10 October 2015, Saturday

So. . .as we were getting ready to get into our tent last night we saw
two golden eyes peering at us from behind the rocks. In the red light
of my headlamp we could make out ears and face. I had to turn the dim
white light on. We could now see the huge fluffy striped tail. The
face looks almost cat-like. The tail seems to make up at least 2/3 of
the total length of the creature. The ringtail played peek-a-boo with
us for several minutes from behind the rocks near our tent and then
disappeared.

We slept well. Again we heard the click-click-click of the poles of the
canyon runners and saw their headlights go by between 3:30 and 4:00
am. O and I wake early and have another relaxed breakfast and are ready to
go with everyone else at 8 am.

We begin walking up the Bright Angel Trail along the river and this time
cross the Silver Bridge over the Colorado River to the south side of
the canyon. We seem to be gaining a bit of elevation, but soon we are
back on the beach at river level to discuss how the river and its
currents work. The actual volume of sediment and water flowing down
the canyon is only about 10% of what it was prior to Glen Canyon Dam
being constructed in the 1960′s. To help us visualize the volume of water flow,
Jack creates a new unit of measurement, the half cubic O/second of
flow. O is bemused that his body mass is being used in such a manner.
(There are approximately 10,000 half cubic O’s/sec flowing downstream
now.) He says cubic meter is much easier to visualize. (Just think of
1 dishwasher full of water at a time.) In any case, pre-dam there was
huge variation in water flow, from almost dry to tremendous floods.
The floods moved multi-ton boulders downstream and the percussive
effect of the boulders on the river floor helped to carve the canyon
deeper. There are still percussive events happening, but only in the
side canyons. The change in water flow in Grand Canyon has created a
whole new ecosystem in the canyon. The federal government is now
trying various experiments with water release from Glen Canyon to see
if this effect can be mitigated.

So much for our ongoing education. Now we continue our hike upwards. We
march up “Devil’s Corkscrew.” We are informed by Mike that none
of us are allowed to die here, the quota has already been met for the
year. Devil’s Corkscrew is a series of mostly bright, sunny
switchbacks carrying us higher in the canyon. I’m finding it a much
easier climb than Big Hump in the Olympics, except for the heat. For
one thing, there are no giant trees to climb over. I am actually one
of the few keeping up with Jack on this leg. He points out a delicate
red flower to me as we walk, the lobelia, and also shows me the
remaining faint track of the previous Bright Angel Trail from before
this new trail was constructed by the CCC in the 1930’s. I’m very
glad the new trail was built. The old one was much steeper. At the
top of Devil’s Corkscrew we walk on about a half mile to a small
trail leading to a pretty stream with lots of flat rocks and cool
shade. Here we eat lunch and rest.

After lunch Mike takes us up another short trail to an ancient, almost
intact granary where ancestral Puebloan people stored their food.
Jack stays behind to fight off the hoards of rock squirrels lurking
above, waiting to raid our unguarded packs.  The granary site is
amazing. When we return to our lunch spot Jack points out several
more granaries right above the main trail, with hikers trudging by
below, unaware.

From our lunch spot it is only another 20 to 30 minute walk to the Indian
Garden Campground. Jack notes we will be walking in the sun and
suggests that wetting our heads might help keep us cool. I splash
water over my hair, bringing giggles from Kristina, one of our German
hikers, who laughs, “We would never do this in Germany!”

By 2:30 our tent is set up, and Jack is considering how to get us all to
a quiet lookout for dinner. We await his decision. After awhile he
calls us together. We will meet at 4:15 to review a Grand Canyon
geologic timeline and then proceed to the lookout to cook dinner. O
and I pack everything we will need: stove, lighter, water, mac and
cheese bechamel, brownies.  We meet as directed and walk up the
trail. After awhile we turn left, off the trail, while other hikers
go straight ahead. We walk up a less used trail that takes us further
west and then we head across a brushy area of scrubby bushes and
cacti with deer or bighorn sheep tracks rambling about. Jack asks us
to fan out and weave as we go so we will not leave an obvious foot
trail. He walks with O and points out fragments of rock left over
from arrowhead production ages ago. We arrive at a series of cairns
on the rim. Here we can gaze down on the river in both directions.
The late afternoon colors are stunning. We cook our dinners and eat.
Ours, of course, takes the longest to cook. We are the last to finish
eating. We don’t get to the brownies. We have to leave before dark to
find the trail back. I guess we’ll have the brownies tomorrow.

We return to camp in the twilight and, in the dark, have our evening recap of the past
two days. Everyone retires to their tent for the night.
Several of the tents glow softly with headlamps. Across the path
there are campers with too-bright lights trying to organize their
gear. Above, the stars are brilliant and on the canyon rim, way
above, the lights of South Rim Village glimmer as if stars have
settled there too.