RED RIBBONS
Christy
and I slept horribly Monday night.
Before the trip I checked the weather forecast for Phantom Ranch. Overnight lows were expected to be in the
upper 70’s. At the time I thought that
sounded reasonable. There were only two
problems with this. First, the forecast
wasn’t close. The temperature never got
below the mid-80’s while we were there. Second, the overnight low tends to occur
around dawn, or a bit after. So, for
most of the night, the temperature was actually considerably higher. I don’t sleep well at home when it’s a little
on the warm side. With temperatures in
the 90’s most of the night, it was hopeless.
We both spent most of the night tossing and turning. I finally slept a little, right before my
alarm went off at 4:30.
We
had a full layover day at the Bright Angel Campground, and I wanted to make the
most of it. While planning the trip, I’d
considered several options for our layover day.
One was a long hike out to Clear Creek and back. However, that would be an 18-mile round trip
with a considerable amount of climbing.
Even with an early start, a good bit of the hike would be during the
hottest part of the day. Another option
was an off-trail exploration up Phantom Canyon.
Phantom Canyon is a major tributary that joins Bright Angel Creek a
short distance upstream from Phantom Ranch.
Research indicated that there are some minor waterfalls and swimming
holes up that way. The final possibility
was a 12-mile round trip hike on the North Kaibab Trail through Bright Angel
Canyon to Ribbon Falls.
Initially
I wasn’t that enthralled with the Ribbon Falls option. The photos I found on the interwebs
didn’t look terribly enthralling. Plus,
the waterfall is on a low-volume tributary.
Would it even be worth seeing in late June?
My
poor night of sleep made my decision for me.
I wasn’t really feeling up to an exploratory off-trail hike,
particularly solo. Christy was planning
to use the layover day to recover from the steep hike down from the rim. Her knee was in pretty good shape, but she
didn’t want to push her luck.
I
had some granola cereal before hitting the trail for Ribbon Falls around
5:15. The hike up through Bright Angel
Canyon was long but easy. Early on I
passed Phantom Ranch, which was quiet at first light. A bit later I passed the mouth of Phantom
Canyon and the junction with the trail to Clear Creek. I pressed on, entering the deep, narrow chasm
called “The Black Box”. The canyon is
named for the dark Vishnu Schist that Bright Angel
Creek has cut through over thousands of years.
This rock is considered to be some of the oldest exposed rock on the
planet.
This
part of the hike was peaceful and pleasant.
There were a few other hikers on the trail, but my only constant
companion was the rollicking stream squeezed between the narrow canyon
walls. I crossed the creek on bridges
four times as I made my way upstream.
Eventually
the canyon widened, and the mean old sun found me. Fortunately I was getting close to the
falls. A bit later I reached a
junction. There was a sign that stated
that Ribbon Falls via a bridge was straight ahead. The bridge sounded like a good idea, so I
ignored the side path heading left towards the creek. I began a long, hot climb up a steep
hillside. As I climbed, I got a better
view of the side trail I’d passed. I
could see that the spur trail was a much more direct route to the falls.
At
this point I was eager to get to the falls.
I could see roughly where it was, a short distance up a side canyon to
the west. That area was still the shade,
but I knew it wouldn’t last long. I
wanted to get to the falls before the sun did.
Agitated,
I doubled-back to the junction and took the spur trail to Bright Angel
Creek. The crossing was a little tricky,
but I was able to rock hop without getting my feet wet. The trail from there to the base of the falls
was rather rugged, with a bit of scrambling required around some large
boulders. The effort was worth it
though. Ribbon Falls is breathtaking. The photos I’d seen prior to our trip didn’t do
it justice.
I
arrived at 7:45, which was early enough that the light was still pretty
good. The waterfall is in a natural red
rock amphitheater. The total height is
well over 100’, with the upper portion a free-fall. Half-way down the stream meets a nearly
vertical rock face that is covered in neon green moss. The rock face is hollow, harboring an
impressive cave. Several entrances to
the cave are visible when viewing the falls.
There
was another group of hikers there when I arrived. They were at the base of the falls, so I
climbed up onto an adjacent cliff side to take photos. The hikers saw me, and actually asked if they
should get out of my way. This was
extremely polite and refreshing, but unnecessary. I told them there was no need. I was able to exclude them from my vantage
point, but also included them in some of the pictures for scale.
Originally
I expected to spend about 30 minutes at the falls. That turned out to be wildly
unrealistic. There’s a lot to do there
aside from photography, and I probably spent an hour just taking pictures. I took photos from my rocky perch, the base,
and the left side before following a trail around behind the falls. This path brings you out at the base of the
free fall, and features a neat view of the surrounding canyon through a veil of
water. The trail continues around to the
right side, where I took some of my favorite photos of the falls.
Eventually
I returned to the base of the falls. The
other hikers were departing, and I knew it was past time for me to head
back. It was going to be a hot hike, since it was already 9:30 and it would take me more
than 2 hours to get back to camp.
With
that in mind, I decided to get wet before I started back. I waded into the pool at the base of the
falls. The water was frigid! It’s amazing that the water was that cold
considering the heat of the canyon. I
sloshed over to the lower entrance to the cave, which is directly behind the
falls. I ducked through the curtain of
water and emerged in a dark grotto. The
cave extended above into murky darkness.
The echoing roar of the falls was deafening. It was a fascinating spot, but it was too
cold to linger there for long.
Regretfully, I splashed back through the veil of water and into the
sunshine.
I
hiked back quickly, eager to return to camp before the heat became
oppressive. Thanks to the sheer canyon
walls, I was still in the shade most of the way. I was treated to some spectacular views early
on. Eventually the canyon walls closed
back in though, and I hurried back through The Black Box to camp.
HOT IN HERE
I
returned to camp a bit before noon. I
had lunch there with Christy. Afterwards
we sought refuge from the afternoon heat in the creek. Virtually everyone else in the campground was
doing the same thing. It was relaxing
afternoon, but not without entertainment.
There were quite a few mule deer around the campground. We also witnessed several wardrobe
malfunctions, as there were a number of women running around in their
underwear. One girl in particular had
chosen white underwear, which was perhaps not the best color choice for public
bathing.
We
eventually got bored with the creek. We
made the ½ mile hike up to Phantom Ranch to take refuge in the Canteen. The Canteen is air conditioned, and a large
glass of lemonade is only $2.50. Refills
are a dollar, but I quickly discovered that I can only drink so much lemonade
without getting heartburn.
We
eventually headed back to camp. At the
entrance to the campground are two thermometers. One is in the shade, while the other is in
the sun. The shaded thermometer read
109, while the one in the sun was at 136.
136! We headed straight back to
the creek.
The
rest of the afternoon wasn’t exactly a wilderness experience. There were lots of people around. Many of them were foreigners, and very few of
them looked like experienced backpackers.
It turns out that the bathroom in the campground actually has electric
outlets, and a handful of people were actually charging cell phones. I even saw a guy with an I-Pad. Ugh.
We
decided to skip the Canteen that evening.
We had to hike out early the next morning, and I knew that an evening of
beer drinking wouldn’t make that any easier.
While we were eating dinner we were visited by a volunteer ranger. He was going through the campground making
sure everyone was doing ok. We mentioned
how much trouble we’d had sleeping the previous evening. He suggested that we fully immerse ourselves
in the creek for at least 5 minutes right before going to bed. That would cool our core body temperature to
the point that we’d actually be able to sleep.
This
seemed counter-intuitive – bathing in an icy creek right before bed? But it turned out to be some of the best
advice I’ve ever received. Although we’d
spent a good bit of time in the creek over the previous two days, it was hard
to do in the dark. Complete immersion
was particularly difficult, especially when the little minnows began nibbling
on us. This made us squirm, but we stuck
it out for nearly ten minutes. I
couldn’t handle another sleepless night.
We
were dripping wet when we crawled into the tent. But we fell asleep right away, and made it
through the night with only a minimal amount of tossing and turning.
Back to Arizona
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