Beth and I have the early breakfast at Phantom Ranch. I like it as much or better than their steak dinner. Then it's back to camp, pack, and we're under way. A deer crosses the trail just before we reach the Silver Suspension bridge.
We cross the Silver Suspension Bridge, completed in 1970. Its primary purpose is to support the water pipe line coming from Roaring Springs and continuing up to the South Rim.
The Colorado River is still flowing a pretty green color.
We find some strange equipment on the River Trail. I'm not sure what all that red stuff is.
Just as we reach the Bright Angel Trail, we come to two Hatch rafts tied up at the bank. There are only a couple of people by the rafts, so maybe the main group has gone on a day hike. This bathroom was not here on my last rim-to-rim hike. Beth and I take a five minute break at the River Rest House.
We soon have a couple of small creek crossings.
Just before reaching the base of the Devil's Corkscrew, we pass a very small, moss covered waterfall.
We then start up the Devil's Corkscrew. The steep switchbacks are tough, but at least it's not too hot and we are in the shade part way up. I recall it being much harder than this my other times this way. It's another half-hour to Indian Garden from the top of the corkscrew. The Indian Garden sign means we're getting close.
The morning mule team must have just pulled in as we reach Indian Garden.
Beth and I got here early, so we are able to snag a nice campsite in the shade that is away from the bathroom and the water faucet. We set up our tents and take a nap. After lunch, we explore some and visit the modest library.
Beth has not seen Plateau Point, so we are headed out that way later this afternoon. I have been there several times, but have never had dinner out there, so we are doing that also. Half-way to Plateau Point we come to the Tonto Trail sign. There used to be a sign here warning of the dangers of drinking the radiation tainted water at Horn Creek. I guess, if you drink the water now, you only glow softly at night. Beth and I find a Prickly Pear Cactus that is almost entirely all purple. Someone once told me that means it is a very healthy plant.
We take in all the great views from Plateau Point. It is approximately 1300' straight down from here to the River.
There must be a nearby forest fire, because the sky is very hazy and we can smell a lot of smoke. I show the Grand Canyon Field Institute group that is here how you can jump down on a ledge about fifteen feet east of the guard railing. If you then carefully peer over the east side of the ledge, you can see a waterfall that is not visible when coming up the Bright Angel Trail. Beth and I sit down and heat our water for dinner. We even brought Raspberry Crumble for dessert.
We don't have our headlights, so we head back to camp before it gets dark. Right next to each other beside the trail we find two different types of Barrel Cactus.
We don't think we need to leave too early tomorrow morning. We only have to reach the top by 1:00 in order to catch the Trans-Canyon shuttle back to the north side. MAIN INDEX | HIKING INDEX | BACK TO DAY 3 | FORWARD TO DAY 5
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