Grand Canyon 2006, Bright Angel Trail, Tonto Trail, Salt Creek

I had a premonition that something bad was going to happen and I was right. My plane was 6 hours late(strong headwinds resulting in missed connecting flight) and then the airline lost my luggage which took two hours to rectify, consequently it was nearly 8PM before I got started toward the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas. Fortunately, in Arizona it is perfectly okay to drive 80 mph. I spent the night in my rented PT Cruiser in a hotel parking lot next to the "No Car Camping" sign.

I woke up early Sunday morning, checked in at the GC Back Country office and then descended on the Bright Angel Trail. There were hundreds of people on the trail which wasn't for me. When I turned west on the Tonto trail I only saw one group of older men who were tired and thirsty. They were amazed that a middle-aged woman was headed into the hinterland all on her lonesome so I turned on the perkiness and charm just to fuck with them. After I passed this group I didn't see anyone else until I returned to the Bright Angel Trail which was nice. Salt Creek was really wonderful and remote.

I managed to do a total of 24 hard miles with the pack. My weight-lifting paid off, I barely felt the pack. I hiked from Indian Gardens to the South Rim on monday morning in 3 hours, a 3500 foot rise over 4.5 miles. Not bad with 25 pounds on my back. I'll let the pics speak for themselves: