Backpacking Michigan's Isle Royale National Park

Isle Royale (pronounced "royal") National Park is an island wilderness 70 miles north of Houghton, Michigan, but only 15 miles south of the Canadian border. Though much closer to Canada, it was annexed to the United States at the 1783 Treaty of Paris, probably due to a cartographer's error. The island is 45 miles long by 8.5 miles at its widest point and it contains 210 square miles of wilderness. The highest point is Mt. Desor at 1394 feet elevation.

No vehicles or roads are on the island and it is comprised of 99% wilderness. Two areas are developed. Rock Harbor on the east end is the major entry area, with lodge, cabins, restaurant, store, snack shop, Ranger Station, and marina. Windigo is on the west end and is less developed, with no lodging other than camping, but with a store, Ranger Station, and marina.

Isle Royale became a national park in 1931. Native Americans were mining the island's copper deposits as early as 2000 B.C. In 1981 the island was designated an International Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations.

The Greenstone Ridge Trail traverses the island's mountainous backbone and parallels the strenuous Minong Trail, originally constructed for fire fighting access. 166 miles of trail are in place on Isle Royale and all are maintained. Plank walkways are used to span boggy areas to preserve the environment. One trail was even closed and relocated after a family of bald eagles with young moved into a tree bordering the trail. The most famous residents of the island are the 2000 plus moose and 16 or so wolves, both the subjects of the 50+ year study started by Rolf Peterson. Also available are fishing and canoing in Lake Superior and the numerous inland lakes. Over 200 smaller islands surround the main island.

This is an aerial view of Rock Harbor, the largest of the two "non-wilderness" areas on Isle Royale. In the foreground you see the Lodge buildings. Cabins are also available. The water closest to you is Lake Superior. The next area of water is Rock Harbor in which the National Park Service boat (Ranger) is partially visible, and behind it to the right is the Visitor Center. The next water area above this is Tobin Harbor, which is about three miles long. The seaplane lands here.

Yellowstone National Park has more visitors in one day than Isle Royale has in a year, and Isle Royale is the only national park to completely close down for the winter.

The moose have been on the island for 70 years and have never been hunted by man. Though very large and still possibly dangerous, they are neither intimidated nor threatened and do not bolt away from people. Flying ticks (which fortunately do not attack man) torment these beasts constantly. Tens of thousands of the ticks have been found on some moose corpses, indicating the enormity of the problem.  Seeing moose in the water is a rare treat. Most people are unaware that moose are aquatic animals. They frolic and play in the water, are able to swim great distances rapidly, and even dive underwater to reach underwater plants to eat. We were fortunate to observe all these behaviors from our campsite.

The moose probably migrated (swam) over to the island in the early 1900s. During the cold winter of 1948-49, an ice bridge allowed a small pack of Eastern Timber Wolves to cross over from Canada. Wolf populations have ranged from 12 to 50, but usually at the lower end of that range. The island is a closed system, so wolf-moose population sizes and inter-connections have been studied since the 1950s.

In 1993, my son and I took Len and his daughter, Laura, to Isle Royale when they expressed an interest in learning to backpack. Then Scott and I returned in 1995 to explore the entire island, end to end.

Wetlands abound on the island, and the NPS trail crews have constructed plank walkways in fragile areas to preserve the environment, and as a fringe benefit, keep backpackers' boots dry and clean. You often see moose tracks alongside the planks, and I've had to pause hiking and wait for a browsing moose to finish his snack before continuing forward. There are no black bear or white-tailed deer on the island.

The wooden shelter below is located at the western end of the island at Windigo. Most of the campsites on the Lake Superior shoreline also have shelters (86 in total), available on a first-come, first-served basis. They are screened on the open side which keeps bugs out. The shelters are especially handy in wet weather, which we experienced several days. Picnic tables are also supplied at campgrounds which have shelters.

The Greenstone Ridge Trail, which runs along the center of the island and is the island's backbone, is atop the ridge line. One night we camped at East Chickenbone Lake Campground seen below. A large open area nearby provided us with marvelous views of the annual Perseids Meteor Shower our night there! With no light pollution to interfere, the natural fireworks were spectacular! Thirty-six camp areas are available on the island, about half of which have docks available.

In the photo below we are lunching along the shore at the Moskey Basin Lakeside Campground. The drop-dead scenery is awesome no matter where you stop! One superlative I read about the island: Siskiwit Lake is the largest lake on the island; it has Ryan Island, which is the largest island in the largest lake on the largest island (Isle Royale) in the largest freshwater lake in the world (Lake Superior)!

Here I am at the high point of the island on the Greenstone Ridge Trail at Mt. Desor, a whopping 1394 feet above sea level -- far from the heights of the Rockies, of course, but Isle Royale does offer the best backpacking in the midwest.

When you arrive at the island, a ranger will discuss regulations and provide the free permit. You will also be warned that tapeworm is a remote but real possibility, and therefore only boiling of water or purification with a pump filtering down to 25 microns provides safety. Let me warn you to carry a spare cartidge if you choose to pump water because the filter will clog quickly due to sediment in the water. You will not even approach the 200 quarts or whatever the filter advertises as its capacity.

Access to the island is by ferry from Houghton or Copper Harbor, Michigan, or from Grand Portage, Minnesota (or your own watercraft.)


INFO:

The National Park Service's Isle Royale website has answers to all your questions as well as maps and brochures.


Backpacking in Michigan by Pat Allen and Gerald DeRuiter: University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, MI; 188 pages.

Isle Royale National Park: Trails and Water Routes by Jim DuFresne: The Mountaineers Publishing Co., Seattle, WA; 144 pages. 

Backpacking Colorado's Weminche Wilderness Squaw Pass Loop

BACKPACKING THE SQUAW CREEK,  SQUAW PASS,  AND CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TRAIL LOOP
in the
WEMINUCHE WILDERNESS

Photos of my point-to-point backpack via Vallecito Creek Trail, Johnson Creek, Chicago Basin, Needle Creek Trail, Animas River, and out via Purgatory Trail are here


Named for the Weminuche (pronounced WHEM-a-nooch) Indians of the Ute tribe, the wilderness is part of the Rio Grande National Forest (established in 1908) and the San Juan National Forest (established in 1907.) The first white men to pass through the region were Spaniards in 1765.

The Weminuche Wilderness is one of the largest in the contiguous 48 states at 487,400 acres.  Elevation ranges from 7910 feet to 14,083 feet, with an average elevation exceeding 10,400 feet, making the San Juan Mountains of the Weminuche Wilderness the highest mountain range in North America. Over 500 inches of snow falls annually, and two major rivers, the San Juan and the Rio Grande, originate in the wilderness.

470 miles of trails, including 80 miles of the Continental Divide Trail (which only dips below timberline three times) are in the wilderness, which also includes the section of the Rockies called "The Bend" which is found in this area of the wilderness. South of the Continental Divide, the rivers and creeks feed the San Juan River and then the Colorado River.

Squaw Creek Trail starts at Thirty-Mile Campground of the National Forest Service, which is located just downriver from The Rio Grande Reservoir. Drive 21 miles southwest from Creede on Highway 149, then turn left (South) on Forest Service Road 520 (Rio Grande Reservoir Road) about 12 miles.  The trail begins at the end of the road with a somewhat strenuous but brief uphill as you climb up into Squaw Creek Canyon on a ridge to get up to Squaw Valley. You gaze at  the creek below you for the first mile or so.

Beavers are prolific in this stretch of the creek, and from your height a couple hundred feet above the narrow creek, their many beaver dams have seemingly turned the area around the creek into a wetlands.

Then you reach the magnificent Squaw Valley which widens out in front of you as seen below.  The trail gently ascends along the eastern edge of the valley, with the creek in the middle and meadows on each side. A few small creek crossings allow for water replenishment and you'll see fewer and fewer fishermen and day hikers as you proceed.  Camping spots are obvious but we waited and camped just beyond and above the intersection of Squaw Creek Trail and Squaw Lake Trail about 6 miles from the trailhead. A bridge takes you over Squaw Creek and then up a slight uphill.

We camped on a knoll about 80 feet above the valley floor and had this magnificent view from out of our tent window looking back down the valley we just hiked. The entire valley was breathtaking. The only other valley I've backpacked of comparable beauty is the Big Blue Valley in Colorado's Big Blue/Uncompahgre Wilderness area.

Squaw Creek Trail continues another 4 miles or so up to Squaw Pass where it intersects with the Continental Divide Trail.  In the photo below, you are looking back down at Squaw Pass (11,200 feet elevation) and you realize how much more elevation you have gained since you got on the CDT.

The only constant, it seems, on the CDT, is that your elevation will soon change. Here you go down quite precipitously, and after passing 3 or 4 lakes in cirques, you again go up. The photo was taken just as we entered a large boulder field which was home to countless marmots and pikas which shrieked their warnings out as we approached. You can make out the trail as it cuts across the slope.

After the final uphill on our hike, we reached 12,760 feet, the highest point on the CDT in this area of the Weminuche Wilderness known as "In The Bend" where the mountain chain turns to the west and then back to the east, encircling the headwaters of the Rio Grande River.

The photo below shows Squaw Lake as seen from high above on the Continental Divide Trail. Squaw Lake Trail begins at the Squaw Creek Trail where we camped last night. If you want to skip Squaw Pass, you can ascent to the CDT from there.  The trail has been reconstructed in a series of seven switchbacks which continue for 2 miles where it levels off in another half mile reaches Squaw Lake. Campsites are abundant within the trees in the center of the photo. The water is fairly clear and fish can be seen in the lake. A warning: Since the lake is only about 8 miles from the trailhead, horse parties use the lake for both day trips and overnight stops.

A trail descends 800 feet to Squaw Lake (elevation 11,632) and camping opportunities abound. There is little wood for fires and storms can blow across here suddenly and ferociously from the Divide. This is a man-raised lake (1938) and some of the original horse-drawn earth-moving equipment remains behind as artifacts of an earlier day.

Seven switchbacks then take you the 2.5 miles down to the intersection with the Squaw Creek Trail and then back to the trailhead. Or from the lake, you can take the CDT north to the Weminuche Creek Trail and back down to the reservoir.



Photos of my point-to-point backpack via Vallecito Creek Trail, Johnson Creek, Chicago Basin, Needle Creek Trail, Animas River, and out via Purgatory Trail are here

Backpacking Colorado's Weminuche Wilderness

Since 1964, the United States has set aside natural areas with the legal designation of "Wilderness," and my favorite line from the Wilderness Preservation Act is its definition of wilderness: 
"A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.”

The initial wilderness acreage in the 1964 legislation comprised 9.1 million acres of national forest, but with additions over the decades, currently totals 757 holdings encompassing 109.5 million acres of federally owned land in 44 states and Puerto Rico, which represents 5% of the land in the United States.

The Weminuche Wilderness is one of the largest in the contiguous 48 states at 487,912 acres and covers parts of the Rio Grande National Forest (established in 1908) and the San Juan National Forest (established in 1907). The first white men to pass through the region were Spaniards in 1765.

It is named for the Weminuche Indians of the Ute tribe (pronounced WHEM-a-nooch). The immensity of the Weminuche and its incomparable beauty draw me back again and again. At over 11,000 feet in elevation, the Chicago Basin is still towered over by surrounding peaks. Each trip back brings joy, and each leaving brings regret and a promise to return to see more. I recommend this area most highly.

I've backpacked the Weminuche Wilderness six times -- three times via the Vallecito Creek trailhead and thrice in different sections of this vast wilderness.  The first time was in 1989 with my family, when we were hit with a 45 minute deluge a couple hours into the backpack.  We were so wet and disillusioned that we headed back to Vallecito Campground, set up camp, dried everything out, and took day hikes and canoed the Vallecito Reservoir the next few days. We had already backpacked the Pecos Wilderness and the rim-to-rim-to-rim Grand Canyon backpack on that trip, so we didn't feel too disappointed.  But I wanted to see more of the vast area.

So the next year, my sons and I backpacked in from Purgatory, Colorado, up to the much heralded Chicago Basin, which lived up to its billing.  Then in 1991, we did a short backpack in from Vallecito again which whet my appetite for more, so in 1994, Len and I did a point to point backpack from Vallecito campground, up Johnson Creek, over 12,680 foot high Columbine Pass to the Chicago Basin, down to the Animas River, and out via Purgatory. Then in 1996 we returned and did a loop in the Squaw Peak/Squaw Lake area, including a section on the Continental Divide Trail.  Finally, in 1999 I backpacked the lovely Pine River Trail. Below are photos and comments on these trips and trails.

Vallecito Trail

The Vallecito (Spanish for "little valley") Creek Trail begins at the Vallecito Creek Campground, alongside the reservoir of the same name, northeast of Durango. The Vallecito Creek valley provides a magnificent hike, extending nearly 20 miles to the Continental Divide Trail, but we  turned west after 9 miles at Johnson Creek and took the trail up to Columbine Pass and into the Chicago Basin.

The first mile or so goes up somewhat steeply to get you over a 400 foot high ridge, but after that the trail is a pleasant uphill all the way to Johnson Creek, an elevation gain of 1300 feet. In the photo below you see Steve and Scott atop the ridge.

In the photo below, I'm descending on the far side of the ridge.  You can see why the beauty of the area kept drawing me back to the Weminuche.

After the ridge, much of the trail follows close to the creek.  Vallecito Creek gets numerous day fishermen and day hikers for its first few miles due to the easy access provided by the campground. Still, the three times I have been on the trail, I did not encounter the crowds of which the guidebook had warned. 

Len and I were passed by this horse group escorting clients to the Continental Divide for a fishing trip, and an hour or so later, a violent but brief thunderstorm hit us.  After it ended, we continued north on the trail and encountered one of the wranglers walking back and carrying a saddle over his shoulder. I asked if a horse had gotten away, thinking perhaps the lightning had sent a horse scampering off. We were informed that lightning had struck the trail behind them, knocking a woman and her horse to the ground and killing the horse ridden by the wrangler, which was why he was walking back to their truck to get a replacement horse back at their ranch.

            Johnson Creek Portion of the Columbine Pass Trail

Thankfully, there was a long sturdy bridge to take us across Vallecito Creek to the Johnson Creek Trail that then took us 8+ miles up to Columbine Pass. As we crossed the bridge, I noticed four scruffy fellows with rifles waiting at the other end, and I was a bit concerned. Naturally we stopped to talk to them and learned they were on day 25 of a 30 day re-creation of mountain men heading to a Rendezvous. Cricket, Lodi, Hopi, and Flip introduced themselves, and since we were all camping near the bridge for the night, they invited us to their campfire. It was a delightful evening. Everything they were carrying was authentic or reproduction of late 1800s equipment, except for their prescription glasses, medications, and topo maps. They had begun with over 80 pounds each but their homemade packs were much lighter at this point (you can see a white pack on the ground in the far right of the photo.)

The next day we met their friend, Deer Runner, a nearly full-blooded Sioux Indian, who was coming over Columbine Pass from the west side to join his friends for the last few days of their adventure.

The trail gains 3500 feet of elevation with an average incline of 11% as you trudge up to the pass.  There are seldom bridges over side creeks, so you get over however you can!  I believe this is Grizzly Gulch Creek.

Len gazes at the terrain closing in around us as we gain altitude.  The quite narrow Johnson Creek drainage is surrounded by six 13,000 feet peaks as well as numerous 12,000 foot tall mountains. You feel them towering above you for much of the switchbacked climb.

Camping places are scarce up in this terrain, but we found a lovely, wooded, flat area for the tent.  Obviously, we were spending the night as guests of this hoary marmot which curiously observed us for a long time. I wasn't sure which I enjoyed more -- the marmot scampering all around the area or Len chasing it to get a good photo.  

To the right of center in the photo below is Len hiking the final portion up to Columbine Lake which is just below the pass. You can see the trail will switchback to the right just beyond Len. Marmots and pika were prevalent here above treelike. Often they give out a high-pitched screech to warn of our presence.

Columbine Lake (12,320 feet) signals you are nearing Columbine Pass (12,680 feet). The area around the lake is a very fragile ecosystem and camping is not encouraged. The half-mile climb to the pass is quite steep from here.

Len and I atop Columbine Pass (12,680 feet). The actual pass is only about 20 feet by 10 feet but the views in each direction were spectacular. While we were up there, a family came up from the Basin, and their teenage daughter took off her daypack, whipped out a cell phone, and dialed a friend in Durango. The call did not go through, but the parents explained that they were local residents who made this trip several times a year, and that about half the time, calls did connect.

Needle Creek Trail

The very steep Needle Creek Trail takes us down from the Pass, and after a mile or so of switchbacks and 1480 feet elevation loss, we reached Chicago Basin. This photo shows the trail. We had to be very cautious because one misstep could have you tumbling down and off the side of the trail.

Below is the magnificent Columbine, the state flower of Colorado. Appropriately, I photographed them just a dozen feet or so below Columbine Pass at an elevation of over 12,600 feet, on the trail going down into the lovely Chicago Basin.

Chicago Basin

Chicago Basin is a very popular backpacking destination in the Weminuche Wilderness owing to its easy access via the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad out of Durango, its proximity to three of Colorado’s 14-ers, and its scenic beauty. During its peak period of use (July 4th through Labor Day), Chicago Basin is crowded and campsites can be hard to find. If you are planning a trip to the Chicago Basin, especially during the peak period, you will have to share your wilderness experience with quite a few other people. Over 60 groups were camping there when we arrived, and a backcountry forest ranger had been stationed there to assist and monitor the campers.

This area of the San Juan Mountains is especially popular with climbers since Windom Peak (14,087 feet), Mt. Eolus (14,084 feet), and Sunlight Peak (14,059 feet) are all accessible from the Basin.  These San Juan Mountains are often referred to as the Swiss Alps of the United States. 

Why do we push our old bodies to go explore the high backcountry in Colorado's wilderness? Perhaps this answers that question!

And of course, mountains equal waterfalls!

More scenery as we descend into the Chicago Basin.

It amazes me how the miners in the 1800s got heavy-duty digging and mining equipment up this high in the mountains, and then got the ore back down to civilization!

After our night of camping in Chicago Basin and enjoying the spectacular views, it was time to continue our descend down the Needle Creek Trail long the creek of the same name which is on your left as you proceed down the narrow, steep canyon. The creek has numerous small waterfalls and cascades and I was amazed as I realized that the trail was originally a wagon road for carrying supplies up to the Chicago Basin and ore back down.

The Needle Creek Trail descends 2900 feet in six miles and ends at the Animas River by the Needleton stop of the Durango and Silverton Scenic Railroad. Many hikers use the railroad to access and leave the Chicago Basin, but we are hiking out via Purgatory.

Purgatory Trail

The Purgatory Trail runs 11 miles from Needle Creek downriver through the magnificent Animas River Valley seen below.  The Durango-Silverton Scenic Railroad is your companion for the first six miles of your hike, but it is across the river on the west side. The Animas River is actually the boundary for the Weminuche Wilderness area because no mechanized equipment is allowed within designated wilderness.

After six miles, a bridge takes you out of the wilderness area and gorgeous campsite possibilities abound amidst huge conifers and flat terrain. You are in Cascade Canyon where Cascade Creek joins the Animas River. Across from you, Crazy Woman Gulch Creek also joins the Animas. Animas, Purgatory, Crazy Woman -- you have to love the names here!

You also have entertainment as trains pass by. The area is called Cascade Wye. "Wye" is a term for "Y" shaped tracks which allow trains to be turned around, and in winters past, the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad trains would come this far and turn around to return to Durango because winter snows closed the canyon beyond. In the 1990s when we were here, the railroad had a program where you could live here in a refurbished boxcar with plumbing, electric, cooking, and beds. They'd drop you and the boxcar off with everything you'd need on Monday and haul you back out on Friday for $800. Here's a photo of one of the steam engines crossing Purgatory Creek seen below.

Then you hike the final five miles from Cascade Canyon out to Purgatory Ski Resort area which is 25 miles north of Durango on State Highway 550. The trail ends at the Purgatory Campground. In the photo below, Len is atop the ridge looking back down at the magnificent Animas Valley we just left.

Scott and Steve are working their way across Purgatory Flats about halfway between the Animas River and the exit at Purgatory Campground. From here its uphill to the campground and highway.

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Photos and info on the Squaw Pass, Squaw Lake, and Squaw Creek Trails up to the Continental Divide Trail

My Grand Canyon National Park Information Page

photos and info of Bright Angel Trail

photos and info of South Kaibab Trail

photos and info of Phantom Ranch and Bright Angel Campground area

photos and info of North Kaibab Trail

photos and info of rafting the Grand Canyon

photos and info on Havasu Canyon (western end of Grand Canyon)

The Grand Canyon in one of the seven natural wonders of the world, and if you've ever peered over the edge, you know why. My first visit to the canyon was in 1981, that was all we had time to do, look admire the views from the overlooks, but a fever welled up within me to return. In 1985 we hiked the South Kaibab Trail to Phantom Ranch, spent the night in a cabin, and hiked out the Bright Angel Trail. I still wasn't satisfied. The more you see of this amazing canyon, the more you want to see and feel and experience. We returned again in 1989 and spent nine days hiking and backpacking over 90 miles, including the rim-to-rim-to-rim roundtrip of about 50 miles. Now I have a better understanding of why it is one of the natural wonders of the world.  Then I began to  dream of rafting its entire 277 mile length, a dream I fulfilled in 1999. The links above take you to photos of all these adventures.

The three "corridor" trails listed below are the main highways to the Colorado River.  Backcountry permits are required to stay overnight (see info section below.) Hiking the Grand Canyon is called hiking an inverted mountain since one goes down first, leaving the far more strenuous hike back out for last when you are tired. In fact, the term "Kaibab" which you see often in this region, is a Southern Paiute Indian word meaning "mountain inside out" or "mountain lying down." Remember that as you descend, you are entering a desert climate. The temperature in July when I was at the bottom was approaching 120 degrees.

• Bright Angel Trail descends 7.8 miles to the Colorado River, and then River Trail continues 1.6 miles to Bright Angel Campground and .2 miles more to Phantom Ranch, dropping 4476 feet on the way. Water is available at two resthouses at 1.6 miles and 3.1 miles, and also 4.6 miles down at Indian Garden Campground. Water is also plentiful in Garden Creek and Pipe Creek which the lower segment of the trail follows, though you are cautioned against drinking this water. Also, stop at the Garden Creek cascades just below Indian Gardens to cool off. Bright Angel Trail is called a drainage trail since it follows canyons (drainages.) Again, camping is only available at the halfway point, Indian Gardens, and at the bottom at Bright Angel Campground.
• South Kaibab Trail descends 4800 feet in only 7 miles to reach the river. No water sources or camping areas exist. It is not recommended to go up by way of this trail in the summer. The trail follows ridge lines which provides magnificent vistas, but is quite strenuous. The trail head is four miles east of Grand Canyon Village, but shuttle bus service is available.
• The North Kaibab Trail goes from Phantom Ranch up to the North Rim, an elevation gain of 5841 feet, (over one vertical mile!) in 12 miles, and it is rated as a difficult trail. The Lodge and amenities are another two miles from the trailhead after you reach the North Rim. Camping is available halfway up at Cottonwood Campground, as is water. Water is also available from the creek, at Roaring Springs, and at Supai Tunnel. Spend a while at Ribbon Falls, a short side trip off the trail, and cool off in the falls. The walk behind the falls is also refreshing. Take a photo looking out through the water.
• Camping is available in three locations: halfway down the South Rim at Indian Gardens Campground, at the bottom at Bright Angel Campground near Phantom Ranch, and halfway up the North Rim, at Cottonwood Campground. Ranger stations are located in all three campgrounds and are constantly staffed. Cabins, separate dormitory lodging for males and females, meals, ice drinks, and a snack bar are available at Phantom Ranch, just a short distance from the campground. You will agree that their lemonade and ice water are the best in the world when the temperature is over 110 degrees. Be sure to see the Anasazi ruins near the Colorado River.

Campgrounds, cabins, lodges, restaurants, and snack bars are available on both rims. See the museums on the south rim, and check the views from the multitude of overlooks on both rims. Each overlook has different views of the canyon, and as the sun moves across the sky and its angle changes, the colors of the rocks seen from each overlook also change, so don't hurry your viewing. Sit down, invest some time, and see the colors of the mountainsides change as the sun moves across the sky.

Check out the water system in the park, a real engineering feat. Since 90% of the precipitation falls on the North Rim, but 90% of the visitors arrive at the South Rim, water runoff is captured at Roaring Springs, where North Rim precipitation percolates out of the cliff in impressive waterfalls. Some is piped back up to the North Rim, but 500,000 gallons daily is piped down to the bottom and over the Colorado River beneath the Silver Bridge. Gravity and reduced diameter piping then force the water up to Indian Gardens, where a pump house pushes it the rest of the way to the South Rim and its large storage tanks.


INFO:Whether you want to float the canyon or hoof it, these are the websites for you:

National Park Service - Grand Canyon Pages

Bob Ribokas' "Unofficial" Grand Canyon Home Page 

The Grand Canyon Junkies

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Time is confusing out here! Grand Canyon is located in Arizona, and does not follow daylight savings as it is in the Mountain Standard Time Zone.

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Backcountry Reservations Office info

Phantom Ranch and Lodge Reservations info
Xanterra Parks & Resorts
Central Reservations
6312 South Fiddlers Green Circle, Suite 600N
Greenwood Village, Colorado 80111


Grand Canyon Treks by Harvey Butchart: LaSiesta Press, Glendale, CA; 71 pages.

Hiking the Grand Canyon by John Annerino: Sierra Club Books, San Francisco; 340 pages.

Various trail guides published by The Grand Canyon Natural History Association.

Phantom Ranch -- Grand Canyon National Park

Phantom Ranch was built in 1922 on a site once used by Anasazi and later Native Americans.  John Wesley Powell and his group camped here in 1869 and Wesley originally named the creek "Silver Creek" but later changed it to "Bright Angel Creek" when he wrote about his trip. President Teddy Roosevelt stayed in this area in 1913 on a hunting expedition, and his love of the canyon helped propel it into the National Park System in 1919.

Phantom Ranch's elevation is 2,460 feet, about 4,800 feet lower than the south Rim and about 5,800 feet lower than the North Rim. The average daily high and low temperatures range from  106 to 78°F during July and 56 to 36°F in January. This represents a wide differential from temperatures at the South Rim with the average daily high and low temperatures of 84 to 54°F in July and 41 to 18°F in January.  The South Rim averages 58 inches of snow and Phantom Ranch less than 1 inch.

Phantom Ranch offers cabins, two dormitories each for men and women, a restaurant (serving only people who book meals ahead of time), a mule corral, emergency medical facilities, a ranger station, the Bright Angel Campground, a beach that is frequently visited by Colorado River rafters, and a heliport. Cottonwood trees line the creeks and shade the buildings.  The only modes of access to the ranch are foot trails (also used by mules) and the Colorado River. The North Kaibab Trail leads 14 miles to the North Rim. The 9.3 mile trail to the South Rim follows the River Trail for two miles and then climbs the Bright Angel Trail to Grand Canyon Village. 

The two suspension trail bridges near the ranch (Silver Bridge and Black Bridge) are the only Colorado River crossings within a several-hundred-mile span in the area.  In the foreground in this photo you see the Silver Bridge and beyond it the Black Bridge.

The black bridge is at the end of the South Kaibab Trail and has wooden planking as its decking because mule trains use it and mules will not walk on a surface they can see through.  When the older black bridge was built in 1928 it was the only bridge crossing the Colorado for 350 miles. The cables for the black bridge were carried down from the South Rim by Indians in 1928. Each cable was 600 feet long, weighed over a ton, and required 42 Indians per cable to snake down the switchbacks of South Kaibab Trail.

                                 


The silver suspension bridge is built about a half mile down river and carries foot traffic to the Bright Angel Trail and also carries the water pipe which transports water from Roaring Springs to the South Rim (see the photos on my North Kaibab Trail page for more info on the water system.)

This is the main building at Phantom Ranch, housing their office,  snack shop, kitchen, and dining room/meeting room. When I was there in 1985 and 1989, breakfasts were family style and wonderful! Lunches were sack lunches of sandwiches, fruit, and cookies. Suppers were a choice of steak or their all-in-one-pot-stew, both of which were fantastic. Snack items include candy, chips, pop, lemonade, etc. and are available for several hours each day. Everything needed at Phantom Ranch, as well as all garbage generated, comes in and leaves by supply mule train (yes, even the eggs!) The price for meals is therefore expensive, but well worth it, especially when compared to your own dehydrated food! All employees have to walk in and out, and they remain down there for a couple weeks per shift, then have a week or so off at the South Rim.

Here's the entrance to the office/canteen/restaurant building seen above.

Deer abound here...

Here are some of the cabins...

This is a view looking down at the entire Phantom Ranch area from the Tonto Plateau on the Clear Creek Trail, about 100 feet above the canyon floor.

The Bright Angel Pueblo is near the Boat Beach on the trail to the Black Bridge.  It was the home for the Anasazi (the ancestral Puebloan people.)

The Bright Angel Campground, located approximately 1/2 mile from Phantom Ranch, offers 32 campsites, including two large group sites, and borders on Bright Angel Creek, into which many of the campers retreat during the heat of the day.