Since we made the decision to not hike up to the north rim or even to the Supai Tunnel, we had a very easy day to look forward to. We knew it was a gradual downhill all the way back to Bright Angel. As a result, we had a leisurely breakfast of oatmeal and coffee before we packed up to leave at…who had 10:30 in the drawing? On the way out, we stopped at the outhouse again (it’s always hard for me to pass up a bathroom, especially so in the backcountry) and filtered water. Not to be confusing, but the water we filtered was not from the outhouse.
As expected, hiking today was pleasant and easy. When we stopped for lunch, we met two archaeologists from Tacoma, WA. We had a nice conversation with them and they explained a little history of the canyon to us. There’s evidence of Indians in the area dating back almost 13,000 years. Pam has been munching on pistachios yesterday and today. Unfortunately, she got the ones in the shell so we have to pack out the shells. They commented to her that she could get shelled pistachios just as easily. For some reason, this struck me as funny; I guess you had to be there.
We made it back to Phantom Ranch by 3p. We decided to reward ourselves for a hard couple of hours of hiking by stopping in and having a beer and chips before the final ½ mile to Bright Angel. Pam wrote some post cards to her kids and parents and mailed them from here. They carry them out by mule to the south rim and only charge an extra $1 each for the service. I bet we beat them home.
Camp was all set up by 4 so we just chilled. Chris and Mark got back from some day hikes in the area. Her knee is feeling better so she should be able to make the hike up tomorrow. We decided to have a pot luck for supper tonight with Brian and Mark; lasagna, mountain chili, tuna, and red pesto. After supper we went back up to Phantom Ranch for some wine and another round of Euker. To make it more fair, it was agreed Brian and I would be split up. Tonight Chris and I mopped the floor with Brian and Pam; I guess it’s easy to see I carried Brian the night before last.
We mozied on back to camp and decided to head back to the sandbar for another star gazing session before bed. We also met another couple today; Joan and Tom, from Minnesota. Their calves were like ours, even tighter than the first day when we came down. I’m determined to not be woke up from cramps tonight so I stretch really well. I want to limit getting up to less than 3 times to pee. It really bothers me that Pam never gets up at night; she needs to drink more!