April 14, 2023 Hiking the Bright Angel Trail at the Grand Canyon National Park

Debbie, George, Christy, and I drove to the Grand Canyon today.

 

It looks just like Fred says it will someday.

Since we came in through the east entrance, we stopped at the Desert View Watchtower.

Our first views of the Grand Canyon

 

We headed west on Desert View Drive...

...where we met this local resident on the side of the road.

We settled into our hotel and had lunch. Then we walked along the Rim Trail in the Grand Canyon Village. I love that there isn't fencing along the cliffs. It is a bit nerve-wracking to take photos on the edge of the canyon.

We decided to hike down the Bright Angel Trail.

The sign at the trailhead is a bit less impressive but much more natural looking to me.

Christy & I are using this hike to see how far down we can go and still make it back up. 

Deb & George are more confident in their hiking back up the canyon abilities.

The views change with each switchback turn on the trail...

...and with the shifting sunlight into the canyon.

There was quite a bit of snow and ice on the first section of the trail but after that, it was mostly a dry trail.

Since I used my phone and my good camera, some of these photos might not be in chronological order. 

This goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway. It is amazing to hike down into the canyon. The basic rule of hiking here is it can take twice as long to hike out as it does to hike in. Christy & I  hiked down for about one hour. We stopped on the way down a few times to take pictures. We stopped on the way back up many times to rest, drink water and take pictures. We made it back up in about the same time. 

George & Debbie

Christy the photographer...

...Christy the hiker.

Hiking back up.

We started this hike in the late afternoon so the shadows started creeping in when looking west.

Looking straight up the canyon walls can make you feel very small at times.

I liked the sunlight and shadows in this photo along the trail.

That's Christy hiking into a tunnel on the way out.

We found George and Debbie, who hiked much further down, catching up to us on the way out.

I zoomed out to show the snow along the shaded areas of the trail.

While Christy & I risked death taking pictures on the edge of the canyon, Debbie took this wonderful photo of us. 

Since we had some time before our dinner to celebrate George and Debbie's anniversary today, we hiked west along the Rim Trail so we could look back into the sunlit west-facing areas of the canyon.

  A wonderful day in one of America's National Parks. I have made that statement many times. Please support the parks every chance you can. They are magical places where everyone is welcome.