AZT 2019 Day 40: Grand Canyon National Park boundary (mile 684.2) to Cottonwood Campground stock site (mile 705.3)

21.1 miles

I officially entered the park this morning by walking a couple feet from where I camped last night, right off the bike path. I started walking the bike path towards Mather Campground, where I would exit the trail and take the shuttle to the backcountry office.

On the way there I saw some elk. Usually, I can't get anywhere near the elk before they bolt. This time, I walked right next to them. A couple of the elk stopped grazing and looked at me, but others couldn't be bothered to have their breakfast interrupted. I assume because hunting isn't allowed in the National Park they have no reason to fear people.

Super chill elk.

I got to the junction for Mather Campground early, so I continued on to the visitors center, where the bus took a more direct route to the backcountry center.

I got to the backcountry center around 10 minutes before it opened, and there was already a crowd. I was given a waitlist ticket yesterday and was 13th in line. Yesterday, I was told that I could potentially get a permit for tomorrow, but probably not for today. I had thought about it last night and if I couldn't get a permit for today,  I was going to hike rim to rim tomorrow. I also decided to do town errands in the morning and play tourist the rest of the day.

Waiting to get into the backcountry office.

When, my number was called, I ended up getting the most helpful ranger out of the ones I talked to yesterday. He was the one who thought he could get me a permit in two days, instead of five.

I went over the options with him,  and let him know that I was fully prepared to hike rim to rim tomorrow. That was when he told me he could put me on another AZT hiker's permit. The hiker, James, already had the stock site at Cottonwood Campground for 5 people, but the site could fit 6. I originally thought he meant he could put me on a permit for tomorrow, which I would be OK with as it put me pretty far down the canyon. However, he meant today. I wasn't quite ready to move forward, but I didn't want to pass up on the chance to slip onto a permit, so I accepted the offer.

Cottonwood was a challenging 14 miles down the trail from the South Kaibab trailhead, and I had 2 more miles of Arizona Trail to hike before I got to the trailhead. I didn't have a lot of time to spare.

Since I was deciding to stay at the campground on the North Rim, I could shower and do laundry there. I had enough food to get my to the North Rim General Store, and to supplement food there to get to Utah. What wasn't guaranteed at the North Rim was internet.

I walked to the community library from the backcountry center, since the information I had said it has 24/7 wifi. It was closed and I could not find a wifi signal there, or an external outlet. I decided to go to the visitors center, since I figured they would have outlets and the best cell signal.

When I got off the bus, I only had 1x, so I turned around and got back on the bus. I headed back to the general area in which I had signal, getting off at the train depot/El Tovar stop. I tried the depot first and they didn't have any external outlets. I went back to El Tovar and checked out their patio. There were no outlets, but there was wifi.

I connected to the wifi and tried to upload some videos. It was painfully slow.  I had to switch to network, which still took a long time. I uploaded the minimum of what I needed to and ran to the bus stop to catch the bus to Mather Campground. It was now late morning.

I hiked through the campground back to the greenway, then joined up with the AZT. It followed telephone poles at this point and I walked as fast as I could to the trailhead. It was just about lunchtime by the time I got there.

Oh, by the way, this is the Grand Canyon. 

I raced down the beginning of the trail, passing tourists in flop flops. The canyon was amazing as always, jaw dropping at every turn. It was a shame that I was crunched for time.

The start of the South Kaibab Trail.

South Kaibab Trail switchbacks. 

Horses and mules have the right of way.

Ooh Ahh Point.

Views.

What was not amazing were the crazy wind gusts I would get occasionally. I could see them coming. The sand swirled up like a dust devil, then flung itself at my face while the wind tore at my clothes so hard that I had a couple buttons come undone.

At Cedar Point, I saw the two young women AZT hikers from the backcountry center yesterday. There was a man with them, so I asked if he was James. He was not, as James was taking the Bright Angel Trail instead. I let them know that I had been added to their permit and would be staying with them tonight. They seemed OK with it.

Cedar Point.

I continued the steep descent. It was absolutely gorgeous. All I could think was that I needed to hike the Grand Canyon more, since I live within driving distance. Last time I was here I got new shoes to help keep traction on the descent. It was funny to think about, since the AZT has ripped the tread off of my current shoes.

Steep descent and views 

Views.

All those switchbacks. 

I passed Skeleton Point, took the steep switchbacks down towards The Tipoff, and saw both the Colorado River and the Black Bridge I would take to get across it. I also caught up with the other AZT hikers and finally made introductions. Their names were Capitan, Honeydew, and Smiley. They were taking a break, and I passed them up letting them know there was lemonade at the bottom.

Views from lower in the canyon. 

The trail past the tipoff.

The final descent to the Colorado River.

The Black Bridge.

I finished my descent to the river, went through the tunnel to the Black Bridge, and crossed the Colorado River. Right on the other side were Pueblo ruins. I didn't remember them being there. Either I forgot or I passed by too quickly to notice last time.

Crossing the Colorado River.

Pueblo ruins near the Black Bridge. 

I headed around the corner for Phantom Ranch and went straight to the canteen. The canteen was busy serving meals to those who had made reservations (it is reservation only) and there was a big line at the register for lemonade. Most people were paying for refills.

I bought mine and went to the machine to find out that their famous lemonade was simply Minute Maid lemonade. I filled my cup and headed out to a picnic table. The lemonade was all I had hoped for and more. I was ice cold, tart, and refreshing. Minute Maid lemonade is the best lemonade in the world after a difficult hike into the canyon.

Phantom Ranch. 

Lemonade at the bottom of the canyon.

Afterwards, I continued north, following Bright Angel Creek. It was roaring. There was much more water in there than the last time I had come by, and it had been earlier in the year. There must still be a lot of snow on the North Rim.

I hiked the beautiful, narrow, winding section of the canyon. Along the way I passed 700 miles of the Arizona Trail. The narrows were beautiful, and the trail was a fairly gradual incline, but I was getting tired. It was harder than I remembered.

Narrow section of the trail.

Bright Angel Creek from the North Kaibab Trail.

Trail starting to widen.

Eventually, I saw Ribbon Falls. It was late in the day, so I was going to have to pass it up, and maybe come back tomorrow. That was until I saw the sign at the trail junction. The bridge to the falls had been torn apart by the storm, so I wouldn't be doing it anyway.

Ribbon Falls from the trail.

The canyon near Cottonwood Campground. 

I pumped my tired legs until I got to the campground. Right before that was a large tree that had come down across the trail. I had to awkwardly climb through the branches to get across.

As AZT hikers, we were put in the stock campsite, which was the furthest campsite from where I entered, and uphill.  On the way there, I stopped at the potable water station to find that it was off. I found the stock site, and no one was there, so I went in search of water.

There was a creek next to the campground, but it looked like there was a bit of a drop off to reach it, so I went back down the trail on search of water. I found an area where the creek ran close to the trail, but between the rushing water and vegetation, didn't feel safe accessing it.

I walked back to where a stream had crossed the trail. It thought it was less than 0.5 miles, but it ended up being about .6-.7 miles. I was also losing light quickly. I saw Smiley there as I filled up with water.

We went back to the stock site and more people showed up. We figured out out tent arrangements in the dark and I went to bed very exhausted. It had turned out to be an eventful day.