Today we hiked into the canyon. Being here, it makes you want to venture lower.
There are two main trails we could use but we decided to walk
the Bright Angel trail to Indian Garden rest. Surprisingly for me the trail was
in the shade for the downhill part. It was lovely to walk down. The vegetation
was desert-like but there were some trees and it was very pretty.
We
were trailed by some mules along the way. They smelled and the people on them
were very sore when they reached the Indian Gardens. Mules are very well used
on the trails.
As a hiker I did not like their leavings, however I know how important
it is for everyone to see this amazing place.
It
was beautiful to walk down through the layers of rock. To walk on them, feel
their different textures and to see them. I was amazed to experience the
distinct transitions, the colour. What can I say? It was just fantastic.
After
reaching Indian Gardens we decided
we could go further to Plateau Point, a further 2 mile walk out on a wide
ridge. This was very different to the walk down. It was exposed and hot and we
began to feel the glare of the sun. The vegetation changed dramatically and
went to desert cactii and low grasses. It felt hard and exposed. The point
gave an amazing view of the Colorado river. It was worth it.
For me the walk back was hard. Just walking back to Indian gardens was hard. I have lost a lot of fitness! we ate lunch at Indian gardens near a lovely stream. The trees gave lovely shade and the view of red rock walls was beautiful. However I was feeling worried about the walk back up...
It
was not quite so bad. I still enjoyed the rock, the colours, the layers and not
all of it was in the sun as I feared. It still remained that I found it pretty
hard. Eric was lovely and walked slowly, took photos and tried to keep Samuel
amused as he was going fine.
Having walked over 20 km I felt pleased but sore and tired. Eric and Samuel fared better than me!
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