We arrived in the Grand Canyon a day early to avoid another day of snow and freezing temperatures in Flagstaff. The last time we were here, it was snowing and difficult to see the canyon, but we were met with sunshine on this first day. This is a view of Bright Angel Canyon, where the North Kaibab Trail descends from the North Rim to Phantom Ranch and the Colorado River. This trail descends through this canyon for about 13.6 miles, from the trailhead to the ranch, and loses about 5,740 feet in altitude.
The flat spot you see in the center of the photo is the Skeleton Point, about a 1,300 foot climb up from the river on the Tonto Platform. The rangers at the Backcountry Information Center in the park estimate that to reach this point from the Bright Angel Trailhead is about a full day hike (round trip). My friend Mike and I plan on returning here in October and making the hike from the North Rim to Phantom Ranch, crossing the Colorado and hiking up to the South Rim in one day, about 9,080 feet of elevation change.
This photo was taken from near the Bright Angle Trailhead on the South Rim looking across to the North Rim.
Here are more views of the canyon in the afternoon sunlight.
This is the terminus of the road to Hermits Rest, as far west as you can drive on the South Rim. This road is closed to private vehicles from March 1 through November 30, so we made the decision to see this while we could. The weather was starting to get cold (and windy) at this point.
The sun was setting and we got these views from the overlooks on the way back.
Being late in the afternoon, we came across a small herd of elk strolling through the woods like they owned the place.
The setting sun went behind a cloud, darkening the sky for a few minutes and I took this photo.
As we neared our camp, we came across some mule deer near the train depot in the village.
Travelling with the Schinglers 