Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting my blog!
Packing for Phantom Ranch was the most stressful part of the trip. I wanted to make sure we had everything we needed for the descent, the stay at the bottom, and the climb out—without overpacking. Here’s a refined version of what we brought!
Duffel Bag for Mule service down (must be under 30 lbs, next time I’ll use this foldable duffel bag that I can stuff in my CamelBak to save money on the return trip)
Frozen Gatorade and extra water bottle for hike back
Trail Mix set aside for hike back (scroll down for my elevated recipe)
I use these because I CAN hear my surroundings and can stay safe on the trails
Car keys
Wallet/Money/Cash/ID
Goldbond (we didn’t use and wished we did)
Worn on the Trail
Good hiking pants – Chris wore something like this and I wore something like this
Lightweight long sleeve UV protectant shirt – Chris wore something like this and I wore something like this
Cooling Hat – these covered our necks and kept us cool
Cooling Towels – these worked much better than I thought they would
Trekking Poles – don’t hike the Grand Canyon without these!
Good shoes – I wear these hiking boots, the ankle height helps with my stability, and Chris wears these – whatever hiking shoes you wear, make sure they are worn in!
Good socks – I actually also put sweat bands around my ankles since I wear ankle height boots
Sunglasses – I bought these specifically for this trip They have polarized lenses and high UV protection
I have never loved trail mix, but I appreciate its value when hiking. I hate raisins, and I don’t love plain pretzels either. So I made my own version that I actually crave, even when I’m not on a trail. It’s nothing too crazy special, and it’s pretty simple, but it tastes great!
6:00AM – left home for a 10-hour drive to the South Rim
We wanted to get there by 3:30 PM to turn in our duffel bag ($10 late fee if dropped after 4:00 PM
Luckily we gained an hour due to the time change and made it by 2:30 PM
We made a quick stop at Desert Viewpoint for a scenic overlook before turning in our duffel bag at the Mule Barn across the street from the Bright Angel Lodge
3:15 AM – we used the shuttle service to head to the Visitor Center
We wanted to get some last minute advice from a park ranger before they closed at 4:00 PM
Afterwards we stopped at the Conservancy Store across the street to window shop for souvenirs
4:30 PM – we used the shuttle service to head back to the Bright Angel Lodge
We checked into our room – we were lucky to be staying the night in the one cabin that had ice
We took some time to check our bearings, make sure we knew how to get to the Hiker Express shuttle in the morning, and got our things packed for the morning
We explored around the Bright Angel Lodge at the different shops
6:00 PM – ate dinner at the Harvey House Cafe
We ate here because it was right next to our hotel, but we were pleasantly surprised! Chris got the fish and chips and loved them. I got the Southwest Caesar Salad and Fajita Chicken Quesadilla. I loved the salad! The quesadilla was pretty good too.
8:00 PM – Straight to bed! Early morning ahead!
Day 2: Descent – South Kaibab to Phantom Ranch
3:30 AM – woke up
Got dressed , got our gear, and dropped off some things in our car before walking to the shuttle bus and caught the 4:00 AM Hiker Express
4:30 AM – Arrival at the South Kaibab Trailhead and started our descent!
8:45 AM – Arrival at the Phantom Ranch!
It was HOT! 103°F – Our cabin wasn’t ready yet, so we enjoyed some lemonade (and a few refills) in the air-conditioned Canteen
We took off our shoes and waded in the nearby creek to cool off and enjoy the scenery
11:30 AM – Cabin was ready! We checked in and took a much deserved nap!
5:00 PM – Steak dinner family-style with other hikers – we swapped stories and advice
8:00 PM – Last stop at the Canteen
We picked up our sack lunch for the next day
Purchased some ice to help keep our Gatorade cool
Dropped off our duffel bag for the mules to take to the Bright Angel Lodge Mule Barn
9:00 PM – Straight to bed! Even earlier morning tomorrow!
Even though we were getting an earlier start, we went to bed a little later due to our nap
5:00 AM – arrival at the Tipoff Point – ate some breakfast and took a short break
7:30 AM – arrival at the Havasupai Gardens via the Tonto Trail – took a 15-minute break
11:45 AM – arrival at the Bright Angel Trailhead!
We took some short breaks at the 3-mile and 1.5-mile Resthouses
First stop at the top was ice cream at The Fountain! It is perfectly located very close to the trailhead, the Bright Angel Lodge, and spectacular views!
Then we made the rounds to get some lunch and some hard-earned souvenirs and gifts for the kids and grandparents
2:00 PM – duffel bag pick up at the Mule Barn
2:30 PM – Bright Angel Lodge check in
We had tried to check into our hotel before we got lunch, but they were having computer problems – we were very eager to have a shower!
4:00 PM – Hermits Rest
We took the shuttle bus to Hermits Rest and made several stops along the way – our favorite stops were Hopi Point and Pima Point
6:30 PM – Dinner at Harvey House Cafe
We would have preferred to eat somewhere different, but this place was so close to our cabin and we were tired, and we liked it enough the first time to eat there again
I’ll admit I had been eyeing a molten lava cake the night before our trek to Phantom Ranch, and I vowed to have it when we had successfully finished our hike. Chris got the apple crisp dessert.
Day 4: Drive home
10:30 AM – woke up, packed up, and hit the road!
We were excited to see our kids and pups back at home! We really enjoyed sleeping in!!
I’ve mentioned previously that we were on a tight timeframe. We had to pack a LOT into a short amount of time. We were really only in the Grand Canyon for 2 full days. We spent one day driving there, so that doesn’t count. Then our first full day was hiking down to Phantom Ranch, and we hiked back up on our second day. We planned to drive home the next day, so if there was anywhere else we wanted to visit, we had to do it on day 2.
We made it to the South Rim from Phantom Ranch before noon, so we had a good chunk of the day left to see more. But since we were BEAT, we had to be selective.
We started by getting some lunch and checking into our cabin at the Bright Angel Lodge, and then of course a well-needed shower!
We wanted to see the maximum amount of the South Rim with minimum movement. Luckily there is a shuttle system that makes this pretty easy. There is a shuttle bus that takes you to Hermit’s Rest right by the Bright Angel Lodge, and it has several stops along the way. Perfect for tired legs and limited time.
We planned to make our way to Hermits Rest with a few stops and then grab some dinner when we got back and GO TO BED.
A quick tip: some shuttle stops serve both directions (eastbound and westbound), so make sure you’re getting on the right one. We accidentally hopped on the wrong bus once and had to backtrack—but thankfully, the next shuttle wasn’t far behind.
We didn’t stop at every overlook, but if we hadn’t been so wiped out from hiking 20 miles in the last two days, we would’ve loved to walk portions of the Rim Trail. It’s flat, well-maintained, and incredibly scenic.
Our favorite stops were the Hopi Point and Pima Point. We didn’t make it a point to be there at sunset, but I imagine it is glorious.
The final destination was Hermit’s Rest itself – named for Louis Boucher. It was built as a place for tourists to rest on the way to the Hermit Camp. Hermit Camp itself is no longer there, but rumor is there are still traces of it. Now Hermit’s Rest is nothing more than a rustic spot to buy souvenirs and refreshments. It is sad to me, I wish I could have seen the camp and travelled on the mules getting there. There is a trail you can hike to explore more of what used to be, but it is long and difficult, more so than what we’d already done!
Thank you for reading, and stay tuned for our itinerary and packing list!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting my blog!
If you’re prepping for a trek to Phantom Ranch, I hope this post helps you feel more prepared—because I’m sharing everything I wish I’d known ahead of time.
I mentioned before how unimpressed I was with the lack of information available during planning. I get that the reservation staff can’t know everything—but considering people literally die in the summer heat of the inner canyon, it would be nice if you could talk to someone who does.
However, my experience at Phantom Ranch itself was the opposite: the Canteen, the staff, and the cabins were all wonderful! The Canteen is a literal oasis: perfectly air-conditioned, well-stocked, and run by friendly, knowledgeable people.
Here’s everything you need to know!
The Cabins
The cabins are GREAT! The air conditioning works well, and each room has a toilet and sink. Showers are communal and located near the canteen. The beds were far more comfortable than expected, a welcome detail after the grueling hike.
The Duffel Service
We used the mule duffel service, which was nice, but make sure you understand the booking. We assumed we had one duffel per person. Nope. Each duffel requires its own itinerary number. So our itinerary—2 people, 1 cabin, meals for both—only included one duffel.
To send two, we’d have needed a separate itinerary just for the second bag. At $90 per duffel, we decided to ditch the less essential items and we combined our two bags into one.
Duffel Inbound Service:
Go to the Bright Angel Lodge Activities desk (first desk on the left as you enter)
Fill out paperwork and take your duffel to the mule barn across the street
Bags must be under 30 lbs and dropped by 4:00 PM (you can drop off up to 8:00 PM for a $10 fee if you miss the 4:00 PM cut)
Duffels usually arrive before you do and may be waiting when you get there.
Duffel Outbound Service:
Follow the instructions at the Canteen – label your duffel and drop it off near the Canteen
Bags still need to be under 30 lbs and dropped by 6:30 AM
Duffels are available for pickup at 2:00 PM at the same mule barn where you dropped it off
Maybe not worth paying for – our return bag was basically just dirty clothes. Pickup at the mule barn was super easy. I tried to give my ticket to an employee, but he said “you look honest enough.” Chris laughed at that and said “why would we want to steal someone else’s dirty clothes?” That said, if we get the opportunity to do this again, we’d use a duffel bag like this one – it’s lightweight and folds down to a small enough size to stuff in your backpack.
Everything we sent down on the mule was something we needed on the trek back up (Gatorade, trail mix, clean clothes, etc.) so we could have saved $90 by stuffing our dirty clothes into our backpack along with everything else.
Cold Storage Tip: Ask the mule barn staff to note that your duffel needs refrigeration. The Bright Angel Lodge, and even the mule barn employees, will warn you that the Phantom Ranch might not oblige the request, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. I had some frozen Gatorade and heat-sensitive supplements in my duffel. I was hopeful that the ice cold Gatorade would keep the supplements cold enough during the mule trek down. Upon arrival, I asked about our bag, and they said “oh we put that right in the fridge once we got it” like it was not in any way the big deal that the reservations line made it out to be. They even let me keep it in there until I was ready for it! We kept it there until the last possible moment. The Canteen closes at 9:00 PM and doesn’t re-open until 5:00 AM, and since we were planning on being gone before they re-opened, we grabbed our duffel out of their fridge around 8:30 PM and purchased some ice in an attempt to keep our Gatorade and supplements cold overnight. Then we got our backpacks ready, changed into our clean clothes, and packed our dirty clothes into the duffel to be returned via mule. Then it was off to bed! Our Gatorade was sufficiently cold on our return hike.
Flip Flops
Not a necessity, but we wished we had brought flip flops with us. Walking between our cabin, the Canteen, and the creek with our full-blown hiking boots was clunky. The Croc Flip Flops I use on a regular basis would have been perfect – they have really good traction (I can even do smaller, gentler hikes in them) and they are really easy on your feet.
Phantom Ranch Meals
Skip the sack lunch. At $27 per person, it’s just a collection of Canteen snacks (frozen bagel with PB&J, apple, peanuts, jerky, Babybel cheese, etc). You could easily assemble the same for half the cost, and better tailored to your preferences. If you do opt to pay for the sack lunch, they will give it to you whenever. The itinerary says it will not be available until 6:30 AM, but they happily gave it to me the night before.
The “early” breakfast is too late. The inner canyon temperatures are high enough that rangers panic and scare you and make you think you’re going to die if you leave the Phantom Ranch later than 4:00 AM, yet the earliest you can get breakfast is 5:00 AM. So skip paying for breakfast if you plan to leave earlier than that.
Dinner was $75 per person, and it was decent enough. We had the steak dinner at 5:00 PM family style. It was nice to chat with other hikers and swap advice. They also offer stew at 6:30 PM. The staff is very friendly and make sure you have everything you need and give trivia.
Downtime
Plan your downtime. We arrived by 8:45 AM but our cabin wasn’t ready until 11:30 AM. It was over 100°F by then, and though we considered hiking to Ribbon Falls, it’s 13 miles round trip from Phantom Ranch, and despite being told it’s an easy 13 miles, we didn’t want to overdo it. We cooled off in the creek and relaxed in the Canteen instead. Next time, we’d try to stay for two nights – hike down day one, visit Ribbon Falls day two, hike out day three. The Canteen has some games and books you can borrow.
The Truth about Lemonade
The lemonade is touted as legendary – but it’s just Minute Maid. The way people go on about it, I assumed it would be handmade and fresh squeezed. Don’t get me wrong, the first ~$16 spend on lemonade was definitely worth it! First cup is $6.75, but you get $1 refills if you keep the cup. Chris went through 2 refills in the first 10 minutes upon arrival!
Is there air conditioning at Bright Angel Lodge, where we’d stay the night before and after?
NO – they did have a fan in the room. However the South Rim is 10-20°F cooler than Phantom Ranch.
Is there air conditioning at Phantom Ranch cabins?
YES! And it works great!
Can we use a freezer at Bright Angel Lodge to freeze our Gatorade for the hike?
NO – and only one of their cabins even has ice. We had frozen our Gatorade at home and put it in a cooler full of ice, but it had already started to melt after the 10-hour drive to the Grand Canyon. Even if they had let us use a freezer, we had to turn in our duffel bag by 4:00 PM anyway.
Is there a freezer at Phantom Ranch?
For whatever reason, I didn’t dare ask. They were SO NICE down there and had put my duffel bag in their fridge, and I didn’t want to push it by asking for freezer space. Comment and let me know if you use their freezer!
What time do we need to turn in our duffel bags for the mule service? When will they be available again?
Duffel service down – turn in by 4:00 PM and available when you get to the Phantom Ranch
Duffel service up – turn in by 6:30 AM and available after 2:00 PM
The early breakfast at Phantom Ranch isn’t until 5:00 AM, but countless advice says to leave much earlier than that. Can we get breakfast earlier?
NO – they serve breakfast family style, same as dinner. The Canteen doesn’t open before 5:00 AM. Luckily I was able to get a refund on the breakfast of $38 per person
Same with the sack lunch—scheduled for 6:30 AM. Can we get it sooner?
YES – they will give it to you whenever the Canteen is open.
What should we do during our downtime at Phantom Ranch?
It depends on your legs and your heat tolerance! It was over 100°F when we were there, and we didn’t want jelly legs on the hike up the next day. You can hike to Ribbon Falls, or even all the way to the North Rim if you are feeling ambitious. We just cooled off in the creek, took a nap, and played games in the Canteen.
If you’re planning a Grand Canyon adventure, stay tuned—I’ve got more posts coming soon! I’ll be sharing our visit to Hermit’s Rest, our complete itinerary, our packing list, and how we’d plan the trip differently if we did it again.
Cute Welcome sign at the Canteen! We sent a postcard to both our kids and ourselves at home – delivery via mule service!Cooling off in the creek while waiting for our cabin to be ready – that water was COLD! And little fishies kept nibbling on me.Beautiful creek!Walking along the trail looking for a good spot to soak in the creek.The “legendary” Minute MaidCanteen snacks and toiletries – they even had merchandise!Games you can borrow at the CanteenCute little libraryCabin Sweet Cabin – I loved the cacti!Beds are much more comfortable than you’d think!AC works great!Showers are communal, but cabins have sinks! I was thrilled to have our own.I’m not generally in the habit of taking toilet pics, but there are communal pit toilets in the campground available to anyone, so I was very excited to have our own flushing toilet!The whole cabin was quite charming – I loved the faux fireplace and lamps!Such beautiful scenery!
So now I am committed to hiking to the Phantom Ranch in late June 2025, right into the heart of Arizona’s brutal summer heat.
I’ve mentioned before that I prepared physically by signing up for a winter race series—5K, 10K, 10-mile, and two half marathons. Meanwhile, Chris… did nothing.
As the time for our trip drew nearer, I started planning local hikes with increasing difficulty and steepness grades. Chris is a naturally strong hiker, and from the beginning of our relationship, he has always outpaced me on hikes to the point of extreme annoyance on my part. But in all our preparations, there were 2 hikes we went on in which I totally beat Chris to the top (never mind that he was sick on those days).
As departure day loomed, my biggest concern wasn’t fitness—it was heat. What should we pack? What could we expect?
So I joined a bunch of hiking-focused Facebook groups, including one specifically for Grand Canyon hikers, to ask for advice. The overwhelming response was message after message warning how dangerous the heat is that time of year. Rangers. Hikers. Everyone: Be careful. Don’t underestimate it.
But I wasn’t about to cancel—it took too much effort to get that reservation. Which meant we needed to be prepared to be HOT without dying.
That meant I needed answers to very specific, seemingly simple questions. Things like:
Is there air conditioning at Bright Angel Lodge, where we’d stay the night before and after?
Is there air conditioning at Phantom Ranch cabins?
Can we use a freezer at Bright Angel Lodge to freeze our Gatorade for the hike?
Is there a freezer at Phantom Ranch?
What time do we need to turn in our duffel bags for the mule service? When will they be available again?
The early breakfast at Phantom Ranch isn’t until 5:00 AM, but countless advice says to leave much earlier than that. Can we get breakfast earlier?
Same with the sack lunch—scheduled for 6:30 AM. Can we get it sooner?
What should we do during our downtime at Phantom Ranch?
Not all of these questions I had are life or death, but given that we were getting so many warnings, from hikers and park rangers alike, about making sure we don’t die in the heat, some of these answers would be very helpful in preparing for the journey.
I called at least 10 times in the few weeks leading up to our trip, and I got big fat “I don’t knows” in response. It was extremely frustrating to try to plan a strenuous trip without details.
There are only two numbers you can call:
Central Reservations 888-297-2757 – they’ll talk to you if your trip is more than two days away.
Bright Angel Transportation Desk 928-638-3283 – used only to confirm details within two days of your trip.
But neither line could answer any of my questions (despite my insistence that maybe I could be put on hold while they find out), and you can’t call Phantom Ranch directly—because they don’t have phones. (But somehow they can still accept credit cards for lemonade…)
In most cases, the final answer I got was: “You’ll have to ask when you get there.”
That’s not exactly helpful when you’re trying to prepare for a high-stakes, high-heat, remote hike.
Coming up next: the inside scoop on Phantom Ranch cabins — all the answers I finally got, plus tips you’ll struggle finding elsewhere.
Now that you know how our journey started and ended, I’m going to rewind a bit to talk about how we even managed to stay at Phantom Ranch. This is where I feel like I can offer the most valuable advice—because while I loved the experience once we arrived, I was completely unimpressed with the availability of information beforehand.
Let’s start with the trickiest part: getting a reservation. I don’t have any magical tips or tricks to beat the system (though I do have some tips for scoring a Half Dome permit—which I’ll share in a future post).
As you may recall from a prior post, I didn’t decide to attempt the trek to the Phantom Ranch until I had successfully made it to the top of the Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. Almost the second we got home from that trip, I started planning our next big adventure. I was so young and naive back then (two years ago). I figured “we are in hiking shape right now, it’s only September, we can go in October!”
I was pretty bummed to discover that if you want to stay at Phantom Ranch—and I absolutely did (go big or go home!)—you have to enter a lottery system that opens 15 months in advance. Otherwise, your only hope is to check the website daily for cancellations… which are rare.
Here’s how it works:
The lottery opens on the 1st of each month for stays 15 months later.
They draw winners on the last day of the month.
Then, at midnight on the 1st, they release any unclaimed reservations for that month.
My calendar became a nonstop string of reminders: apply for the next lottery window, check for midnight openings, rinse and repeat. I received many polite rejection emails.
But finally, at midnight on June 1st, 2024, I found an opening! I booked it instantly for June 23rd, 2025. I didn’t stop to think about how hot it might be in Arizona in late June—I just booked it as fast as I could.
And let me just say: their website is awful. It took me about an hour of trying before my booking actually went through.
The next morning, I called to confirm and ask a few questions—knowing I had a whole year to sort out the details. That’s when they asked if I wanted to use the duffel service (a mule carries your gear down and back up), and whether I wanted dinner, breakfast, and a sack lunch. I just said yes to everything—I didn’t want to risk missing out if I changed my mind later. Thankfully, they told me I could cancel anything up to two days in advance for a full refund. Super reasonable!
With everything booked and paid for, it was time to figure out how we were getting there and where we’d sleep before and after. Once that was all in place, the reality hit: late June is an absolutely brutal time for a long, strenuous hike in Arizona.
So I figured I’d try for a backup plan.
I decided to try for an October 2025 reservation when that lottery opened a few months later. But again—another polite rejection email.
So on October 1st, 2024, I waited (impatiently) for midnight to strike. Sure enough—there were three unclaimed nights available, and two were back-to-back! I frantically tried to book the two-night stay but kept getting error messages (again… awful website). I tried for just one night. Same error.
It’s now 12:30 AM, I had work the next day, and I’m in bed switching between two different browser apps on my phone trying to get it to work. Eventually, I gave up on the phone and got out of bed to try on my laptop. Now I was toggling between two phones and two computer browsers, desperate for success. I kept at it until around 2:30 AM, when I finally gave up. I can only assume that there were other hiking enthusiasts also trying to book the unclaimed reservations and the server couldn’t handle the traffic?
At that point, I had to accept it: we were doing Phantom Ranch in the heat of June. So I committed. Doubled down on prepping myself physically and mentally—and nagging Chris to do the same.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting my blog!
We made it! I have hinted in prior posts that I spent a great deal of time and energy and countless miles preparing for this trek, while Chris barely did anything. After all that, and despite the fact that I beat Chris to the top of TWO of our training hikes (don’t worry about the fact that he was sick at the time), Chris was ahead of me the whole time at the Grand Canyon, AND he was nowhere near as sore as I was afterwards. I guess he’s a horse.
Our Top Concerns Heading In:
The Arizona heat in late June
Bright Angel trail closure
We had decided to be prepared to hike the Tonto trail to meet up with the opened portion of the Bright Angel trail on our descent, which meant we needed to be prepared for heat.
At our family-style dinner at the Phantom Ranch, there was debate on our table about whether the Tonto Trail was too risky in the summer heat. We were happy to hear of two other groups planning to do it. One planned to leave at 2:30 AM, and one planned to leave at 4:00 AM. We actually met up with the 4:00 AM group at the top when we were walking from the Hermits Rest shuttle to get some dinner. We were so happy to see that they made it! Their journey was more difficult than ours. They didn’t have a cabin at the Phantom Ranch, they had just paid for dinner and camped there. So not only did they NOT get a comfortable night’s rest in a bed, but they had to carry everything on their backs! They also ended up leaving later than they planned – 5:30 AM. Despite the difficulties, they still loved the Tonto Trail.
Makes you wonder… is all the fear about the Tonto Trail overhyped? (I suppose it would be prudent to remember that it was 10 degrees cooler than it was the week prior…)
How We Stayed Cool in the Heat:
Starting early! Though some of the other things we did to help keep us cool were also amazing, this is definitely the most effective strategy to stay cool.
It’s 7.5 miles from the South Kaibab Trailhead to the Phantom Ranch. We left the earliest we could with the 4:00 AM Hiker Express shuttle and started our descent at 4:30 AM. It was early enough to beat the sun, but bright enough to enjoy the view without headlamps.
It was a little over 12 miles from the Phantom Ranch to the Bright Angel Trailhead including passing through Tonto. We left Phantom Ranch at 3:30 AM with the goal of reaching Havasupai Gardens by 8:00 AM before the heat set in. So we DID need lights for the first hour or so, and we didn’t mind hiking in the dark since we had seen the trail the day prior in the light. The lights we used hung around our necks and doubled as a portable fan, and it worked great!
Bringing a Portable Fan was a game changer!
We bought these portable fans about a week before our trip hoping it would help in the heat. The battery life is GREAT! It has a USB charger. We charged it to 100% before our trip, and I used it for almost the entire hike up from Phantom Ranch, through Tonto, and up Bright Angel. When we got to the top, I still had over 90% battery life left.
Stay Wet!
We kept our hats, shirts, and cooling towels wet. I made sure we had an extra bottle of water in our backpack that we could use to get them wet if needed. Once we got to the Bright Angel side, there was plenty of water and signs everywhere telling you to get wet to stay cool. It really works!
Was It Still Hot?
Definitely yes. I’m not gonna lie about that. But there was never a point in our journey that I thought we would dehydrate and die.
I admit that our journey was 10 degrees cooler than feared with our lucky “cold front,” but I am confident that these things we did to prepare for the heat would have helped even in the hotter climate.
Our 15-minute rest at Havasupai Gardens was well-earned. We ate, rehydrated, and chatted with some hikers heading down to begin a Colorado River trip of some sort.
I loved the gentle, tranquil trek along the Tonto Trail—but 4.6 miles is still 4.6 miles. After the break at Havasupai Gardens, I felt ready to continue, but this was where it got steep again.
I’ll never know if the difficulty I faced on the final 4.5 miles to the South Rim was purely due to the incline, or if it was the accumulation of having already hiked more than 7 miles that morning. I like to think that the Tonto diversion did not contribute to the difficulty of the trail, so that’s what I will go with. At the end of the day, I do not regret our choice one tiny little bit.
Despite the difficulty, every second of that final stretch was breathtakingly beautiful. The descent down South Kaibab had also been stunning, but I’m a stronger uphill hiker than downhill. South Kaibab had been slippery and steep, and I’d spent a fair amount of it on the ground.
We also had milestones to aim for—rest stops every 1.5 miles—which made the last stretch feel more manageable. Just three short segments. Easy peasy!
We started this part of the journey with a 15-minute break at Havasupai Gardens, followed by 5-minute stops at the 3-Mile and 1.5-Mile Resthouses. To be honest, the Resthouses themselves weren’t really worth stopping at. Yes, it provides a place to sit and some shade, but the water pumps were not in the shelters, and the benches required walking up and down stairs. We just found a spot to sit in the shade of some trees closer to the water and were happy with that. With all the opportunity for shade and water, the Bright Angel trail felt felt like an oasis!
As we neared the top, we started encountering lots of other hikers. Some of them looked at me with wide eyes, maybe even a little pity, and offered encouragement like, “You’re doing great!” I always have mixed feelings about this kind of trail support. On one hand, I truly love and appreciate the sense of unity and camaraderie. There’s a shared kindness among hikers—strangers cheering each other on—that I wish existed everywhere. I feel the same thing when I run races, and it’s inspiring.
On the other hand, I had to resist the urge to explain: Yes, I may look like I’m dying, but I’ve been up since 3:30 AM and already climbed more than 8 miles!
That being said, people are SO NICE! At the 1.5-Mile Resthouse, we met a volunteer ranger who shared fun trail trivia and told us about a sacred Grand Canyon tradition: If it’s your first time hiking rim-to-rim—even though technically we started and ended on the South Rim—it’s mandatory to celebrate with ice cream. It’s the rules. I wasn’t about to risk the consequences of breaking tradition.
We reached the Bright Angel Trailhead around 11:45 AM. Our day had started before sunrise, and our long journey included these key milestones (mileage comprehensive of our hike down):
Phantom Ranch – 7.5 miles | 2,542 ft elevation
Black Bridge – 8.4 miles | 2,425 ft elevation
Tipoff – 10.5 miles | 4,137 ft elevation (pit toilets and non-potable water available)
Havasupai Gardens – 15.8 miles | 4,112 ft elevation (pit toilets and drinkable water available)
3-Mile Resthouse – 17.3 miles | 5,048 ft elevation (pit toilets and drinkable water available)
1.5-Mile Resthouse – 18.8 miles | 5,975 ft elevation (pit toilets and drinkable water available)
Bright Angel Trailhead – 20.3 miles | 6,847 ft elevation (pit toilets and drinkable water available)
We had done it. After 20.3 miles, thousands of feet of elevation change, and hours on our feet, we had conquered the Grand Canyon. We felt mostly tired—but also filled with an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. We had tested every ounce of strength and determination. In return, the canyon gave us something back: raw natural beauty, deep reflection and perspective, and lasting memories.
In the next posts, I’ll share what it’s really like to stay at Phantom Ranch: the things I wish I’d known and answers to the questions I searched for but could hardly find. If you’ve ever wondered whether it lives up to the hype, or how to prepare… you won’t want to miss it.
Bright Angel Trail 7:56 AMBright Angel Trail 8:18 AMBright Angel Trail 8:31 AMBright Angel Trail 9:14 AMBright Angel Trail 9:30 AMBright Angel Trail 10:50 AM – so crazy to see how far we’d come!Bright Angel Trail 11:06 AM – getting close!Bright Angel Trail 11:06 AMBright Angel Trail 11:10 AMBright Angel Trailhead 11:40 AM – WE MADE IT!Well deserved ice cream!
We weren’t on the Tonto trail long before we knew we’d made the right call.
It was BEAUTIFUL!
We were completely alone—just us, the trail, and the canyon stretching out in every direction. It was EXACTLY the kind of experience we strive for whenever we visit a new place. Quiet. Remote. Awe-inspiring. We were seeing a side of the Grand Canyon that most visitors completely miss.
It had its ups and downs, but hardly, and especially compared to the severity of the South Kaibab and Bright Angel trails. It was pretty gentle. The only thing that you could say was difficult about it was the fact that it is 4.6 miles long. (To be honest, as much as I LOVED the trail, I wouldn’t have minded if it was maybe a quarter mile shorter!)
Despite all the warnings about the trail being bone-dry, we actually passed not one, but two tiny trickling streams. Would I drink from them? No… but if we were desperate we could have rolled around in them to cool off. Though I am told that those wet spots cannot be relied upon year round, which is a fair statement.
We were fully immersed in the Grand Canyon, surrounded by layered color and stillness. We watched the shadows on the canyon rim grow shorter as the sun climbed, reminding us that we were, in fact, racing the daylight. We definitely felt a sense of urgency to beat the sun!
As we reached the Tonto Trail sign at the junction—a bright blue butterfly gently landed on Chris’s hat. It felt like a tiny, perfect blessing. A quiet affirmation from the canyon itself: “You chose well.”
The pictures we took just do not do justice to the beauty we seemed to be a part of, but I will post what I have.
We reached Havasupai Gardens by 7:30 AM, well ahead of our 8:00 AM goal. We rested, filled our water, and set off again around 7:45 AM, ready to finish the climb.
I had heard that the Bright Angel Trail was no picnic, but I figured it had to be easier than South Kaibab. Maybe South Kaibab is technically steeper, but don’t be fooled—Bright Angel is still a beast.
Tonto Trail 5:48 AMTonto Trail 6:05 AM – literally racing the sun!Tonto Trail 6:23 AMTonto Trail 6:23 AM – look close and you’ll see me! Proof that Chris didn’t follow the park rangers advice to STAY TOGETHER, much to my chagrin (though we still love each other!)Tonto Trail 6:46 AMA blue butterfly’s blessing – Tonto East Junction 7:19 AMWe made it to the Bright Angel Trail! 7:19 AM – Ten minutes to Havasupai Gardens
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In the last chapter, I wrote about our dilemma on whether we should hike the Tonto trail or not. We ultimately decided to play it by ear and see how we felt when the time came.
To beat the heat, we left our cabin at Phantom Ranch at 3:30 AM. It was DARK. Thankfully we had last minute packed some portable fans that doubled as flashlights. We were hoping to make it to the Tipoff Point before 6:00 AM, and we actually made it around 5:00 AM. That hour and a half climb from Phantom Ranch to the Tipoff Point was BRUTAL. It was hard enough going down, but dang it was STEEEEEP! It was a bit freaky-deaky crossing the Black Bridge in the pitch black.
By the time we reached Tipoff, the canyon had started to glow with dawn’s early light. We took a quick breakfast break and used the pit toilet at the shelter. There’s a small shade structure there with an emergency phone and non-potable water. Two other hiking groups and a park ranger were there, too.
The park ranger was telling the others about the rescue she had done the day prior. Apparently there was a lone hiker who had prepared long and hard and had planned to cross the Tonto trail, but according to the park ranger, sometimes even the most prepared hiking enthusiasts run into surprise complications. This story of hers successfully scared one of the groups of hikers present from traversing the Tonto trail. Her story had the opposite affect on Chris, and even put a little fire in him.
The aspect of the park ranger’s story that latched onto Chris was that this lone hiker was definitely prepared. He had trained long enough and hard enough, and he definitely had enough water – seven liters. This was the point that stuck out to Chris – seven liters is a LOT of water.
The park ranger had made it out that seven liters, for this hiker in particular, just wasn’t enough, and that all people have varying water needs. But in Chris’s mind, he was thinking that seven liters is too much. The average recommendation is about 3 liters per person for a hike like this, especially with access to more water sources on the Bright Angel trail. Chris started to think that the problem wasn’t a lack of water—it was that this poor guy had probably overpacked out of fear. Seven liters is heavy. Really heavy. Add that to the heat and miles of trail, and you’ve got a recipe for burning out early. As Chris put it, “All this fear-mongering is making people so cautious that they are exhausting themselves before they even start!”
It was only 5:00 AM, our legs felt decent, we had a good three-hour window before peak heat, and we had plenty of water—but not too much.
I am grateful for Chris’s resolve. I may have been scared away from doing the Tonto trail if it weren’t for him.
So with a lot of excitement and a little trepidation… we stepped onto the Tonto Trail!!!
Packing for Adventure 