9/22 I camped just past the confluence and into buckskin gulch, 7 miles. Gentle hike in along the mostly dried up Paria river. Still some mud patches to step in. Walls of the canyon slowly grew longer as I went down towards the longest slot canyon in America, maybe the world. Got dropped off by 'trainwreck' who is section hiking the AZT, and offering shuttles in between hikes. She was very friendly, and even took me to grab fuel and lunch before hitting the trail. At the BLM ranger station, I was told that I might be the first person to go through buckskin gulch from White House to Wire Pass as an approach trail for a SoBo AZT hike!
9/23 camped at the first water tank on the AZT, 18 miles in utah, 4 on the trail. Last night there was a loud group of campers that came up the canyon to stay near me and kept me up till midnight. I broke camp around 6:30 and set off up the gulch. The canyon was full of mud, and pools of muddy water. The ground wasn't flat, so I was using my poles to tap ahead for higher ground. The deepest pool I went through was mid-chest high water, but I'm sure that if I'd misstepped I would have been fully submerged in the cold water. At one pool, my phone fell into the water. Luckily, I was able to recover it after sweeping for it by hand for five fretful minutes. As the canyon was finally widening, and after a boulderfield, I finally saw some day hikers. One, Quicksilver, was from near the AT and gave me my first trail magic out west, a hard cider. I had a short roadwalk to the Arizona Border and AZT terminal monument. The beginning of the AZT is a climb up to the Kaibab Plateau, which was through a burn area from a few years ago. Glad I took on the challenge of the canyon, but not sure I would do it again. It was a trying day, and I'm excited to be back on trail.
9/24 Camped at Jacob's lake, 27. After some very refreshing sleep I went on to have a great day hiking. Mostly flat, going from junipers to pines as I gained elevation on the Kaibab Plateau. The Magnum fire last summer burnt through much of the trail in this area, so I took a dirt road bypass for 8 miles. The bypass also had burnt trees, but was cleared. I filtered some water from an open reservoir not on my map, and stopped to take a small nap. I hitched into Jacob Lake and grabbed a little food, and some great cookies. I stayed at a campsite nearby with showers and laundry.
9/25 Camped near a water tank, 48.
Took a shortcut back to the AZT, and had to bushwack a little to get there. Passed a bear box with some trail magic in it. It rained for 5 minutes at night, and luckily I already had my fly up. Mostly flat hiking today, so I've been using different muscles from the constant climbs of the AT.
9/26 North Rim 76. More plateau. Tower/trail high point, and a cloudy day. Decided to push for a longer day (28 miles) to reach the north rim campsite, which I felt in my knees. A group of bike-packers went past me going nobo. It drizzled faintly a few times, but no rain. Met some other hikers at the campsite, and we talked around a fire for a while.
9/27 Bright Angel Campground, 90. The day started leisurely, as I waited for the backcountry permit office to open. The North Rim camp host gave me a ride over, and the office was able to set me up at Bright Angel Campground. The NPS staff in general was very helpful, and supportive of thru-hikers. The Grand Canyon, after seeing it last night, was even more spectacular in person. The first two miles down were shared with mules. For one of the most well-known trails, hiking the "Rim to Rim" didn't feel overly crowded, and the trail was well maintained. I ended up at the campsite around 3, with enough time to hear a geology overview from the NPS staff, and to soak my feet in the Colorado river. There were a bunch of people at the bottom. Some had rode mules down, and there was even a bag delivery service and private cabins at Phantom Ranch. It reminded me of huts in the White Mountains. All the campsites were separated, and there wasn't much of a communal spirit. At night, I was able to watch lightning from up on the rim, and there was even some rain.
9/28 South Rim Campsite, 99. Woke up early, not by choice, and decided to make the most of it by hiking before the heat. I passed a lot of day hikers, and had a more direct trail up, rather than following a stream. I decided to take the day as a near-O at the south rim campground to let my feet rest, charge my battery, and get resupply before the 100 mile section to Flagstaff. There was a whole family of elks around the campsite.
Flagstaff here I come!
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