February 21
February 22
February 23
February 24
February 25
February 26
February 27
February 28
March 1
March 2
March 3
March 4
March 5 - 7
March 8 - 11
The day began quite early. Everything that wasn’t going on the hike or being checked with the bellman got put into the car and covered with our “Indian” blanket. The four bags being checked then were taken to the lobby where the bellman stored them in the special area they have for Phantom Ranch hikers and we ate breakfast. The family at the next table over was an obnoxious one - the daughter especially. She talked incessantly and giggled too much (we alternated between calling her Chatty Cathy and the Giggler). From our table, we learned that the daughter, her husband, and her father were also hiking down to Phantom. They would return to annoy us repeatedly over the next five days....
After breakfast, back to the room to gather the items we’d need for hiking and we checked out of the room. Then to the bus stop where we would catch the hikers special bus to shuttle us to the trailhead of South Kaibab trail. We were early, so it was about a 20 minute wait. There were 15-18 people catching the bus this morning. Not, however, Chatty Cathy and her family. Evidently, the mother drove the three of them to the trailhead.
We were soon on our way. We were among the first actually on the trail, but were soon passed by everyone else on the bus. Then by Chatty Cathy and her family... We took our time, however. It wasn’t a race. The trail and scenery were as beautiful as ever. However, the trail could use some major maintenance.
The three photos above were taken on the first section of the trail. The two on the left show O'Neill Butte from part way down the trail. Our path would take us around the base of this butte. The Photo on the right shows the early morning light that greeted us about the time we reached the first rest area (Cedar Point).
The two photos above were taken just past the half way point, near Tip-Off, where the trail starts to drop into the inner canyon. The photo on the left shows the Tonto Plateau, looking east. The photo on the right shows the Tonto Plateau, looking west.
When we stopped for our lunch break, a raven landed in an alcove near us and posed for about ten minutes. The two photos above show two of the poses he struck.
The top part wasn’t too bad, but the last third (about 2.5 miles), which is steeper than the rest, was in pretty bad shape. They had logs or rocks set across the trail at intervals to help control erosion and to give a stair step appearance to the trail. However, the mules use this trail regularly, and they’ve worn down the part between each of these “risers”. So, instead of stepping from one “step” to the next, you’d step from a well in front of the riser, which was about six inches deep, over the riser and down into the next well, sometimes this was an overall drop of 12-18 inches. Very jarring. Unless there are major improvements, I doubt we’ll ever hike South Kaibab again... Which is a shame. It is the one corridor trail which gets you out into the main canyon the soonest and has some of the really good views.
We arrived at Phantom Ranch a little after 4. Checked in. Got our cabin assignment (cabin 4). Claimed our duffle. And got settled in. And collapsed for a while, after a quick, hot shower. Chatty Cathy and her family are in cabin 3...
After dinner, they reopen the dining hall for a social hall for a couple of hours. We went over and found the cribbage board and continued the match we started seven years ago when we first hiked down