Parents' Corner
 by
Johnny C. Jones
July 1998

My perspective on our hike down the Canyon was a little different.  The heat was a problem for all of us, both going down and coming back out. South Kaibab is only 7 miles, as opposed to Bright Angel's 10, and it has lovely views, but there is no water and no bathrooms on the trail.  The only sign of human involvement were a couple of hitching posts for the mules, an emergency telephone, and the trail itself--although it had deteriorated considerably since we hiked it 14 years ago.  Fortunately the day was too dry for thunderstorms, because the trail's situation along the ridgelines makes it vulnerable to lightning.

The reason it was so dry was because it was so hot.  We got up at 4:15 am so we could catch the 5:15 shuttle that let us out at the trailhead at 5:30.  There were people on the shuttle, and on the trail, ahead of us.  The first sign that greeted us was, "Danger: Excessive heat conditions exist in the Canyon.  Hiking may lead to life-threatening injury or death!  Hike at your own risk."  At the bottom of the sign was a skull and crossbones.

So we started down early, and hiked as quickly as we could.  It was very steep, and lots of the trail was carved out into pockets below timbers that held it in place, so in places it was almost like going down steep stairs, for the amount of reach required by our legs.  About 10:30 two things happened: We saw the Colorado River, which encouraged us, and the sun became unbearable.  It seems to me that almost every difficult trail we traverse gets worse towards the end--steeper, slipperier, or in worse condition.  This one did all three.

We got to Phantom Ranch about 11:30.  After we checked in and put our packs on our bunks, we reassembled for lunch.  I kept drinking--we figured afterwards, between water and lemonade, I consumed about half a gallon of liquid.  We were all making up for what we didn't drink on the trail.  It was hard to drink a quart an hour, which is what we were told our bodies required to handle the hiking and heat.  The high that day was 106 in the shade.  We hiked in the sun.

We ate the 5 am breakfast the next morning, to get an early start.  Bright Angel Trail had three places for water, and two locations for outhouses, which was a great luxury.  Before we got very far up the trail, a hiker came back and told us not to go farther:  "The Ranger says to wait until the helicopter lifts off."  It was airlifting a man who became dehydrated the night before.  We talked with the Ranger about him as we walked up the trail.

Although the trail had water, after about 10:30 the temperature starting soaring towards 100--and we didn't make it to the top until after 2 pm.  Bryan and Doug carried the packs the whole way except for a short while in the morning, and that helped a lot.  Eating lunch also helped us.  I hadn't remembered the cave-like place that we went through near the top--I also hadn't remembered the tunnel near the bottom.  But I did remember the awesome views that changed throughout the day; the sense of togetherness as we walked in the beauty together; and Bright Angel Creek splashing past our bunkhouses.

It was seriously hot--but had I known how bad it was, would I have gone?  Absolutely.  You get over heat before you get over the wonder and the majesty.  The purples, blues, and reds of the sky and the rock, the way the landscape looks unreal, both because of distance and because of splendor, the shadows of the day playing with the fissures made me remember these words: "I walk in beauty-- beauty before me, beauty behind me." Centuries later, it is still true.