Clear Creek Falls

“What wonders lie ahead?”

This is how Dave started us off on the trail every day of our six day trip into the Grand Canyon. Our group, (me, Paige, John, Dave (Paige’s Dave), and David (my Dave)), spent an incredible week exploring some remote corners of the Clear Creek canyon, while also enjoying some civilization at the Phantom Ranch down along the Colorado River.

View the extended entry for the trip report and links to pictures. It’s a long one, but I decided to keep everything in a single entry instead of posting a separate entry for each of the six days on the trail.

Day 1: Wednesday, March 26

South Rim to Bright Angel Campground via the South Kaibab Trail

We spent all of Tuesday, March 25 driving from the Bay Area to the Grand Canyon. After a late arrival and night at the Yavapai Lodge, we met for breakfast and last minute shopping at the store nearby. Having been warned about ice along the trail, I picked up a cheap pair of ‘shoe chains’ so I wouldn’t have to carry my bulky and heavy crampons. This ended up being a wise choice – I didn’t even need the chains, but at least they weighed significantly less than the crampons.

After picking up our permit, we left the car at the Bright Angel Trailhead and waited for the shuttle to take us over to the South Kaibab Trail. By late morning we joined the throngs of dayhikers heading down the the South Kaibab. Near Ooh Ah Point it was practically a waiting line. Fortunately, once we got below Cedar Ridge the crowds thinned out to a manageable level, mostly people hiking to and from the bottom as part of multi-day trips.

The last stretch of the SK, from Tipoff Point to the Colorado, is just stunning, zigzagging steeply through the Redwall layer. The trail spits you out onto the Black Bridge, where hikers and mules can safely cross the dangerous Colorado River. Some interesting sites lie on the other side – a grave for one of the builders of the Black Bridge, Ancestral Pueblo ruins, and a fresh sandy beach formed by the controlled flood of a few weeks ago.

A few minutes after crossing the Colorado we arrived at Bright Angel Campground and set up in site 31. From there we walked the ~1/4 mile up to Phantom Ranch where snacks and cold lemonade and ranger program awaited. The descent was really rough, especially on my calves and knees, so this treat was much appreciated. We came back later for a couple of rounds of cold beer and Yahtzee – I was the champ, of course!