Since my Achilles tendon survived yesterday's descent to Plateau Point I figured it was up for a 13-mile loop hike I did last year: S. Kaibab trail from the Rim to the Tipoff, then the Tonto trail west to Indian Garden campground, and finally Bright Angel trail back up to the rim.
Turned out that I was right: this hike wasn't too much for my Achilles. It was a bit cool when I left the rim at 8:00 am, but by the time I dropped down 3 miles to Cedar Ridge it was warm enough to change into a T-shirt. Then down another mile or so to "Skeleton Point" and on to the Tipoff, where there's a stunning view of the muddy Colorado river about 2000' below. This is also the junction with the Tonto trail, which winds along the Plateau level of the canyon.
Last year when I did this hike it was over 80 degrees on the Tonto, so I needed to drink a lot of water. This year it was probably 65, very pleasant hiking weather. So I made good time while enjoying the 360 degree scenery. At Indian Garden I got some cool water and snacked on a Clif bar, then it was time to climb to the rim. This went really fast. In short order I was at 3 mile rest house, then the 1.5 mile rest house. Finally I hiked through the tunnel just below Kolb studio and reached the rim at 1:15 pm. Statisticians: the 13 mile hike took 5 hours and 15 minutes.
I know you're thinking that I must have taken a Vitamin Awesome this morning to have completed this challenging hike so quickly. But compared to the many Grand Canyon trail runners I am Granny with a walker. A couple days ago a trail runner ran from the south rim to the north rim and back in 5 hours and 55 minutes. So in roughly the same time I took to hike 13 miles he got in 42 miles.
Turned out that I was right: this hike wasn't too much for my Achilles. It was a bit cool when I left the rim at 8:00 am, but by the time I dropped down 3 miles to Cedar Ridge it was warm enough to change into a T-shirt. Then down another mile or so to "Skeleton Point" and on to the Tipoff, where there's a stunning view of the muddy Colorado river about 2000' below. This is also the junction with the Tonto trail, which winds along the Plateau level of the canyon.
Last year when I did this hike it was over 80 degrees on the Tonto, so I needed to drink a lot of water. This year it was probably 65, very pleasant hiking weather. So I made good time while enjoying the 360 degree scenery. At Indian Garden I got some cool water and snacked on a Clif bar, then it was time to climb to the rim. This went really fast. In short order I was at 3 mile rest house, then the 1.5 mile rest house. Finally I hiked through the tunnel just below Kolb studio and reached the rim at 1:15 pm. Statisticians: the 13 mile hike took 5 hours and 15 minutes.
I know you're thinking that I must have taken a Vitamin Awesome this morning to have completed this challenging hike so quickly. But compared to the many Grand Canyon trail runners I am Granny with a walker. A couple days ago a trail runner ran from the south rim to the north rim and back in 5 hours and 55 minutes. So in roughly the same time I took to hike 13 miles he got in 42 miles.
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