Grand Canyon :: OMG, Look at the Bright Angel Trail...

The morning after our return from Indian Gardens (Wednesday, April 15th) we took a walking “tour” of some of the lodges and other historical buildings on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. There is a trail that goes most of the length of the South Rim and we walked a short ways along it to the Trail View Overlook, which gives a very nice (putting it mildly) look at the Bright Angel Trail.

The Trail from the rim. At the top, just a little left of center you can see several lodges. The one at the rim is the Bright Angel Lodge and the trailhead is to it's right as you are looking at the picture.

You'll have to trust me on this... The 1.5-mile rest-house is a short distance to the left of that longest pointy shadow. The 3-mile rest-house is at the far end of the trail on the lower left.

Enlarged view of the previous photo, showing the 1.5 mile rest-house in the upper center of the photo. Actually, those are the restrooms, the rest-house is tucked away in the side of the Canyon, next to that shadow.

The 3-mile rest-house is near the center of the picture, where the trail makes a sharp turn back, just above the “black spot” which is a steep cliff. Indian Gardens is barely visible on the far left (that clump of green trees).

Enlarged view of the previous photo, showing the 3-mile rest-house (the small clump of trees where the trail splits to go out to the overlook and the restrooms).

And finally, the trail into Indian Gardens and on out to Plateau Point. Of course, the Bright Angel trail continues on down to the River and the Phantom Ranch area. Where the Plateau Point trail veers to the left, the Bright Angel trail goes to the right.

I must say that when I saw these views I was amazed and in awe of the fact that I had actually hiked that trail. I told Sue and Fred that if I had seen this before Tuesday morning, it is highly likely that I would not have made the trek. It was scary looking at the depth and the switchbacks and I wasn't sure of my abilities. I really don't know whether I would have done it or not. I'm very glad that we hiked it and it is something that I'll remember for a long time to come. And I now have greater confidence in my abilities to hike somewhat more difficult trails than I have been doing!


Other posts in this series:

• Grand Canyon :: Bright Angel Trail to Indian Gardens (part 1)
• Grand Canyon :: Bright Angel Trail to Indian Gardens (part 2)
• Grand Canyon :: Indian Gardens to Plateau Point (part 3)
• Grand Canyon :: From Indian Gardens to The Rim (part 4)