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.



Continue reading about our trip as we hike back to the south rim on the Bright Angel Trail.

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