1 - preparations

Grand Canyon - Bright Angel Trail - part 2 - descent

Grand Canyon - Bright Angel Trail - part 3 - ascent

Grand Canyon - Bright Angel Trail - part 4 - tips