Reflections of My Travel

Last night was amazing. Lying in our tent, we had a full view of more stars than I’ve ever seen and the sound of the river was reminiscent of the waves back home. Of course, I didn’t sleep much. While the bedrolls were very light to carry, they were no match for an air mattress when it comes to comfort. It was hardly better than lying on the bare ground. I also had a lot of throbbing in my big toes and the weight of the (super-light) sleeping bag on them was nearly unbearable. All small costs for such a great experience. This morning, hubby and I were up at first daybreak.

He got up and went wandering around the campground and I soon joined him.

A couple hours later, Sylvis and Peach woke and we started the breakfast (oatmeal) and camp break-down processes. Close to noon, we started our ascent of Bright Angel trail.

The bottom, river portion of the trail was wonderfully level.

It didn’t take long, however, before we reached some very mild inclines which were, unfortunately, followed by declines. Ugh! My legs and toes are DONE with the downhill motion. There was way more of it in the lower portion of this trail than I would have liked.

It was also much hotter than I would have liked today. I actually ran out of water (2 liter bladder) about a mile before reaching Indian Garden. Not to worry - hubby (and Peach and Sylvis) had plenty if I had needed it, I must just be more hydration-needy than others. And I was sure that I was evaporating in that heat.

The trail was nice though in that it mostly ran along a creek that provided scenery and pleasant sound

Despite the heat and lack of shade and steep climb, it was a great hike.

 While my legs and toes were much happier to be going uphill, it was still very tiring. Especially in the heat.

But seeing this sign was such a welcome sight.  Not only is it the ONLY sign we’ve seen in two days, but it means that we have arrived at our destination du jour! 

It was wonderful to reach the campground and get out my boots again!

After setting up camp and resting and snacking a bit, we considered going another three miles to see Plateau Point. We walked just a little bit of it, to the first turn where there was a view,

before deciding to head back to camp.

First, I was in flip-flops. Second, we were putting in enough miles without adding to it. Third, hubby has been to Plateau Point before and suggested that if we had just done a day-hike from the rim and were not going any further, it was absolutely a must but since we had already been to the river, it would be nothing new or spectacular. Sold! We returned to our campsite and ate dinner (Mountain House Teriyaki Chicken and Rice for hubby and I – I preferred last night’s lasagna but not because this was not good, I’m just more of an Italian girl than Asian) and dessert (Mountain House Chocolate Strawberry Crunch – same as last night: chocolate pudding with flavored chunks).

We plan on getting a much earlier start tomorrow so that we can get out of the canyon before it gets too hot.