For the past 3 days I've been "testing" my Achilles tendon by hiking down Bright Angel to 3 mile rest house, which is 2000 vertical feet below the rim. But last evening as I walked along the rim I could see flashlights 3000 feet down at Indian Garden campground, so I decided that it was time for me to take the plunge.
This morning (Thursday) I got to the Bright Angel trailhead at 7:30 am, and scampered down the trail. To go easy on my legs I tried being light on my feet, i.e. taking short fast steps instead of my usual big strides. I wound up reaching Indian Garden in about an hour and a half, and at 9:30 am I was overlooking the Colorado river from Plateau point:
One surprising thing near Plateau Point is a drinking fountain in the middle of the desert. Reminds me of a Far Side cartoon where two guys crawling across the desert find a fountain: "Hey, let it run for a while to see if it gets cool."
NPS keeps busy choppering supplies to Indian Garden.
It is a long slog to the Rim, but at least you can see where you are going.
Though of course you have to watch out for tarantulas!
Last year I hiked from the rim to Plateau point in 2.5 hours, then back up to the rim in 3 hours. This year the hike down took just 2 hours, and the hike up less than 2.5 hours. Imagine how fast I would be if there wasn't all this distracting scenery.
This morning (Thursday) I got to the Bright Angel trailhead at 7:30 am, and scampered down the trail. To go easy on my legs I tried being light on my feet, i.e. taking short fast steps instead of my usual big strides. I wound up reaching Indian Garden in about an hour and a half, and at 9:30 am I was overlooking the Colorado river from Plateau point:
NPS keeps busy choppering supplies to Indian Garden.
It is a long slog to the Rim, but at least you can see where you are going.
Though of course you have to watch out for tarantulas!
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