Hiking the Grand Canyon to Phantom Ranch

Grand Canyon & Phantom Ranch - 2002
Back in 2002 I embarked on a journey to hike the Grand Canyon down to Phantom Ranch. Phantom Ranch is at the bottom of the canyon not far from the Colorado river. As I recall it was a round trip covering approximately 20 miles. At the time all I ended up getting were very few pictures and a Phantom Ranch ball cap. Can't really complain about that since, unless one is a super hero, the less you are lugging around in a back pack is generally better.

Grand Canyon & Phantom Ranch - 2015

	~13 years later I returned to Phantom Ranch and got my hands on the 2015 Phantom Ranch ball cap sold at Phantom Ranch (quite different than the one from 2002) - see image to the left (click it to enlarge). But, I also got a few more pictures!
	After you make the descent to the Colorado river, a heck of a long way down the Grand Canyon by the way, there are two bridges that you can cross. This one (pictured) is of the Bright Angel trail.
	This is a more close-up view of the Colorado river, south of Phantom Ranch.
	Facing NE away from the river you could see things like what is pictured here.
	While you can bear the burden of carrying a tent and camping out at Phantom Ranch, it may be better to just get a cabin (the one I was in had power, AC/DC and a "relief room"). I did the tent thing in 2002 and, well, that was enough for me. :) If you look closely at this picture you may be able to see some of the South Rim way up in the cloud cover. I'll tell you it is a LONG walk to get up there.
	This large cabin is where folks who have food reservations go for food. Breakfast and dinner are large portions to help with loading up on lost calories and energy. Some beer and wine is also available here (aside from a few items like the ball cap). You can even get some postcards that will be stamped (unique to Phantom Ranch). Lastly, when you get ready to trek back to the top of the Grand Canyon, you can arrange to have most of your gear transported via mule (the cost of which is approximately $70 for 30 pounds, per person, at the time of this writing). Finally, there is no internet connection you can use and cell phone service does not exist.

Desire to achieve balance is rarely tuned to the domain it is realized within, thereby recasting it into atypical substance.