Exploring the Grand Canyon#

We arrived from Phoenix at the South Rim of Grand Canyon around 5PM and decided to walk down to see the sunset

Along the South Rim trail, we spotted a herd of Elks grazing nearby.

The colors of the Canyon walls were changing with the sun

It was a beautiful sunset with a visible moon in the sky. Laura enjoyed the views and kept walking down the trail.

The sunset was now in a full swing - the view to the North

Last glimpses of the light on the North Rim

We walked down for about 1.5 hr to the place where the mules make the first stop. The setting sun was now in a full view.

It was becoming dark quickly and we had to decide whether to go up or continue hiking down the South Kaibob trail.

Decided on continuing walking down by the moonlight. Ocassionally the clouds obstructed the moon, but there was enough light to comfortably walk down the trail without a flashlight.

After 4 1.2 hours, we have reached the Black Bridge on the Colorado river. We crossed onto the North bank of the Colorado river and camped on a sand bar by the river.

In the morning, we visited the Ranger Station, where we refilled our water bottles and picked the trail maps.

We decided to return via Bright Angel Trail (about 14 miles long). The trail led us to a silver bridge and back to the South bank of the Colorado river.

The trail followed the Colorado river for a while

Laura admires the colors of the rocks

The banks of Colorado river are covered by the unusual plants. Yuccas everywhere !

After 2 miles, we have finally started climbing up the trail

We hike on the stone ledges and rapidly gain the altitude

The view of the trail looking down the Canyon

We approach the end of the first steep part of the trail

The sun is alredy high and the views towards the North are magnificent

We are now 1500 meters above the bottom

The last part of the trail leads through steep zig-zag ledges

We are climbing higher and higher

The view of the Bright Angeles trail behind us

After 6.5 hours of climbing we are back at the South Rim

Happy smiles after the conclusion of the hike:-)