Ruthie and I decide whether to hike farther down on Bright Angel Trail.

The Grand Canyon-Part II

Park ranger Stephanie was standing nearby. Pointing at the ribbon of greenery below atop the plateau, we told her we were thinking about hiking down to it.

She said, “That’s the next rest area, Indian Gardens, but it’s farther than it looks. It’s three and a half miles, so you’d be adding seven miles roundtrip just getting back to where we’re standing.”

           The deep green ribbon in the center doesn’t look very far off, but it is.

 Seeing our questioning looks, Stephanie glanced up at the noonday sun beating down and then fed us a knowing smile. “It’s late. If I were you I’d pass on it today.”

We trusted her expertise, but after she left we did our usual routine with never knowing when to stop. I said, “Jeez, I hate to quit. There’s still a lot to see down here!”

Ruthie nodded, “Let’s go…”-pinching her thumb and forefinger almost together- “…just a teensy bit further!” And fine, but unlike when heading for mountain tops, wherever we stopped on this trail we’d still have the tougher part; heading back up.

After another downward stretch we quit kidding ourselves and plunked down in the cooling shade, what there was of it, beneath a lone, gnarled juniper evergreen. Munching our trail mix, we inhaled our little tree’s piney fragrance. Taking in the magnificence of everything around us, we had the best place on the planet for a picnic.

                            OK, not much of a “shade” tree, but it was all ours.

Taking a slower pace on the trek back up, we often halted to rest sore leg muscles and swig plenty of water. We each carried three bottles-worth and we’d eventually use most of it. But other than feeling a little fatigued we were still good to go.

At now well past noon lots of people were on this upper part. Noticing my UWSP (University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point) t-shirt in passing, one young woman yelled, “I’m from Poynette and love UW! On Wisconsin!”

During our next break we met another couple our age, David and Margaret. They told us they’d had enough of a good thing when reaching the Rest House. Seeing us heading up, they’d decided to join us. With them keeping us fun company we toiled upward and took frequent rest breaks to catch our breaths and massage aching muscles.

During one of these stops a fit looking thirties-something guy toting a large backpack and on his way down stopped briefly to chat, or maybe to brag. When we told him how far we had gone, he was dismissive. “Oh? Well, I’ve gone all the way to the bottom and back…in one day!”  After wishing us well, he took off.

 In sizing him up I had to admit he did have the physique of someone who could leap tall buildings in a single bound. Then he began jogging!  

Glaring down at him, Ruthie drew herself up with hands on hips and harrumphed, “Well! What a big deal you are!” The rest of us fell down laughing.

On top we bid farewell to David and Margaret and lingered at the overlook. We were letting it seep in, the tremendous lift with feeling aching muscles combined with the thrill of completing one of our toughest trail hikes at such a wondrous place.

Ravenously hungry and in no mood for more trail mix we bee-lined for the Visitors Center’s restaurant and devoured whatever we were served. Between bites we tossed it back and forth, not only the grandeur of this place, but how fascinating the less spectacular things had been; the many varieties of plants and wildlife inhabiting each succeeding level of the canyon, the fossils many millions of years old we’d reached out and touched, and all the other people we’d met sharing our pure enjoyment with just being here.

Over coffee I added with utter determination, “And sweetie when we do come back, no fooling around! We’ll hike all the way to the bottom and back!”

She laughed, “I’m for that, dear! But not just in one day like that showoff, OK?”