Stage 3: Into the Canyon

I got up to cook breakfast and pack my things up. I tried to be strategic knowing I'd be attaching my bike to my bag shortly.  I killed the partial butane I had started with and broke out my brand new can, one less thing to carry through the canyon.  I ate with the rim hikers I had met the night before.

I got to the permit office just a few minutes before 8. They phoned the South Rim and were able to get me a permit at the group spot in Bright Angel which was ideal. That meant I would hike the 7 miles down and 7 miles across today and save the 7 miles up for the next day.  I donated my left over shower quarters to the NPS to not carry a bunch of extra metal across the canyon.

A few hundred feet in

Bike Disassembly

Once at the trail there was a small sign that said "No Bicycles". It took me about 40 minutes to pack my bike up.  The weather was overcast and drizzling which was ideal.  The bike felt heavy but manageable. I was very glad to have a proper bag to keep the weight stable and hiking poles.  I made decent time to Cottonwood Camp and had minimal questions along the way. I even got some hikers to take my photo. I think I only took my pack off once at the Manzanita Ranger Station along the way. There was a bunch of cowboys riding horses stopped at Cottonwood.

Cowboys at Cottonwood

Rear View

I stopped to fill up my water and eat a backpacker meal from my stove.  The ranger stopped there was trying to convince me to take side trips while in the canyon and to add a night at Indian Garden CG.

The stretch from Cottonwood to Phantom Ranch was long! I stopped a few times and took off my pack.  I made it to Phantom Ranch in time to get a New Belgium Fat Tire and mail Erin a post card.

It was a short walk from Phantom to Bright Angel. I was the only one in the group site they had set aside for AZT through hikers.

I cooked another backpacker meal and started unpacking, I had to fully unstrap my bike to get my stuff out.  I looked over at the table and what looked like a racoon was on the table eying my food.  I realized it was a ring tailed cat and when I said "Hey!" it took off and ran straight up a vertical cliff.  It was quite warm in the canyon and really nice to stare at the stars as I went to sleep on my 3rd picnic bench of the trip.  My muscles were all so tight and my legs we're having constant spasms with them twitching in an alternating fashion. I knew I had a tough day ahead of me to just get out of the canyon with my 70lb pack.

There was a constant stream of headlamps on the trail all night.

Stats: 13:20  moving time 2.5 Miles riding 14 miles hiking 6,025ft descent