Grand Canyon Day 2: Respite at Bright Angel

I saw the sun trying to peak over the hills, slowly. I just watched it get closer and closer. It was breathtaking. I heard talking in the background so I knew Raymund was up already, probably with Warship. Then I heard Raymund bark out some command to get up so I shot up out of the tent with my arms raised. Raymund responded with arms up and a yell of affirmation. It was a great feeling to wake up in the middle of nowhere, just nature and 5 of your close friends. Caroline, in the same tent, heard the ruckus and got up to see what was up. It was time for breakfast. Raymund and his super-fast Jetboil had probably already heated 10 cups of coffee by now. We had our oatmeal and coffee and we were ready for a nicer, cooler stay at Bright Angel.

We packed up our gear and proceeded back down the trail. Deja Vu. This time we took the time to stop along the trail and look at the views and take pics as usual. It was a relatively short day, hiking wise, as we were done in about an hour and a half. We got there so early that we pretty much had the pick of the litter in terms of sites. We settled on this nicely shaded spot next to sheer rock that went up and up. I remember getting a site right next to the water the last time I was here, but didn't remember why until that night, too late...we dropped gear, some set up their tents, and I went pretty much straight to the creek as my watch was already reading temps in the 100s. It was cold water, but not as cold as the Colorado. It took me a minute or two but I was able to get all in. It felt great and it kept me cool.

Everyone started to trickle over to my spot, which someone before me fashioned into a hot tub-looking structure. It was nice because it protected us from the current. It was also a haven for small fish as they started to collect right under my leg and would once in a while take a test nibble out of me. I didn't care--I was cool and content. It didn't protect everything from flowing down the creek, though. Somehow Raymund loss hold of his nalgene and we had to tell him that it was slowly making its way to the Colorado. It then turned into a Salomon Tech Amphibian commercial and he sprinted and tracked it down. Impressive! We must have hung out there for about an hour and everyone except for Ross at least had their legs in. Warship was the only other one to join me for a full body immersion.

We eventually got out of there and then had lunch. For entertainment, we had lizards having sex. Nice. Satiated, we headed over to Phantom Ranch for a couple beers and to chill in the air conditioned lodge. It was a good time. We people watched, read books, and asked the cashier about their high speed internet to pass the time. The eventually kicked us out because they had to prepare for dinner, for the ones staying at Phantom Ranch, not us.

We headed back to our site and napped until dusk, when one of the park rangers was going to give a program on the geology of the GC. I eventually got tired of my nap because I kept sliding down my sleeping pad. I then joined Warship and Raymund over to the silver bridge to take some photos before sunset. Beautiful as usual. By the time we got back it was pretty much time to head over to the geology presentation. The park ranger was a little odd and a former marine, which made for a very, very interesting combination. I must say though, he was very excited about the topic...especially the Vishnu Schist. He was quite entertaining to say the least.

The bar opened up again at Phantom Ranch after dinner so we headed there after the talk. They had board games, so we picked Pictionary. At the same time, Deb was trying to fenagle herself a piece of leftover cake, to buy from them. But they insisted they couldn't sell it to us and it was only for the people at the Lodge...so most likely the leftovers would just get thrown away. Such a waste. Oh well. So we played pictionary, Deb, Raymund, and Ross on one team and Caroline, Warship, and I on the other. It was pretty one sided as it seemed like the Warship had his mind on conquering other battlefields. He decided to call it a night so I decided to go with him--we should never leave teammates alone. They proceeded to play and apparently Deb was so bent on winning that she resorted to questionable drawing tactics. Sad.

We got back and as soon as we turned into our site the temp seemed to shoot up 20deg. That is why we got the site by the water a few years back--it was much cooler! Man, it was like an oven. By the way, temps peaked at about 130deg F in the open and about 105deg F in the shade! Wow. Warship and I went straight to bed. Then I heard rustling around and some alarmed voices. Apparently we were being raided by a ringtail. I for the most part ignored the ruckus then only got up to check it out when my bladder started to call. The ringtail must have scaled our makeshift clothesline up to the food hanging bar. Funny. I went back to sleep. We would need it because the next day would be another long one. At least we would be able to stop over at Ribbon Falls.