1998 Grand Canyon / California Trip, part 6

Wednesday, September 2, 1998--Clear Creek Trail, River Trail, wind locomotives
We got to sleep in this morning, because we arranged to stay two nights at Bright Angel campground to give us time to relax and explore around the bottom of the Canyon for a day. We made a huge breakfast (more dried apricots, anyone?), and left for our morning hikes. Our whole group was headed toward the 1.5 mile River Loop between the Black and Silver bridges (two different foot bridges that cross the Colorado), but Cathy and I decided we could do that River Loop trail later that day, and we headed up the more difficult Clear Creek trail hike, which ascends several hundred to perhaps 1000 feet up out of the Canyon bottom. This way, we did a more challenging hike in early morning temperatures, then saved the easier hike for later in the day. So it was back to just me and Cathy hiking together, which was very “things-coming-full-circle” for me. After all, it was meeting Cathy on the Weaver’s Needle day hike in 1997 that allowed me to even be on this trip.

The Clear Creek trail was fairly tough and uphill, and also featured a few narrow passages that got us close to some long drop-offs, but we were rewarded with the best views of the trip so far. There were many views that overlook the Colorado river from angles / viewpoints that I had never seen before. I shot two rolls of film (remember film?) and had a well-deserved beer back at Phantom Ranch after this hike.

Later, after a huge late lunch, I took off on the River Trail loop, a hike that I had done before on my 1995 trip into the Canyon. I took lots of “journalistic” type photos that showed many of the signs down by the Colorado River. I also got a few good shots of the River and the two suspension bridges, although—as with most of the trip—the light could’ve been better. I got back to camp and had dinner and hot chocolate, then stayed up a bit late talking to Cathy and Ralph. I had been very hot the previous night in the tent, so I pulled the pad out onto the Picnic table and slept under the phenomenal stars.

While sleeping on the table, I heard an interesting wind phenomenon that occurs in the inner canyon. You actually hear the wind coming through the canyon several seconds before it gets to you. The sounds builds up for a while until the wind finally hits you, and it’s usually pretty strong. But it wasn’t enough to blow tents over – just provided a nice cool breeze. I had the best sleep of the trip that night. Jim Martin, who I was sharing a tent with, probably slept better as well, since he could avoid my snoring.