The Grand Adventure- Day 2- 04/25/09: Phantom Ranch and around – Bill's Journey

About: A Photographer’s Journey

Favorite Places Through The Years

Contact Me!

The Grand Adventure- Day 2- 04/25/09: Phantom Ranch and around

A restful day in camp at Phantom Ranch deep in the Grand Canyon? Not so much: a little sunrise stroll down to the river followed by a “day hike” up Clear Creek Trail towards the North Rim. The winds were at times as bad as the day before and we even got a spat of rain at the top of the hike… but at least we weren’t carrying packs (except for the day pack containing essential snacks).

Early Morning Bright Angel Creek bordering the hiker’s campground

Crossing the creek to get to a tasty snack

Black Bridge that we had crossed yesterday (yes, there is another bridge, the Silver bridge, a bit down river)

Canyon Sunrise #2
Thumb 14 04_25_09 canyon sunrise 2

Our day hike, up Clear Creek Trail (we debated the no camping warning and, since we went about 3 or 4 miles up the trail, decided that after two miles there simply wasn’t anyplace to camp so why bother with a warning!). We never did find the creek, making it as far as the Tonto Plateau before rain and common sense turned us back.
Thumb 24 04_25_09 clear creek trail sign

Looking down at Bright Angel Creek back towards Phantom Ranch
Thumb 15 04_25_09 looking down at bright angel creek

Clouds moving in
Thumb 16 04_25_09 clouds moving in

The bottom section of the South Kaibab Trail… this is what we hiked down the day before. No wonder our feet hurt!
Thumb 17 04_25_09 south kaibab trail

Looking Up-River
Thumb 18 04_25_09 co river looking west

Mike looking out (ignoring Jodi’s admonitions about getting too close to the edge and falling off)
Thumb 19 04_25_09 mike looking out

A Lonely Tree
Thumb 20 04_25_09 lonely tree

Looking down at the Black Bridge, with the Silver Bridge far off in the distance. The river really is that green: the dams up river slow down the water flow so the river went from the brown early explorers saw to the green it is now.
Thumb 21 04_25_09 bright angel creek and co river scenic

Red Cactus Flowers… pretty much a mandatory image when in the desert (most of the base of the Canyon is a desert climate)
Thumb 22 04_25_09 cactus red flowers

Sunshine on a Cloudy Day Thumb 23 04_25_09 sunshine on a cloudy day

Campsite # 14: packs had to be hung on special racks to keep the critters at bay and food stored in heavy military ammo cans for the same reason (despite these precautions, something chewed a hole in the top of Mike’s pack trying to get to something spilled in it). That’s my small…. very small… one- man… just barely one- man… tent.
Thumb 25 04_25_09 site 14

Click HERE to go to Day 3: Part 1: On to Indian Gardens

Click here to see full size images at www.ImagesByBill.us

One response to “The Grand Adventure- Day 2- 04/25/09: Phantom Ranch and around”

The Grand Adventure- Day 1- 04/24/09: Down South Kaibab – Bill's Journey

July 7, 2025 at 9:17 am

[…] Click HERE to go to Day 2: Phantom Ranch […]

Loading…

Reply

Leave a ReplyCancel reply