Last week I had a couple of great hikes back-to-back. With a permit for two nights at Cottonwood Campground and two nights in the Phantom use area, I was perfectly positioned for a dayhike loop of Old Bright Angel, followed by an overnight into Phantom Canyon via the Cattle Trail. Here's part one of my two-part trip report:OLD BRIGHT ANGEL TRAIL
On Monday I hiked the Old Bright Angel Trail from the Roaring Springs residence bridge, up to the North Rim with a return via Ken Patrick Trail to the North Kaibab Trail. It was a fun hike most of the way, though it drizzled off and on, then snowed some near the top. And it was a gloomy gray day all day also. Still, this is a cool old trail and I was pleased to find it in such good shape. I only lost the trail once, where it crosses a bare Redwall drainage at the base of the Supai. The route appears to follow the bed for a ways and I missed where the trail leaves the bed to start the Supai ascent. It didn't help that there were incorrect cairns marking the (wrong) way farther north in the drainage than I should have gone.
Click on "MyTopo" to view the GPS track below as a topographic map. Then mouse over the little flags to see the waypoint names. The section of trail I missed is roughly on a line between the waypoints "back on track" and "rejoin trail". The "back on track" waypoint marks the spot where I realized the trail stays in the bed, and returned to the bed from an early excursion up the eastern slope. The "rejoin trail" marks the spot where I found the trail on the eastern slope. I then hiked back down -- most but not all of the way to the creekbed -- and back, which created the interrupted line angling on the slope. You can zoom in to see this more clearly using the "+" button on the left hand side.
After I reoriented myself, it was easy enough to follow the trail all the rest of the way. Reports of brush and thorns near the top were true, but it was much less of a nuisance than I had been expecting -- basically nothing I would have mentioned at all except that everyone I talk to about this trail mentions this.
After I reoriented myself, it was easy enough to follow the trail all the rest of the way. Reports of brush and thorns near the top were true, but it was much less of a nuisance than I had been expecting -- basically nothing I would have mentioned at all except that everyone I talk to about this trail mentions this.
Since this was *the* way into Bright Angel Canyon from the north rim for a few decades, it's no surprise that the trail bed is well beaten into the ground in most places. Also, there is quite a bit of trail construction, with rock retaining walls to support the bed in key places,
as well as sawn-off branches and trunks of trees and brush that would have been in the way.
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| From Old BA and Cattle Trail |
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| From Old BA and Cattle Trail |
The hiking time bottom to top was about 5 hours. If you read a trip report where someone took 7 or 9 hours to hike this trail (in the downhill direction no less), they probably tried to follow the creek through the section of canyon below the Muav. Instead, the trail is up on the creek-right (west) slope bypassing a couple of steep embankments and/or cliffs.
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| From Old BA and Cattle Trail |
Today's trail crosses Bright Angel Creek just once, not too far up canyon from the confluence with the Roaring Springs arm of the creek.
On the west side of the creek, just north of the crossing point, can be found an old camp site with some artifacts, and names/dates chipped into a large boulder.
The lowest section of trail stays creek-left down to the footbridge just south of the Roaring Springs residence ("Aiken House"). Although, historically it is more likely that the trail crossed Bright Angel Creek back to the west side somewhere closer to Roaring Springs.
Pictures of both hikes:
http://picasaweb.google.com/CRForsyth/OldBAAndCattleTrail
