We had a quick breakfast of instant oatmeal and cookies, and added the remaining cookies to our lunches that we had packed the night before. Most people packed peanut butter tortillas, but that really didn't seem appetizing to me, so I just packed lots of granola bars and an apple. We all guessed when we thought the entire big group would return to camp. The others guessed 6:30pm, 7pm, and 7:30pm - so I guessed 6pm since I figured this gave me a good chance of being right (but noted that logically I should have picked 6:29pm).
We took the blue shuttle from Mather Campground to the Bright Angel trail head. We started hiking around 8:30am. The four of us hiked down 4.5 miles to Indian Gardens at a pace of about 1.5 miles / 45 minutes. I know this is a weird way to state a pace, but it makes sense since there were composting toilets and rest areas at the 1.5 mile and 3 mile marks, and Indian Gardens was 4.5 miles down. The trail down was pretty well maintained and groomed - pretty much like a long ramp.
View from near the start of the Bright Angel trail
Composting toilets at 1.5 miles on the Bright Angel trail
Indian Gardens was really an oasis - lots of trees, grasses, and a river. We visited the ranger station - which was an unmanned shack with books and information. They did have a National Parks passport stamp though, so I stamped a sheet of paper and will paste the stamp into my passport once I get home. :)
Self-serve ranger station in Indian Gardens
The guest register at Indian Gardens (photo by Emily)
After wandering around Indian Gardens (our motto all during the hike was 'we've got time', since our idea was to take the shorter hike and not feel pushed), we hiked 1.5 miles to Plateau Point. This was a neat overlook for the Colorado River. It was pretty awesome - amazing views in every direction. We ate lunch at Plateau Point, and took lots of pictures. As we were taking pictures, a squirrel stole two of our cookies. Although they were not my cookies, and it wasn't my fault, I feel guilty that it happened and that I hadn't checked to make sure everyone had secured their food. I hate thinking that we contributed to feeding wildlife.
Interesting purple cacti on the way to Plateau Point
At Plateau Point, looking back at the trailhead
Looking north-west from Plateau Point
Looking back at the trail head from Plateau Point
Looking north-east from Plateau Point
Looking north from Plateau Point
We hiked back to Indian Gardens, used the composting toilets, and filled our water (and I preemptively used my inhaler). As we were getting ready to start uphill, we spotted the first people in the fast group reaching Indian Gardens after coming up from the Colorado River. This certainly added a sense of urgency to our small group - we didn't want to be completely passed by the bigger group.
The other three in my group started up the hill around 1pm at a quicker pace than I wanted - so I just stuck to a comfortable, consistent pace and focused on keeping my breathing consistent. For a while I would catch up to Emily, Diana, and Andrea when they stopped for breaks, but eventually they disappeared. I continued to move steadily up the hill slightly slower than 45 minutes / 1.5 miles - so only slightly slower than we had descended. When I reached the trail head at 3:25pm, I was really proud of myself, but not exhausted. My group, as well as a few people from the longer hike, were waiting at the trail head. I stretched, and then my small group took the blue bus back to the campground.
Looking back into the Grand Canyon from near the Bright Angel trailhead
My victory picture, immediately after hiking out of the canyon on the Bright Angel trail
We gathered clothing and shower supplies at the campground. As we were getting in the car to go to the general store and then the showers (at the camper services building), the two cars with the larger group returned. They returned around 4:10pm - way earlier than any of us had guessed (but I was still closest).
I bought some Cheetos from the store, and then we went to camper services for showers. I broke a $5 bill into quarters to feed to the showers - they cost 8 quarters for 8 minutes. I opted for a 16 minute shower. It was great to wash my hair (and body) for the first time since leaving Austin! They supposedly had towels you could borrow for free, but I didn't see where to get them so I used my little quick-dry backpacking towel. Everyone was happy after showering - it was an incredible morale booster.
Once back at camp we found that one of the neighboring campsites had boy scouts from Austin who had spent the week backpacking in the Grand Canyon. The UT branded Suburbans do seem to be a conversation starter for us!
We left camp at 6pm to take the blue shuttle to go eat dinner together at Maswik Lodge. There were plenty of options in the cafeteria, but the food was overpriced and not great. I opted for chicken with mac and cheese and a baked potato. I was still hungry after finishing this, so I went back to get fries. I hurried to eat these, and ended up burning my tongue so bad that I got a blister. I was hurrying because I wanted to go to the 8pm ranger program 'Night Rim Walk' at the Grand Canyon Visitor Center. Andrea, Diana, and I left at 7:40pm to take the blue shuttle to the visitors center. We ended up arriving at 8:05pm, and saw no one in sight. We decided to walk towards the rim in an attempt to find the group. It worked!
The ranger program was crowded - we had to jockey for position at each stop to be able to hear the ranger. The canyon looked beautiful in the light of the full moon - you could see much more of the canyon by moon light than we had expected. The ranger actually didn't focus on the features of the canyon much, and mainly talked about constellations and park facts instead. It was still an interesting talk.
The 1-hour ranger program went by quickly even though I was pretty cold the entire time. We took the blue shuttle back to camp after the program, and arrived to find everyone sound asleep. We all went to bed as soon as possible too, since we were tired after the long day.
I'm happy that I did the shorter hike. Although I know I could have done the longer hike, it would have taken me longer than anyone in the larger group took. Being in the shorter group allowed me to actually enjoy the time instead of just having to hurry the entire time.
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