The overarching theme of the day 2 trail was the heat. It was an 8-mile stretch with a moderate elevation gain of 2000ft from Phantom Ranch to Cottonwood campgrounds with a 1-mile detour to Ribbon Falls.
We woke up at 5 am, freshened up, packed our tents, and were ready to leave by 7 am (Yes we were slow pokes but we all had our own specific “optimal” morning routine and were bent on ensuring everything was packed as per its defined position in our rucksacks). To delay our start further, we had a lazy, long breakfast at Phantom Ranch lodge. Our bodies were aching and begging us for some more time for rest.
We started on the trail at 8.30 am and for the initial few feet, my calf muscles were seething in pain. They became numb to pain and acclimatized to the new normal after a mile or so.
The trail after Phantom Ranch is sparsely populated with a few rugged hikers, and the occasional ultra-marathon runners and you are primarily on your own. As you go deeper into the canyon, you realize a deserted desert.
The landscape has lesser vegetation cover than the day 1 stretch and the views are adorned with small bushes, flowering cacti, and a tall overachieving plant called Utah Agave. Utah Agave was yellow, obscenely tall for its girth, and was always spotted as a loner.
“Agave utahensis There is no real common name for this plant but has been called the Kaibab century plant, in reference to the (incorrect) belief that it flowered after a hundred years. Agave is from the Greek word meaning noble, from the imposing stature, and utahensis means of or from Utah.
Its flower stalk, shown here, can grow at a rate of over a foot a day.”
Source: https://scienceviews.com/parks/grandcanyonplants.html
Throughout, the meandering path borders the bright angel creek, which is the main and only source of hydration. This stretch is devoid of any “tourist facilities” including restrooms. The sound of flowing water is our meditative background music, setting the rhythm for our stride and reminding us to keep moving. We took breaks on the underside of large rocks which provided us shade. We ate from our pre-packed sack lunch which was thoughtfully curated with food that was nutritionally dense and tasty.
We were scanning and monitoring our own bodies and would break frequently. The bottom of the Grand Canyon is 20 degrees hotter than the rims and we could feel the heat burning our skin, and my head would feel hot to touch. I constantly drenched my t-shirt, and my neck gaiter with water from the creek to keep the internal temperatures down.
We converged on taking a small detour to ribbon falls for our lunch break. Ribbon Falls is 100ft long and cascades from a side canyon. Situated 1.5 miles from the cottonwood campground, it’s accessible through a less traversed trail and is prettier in person than in the pictures. The water falls over a web of moss, a green vertical background, and sprays gentle mist over you when you are close enough. After the toil in the heat, the waterfall felt heavenly.
Here, we met a group of 60 / 70-year-olds, who were fellow phantom ranch campers and were headed to cottonwood. Their pace was inspiring and we were awed by their drive and physical capabilities.
We reached Cottonwood at about 6 pm and filled water from the creek as water taps were switched off for winter. We were in our beds by 9 pm as we had to wake up at 3:30 am for the final hike out of the Grand Canyon.
