| Bright Angel Trail | |
|---|---|
| Indian Garden and Three Mile Resthouse from Bright Angel Trail | |
| Length | 8.1 mi; 13.0 km |
| Location | Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, United States |
| Trailheads | Phantom Ranch Grand Canyon (South Rim) |
| Use | Hiking |
| Elevation Change | 4380 ft (1335 m) |
| Highest point | South Rim, 6860 ft (2091 m) |
| Lowest point | Colorado River 2480 ft (756 m) |
| Trail difficulty | Strenuous |
| Season | All year |
| Sights | Grand Canyon Colorado River |
| Hazards | Severe Weather Overexertion Dehydration |
The Bright Angel Trail is a hiking trail located in Grand Canyon National Park in the U.S. state of Arizona.
Contents |
The trail is accessed by the mule corral, as seen here:
| Distance (mi) | Elv (ft) | Location | Trail Junction |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 6792 | Trailhead, South Rim | Rim Trail |
| 1.5 | 5729 | Mile-and-a-half Resthouse | |
| 3 | 4748 | Three Mile Resthouse | |
| 4.9 | 3255 | Indian Garden | Tonto Trail |
| Bright Angel Campground (via the River Trail) - 9.3 miles | 2580 | River Resthouse, Colorado River | River Trail |
The trail originates on the south rim of Grand Canyon and descends 4380 feet in elevation to the Colorado River. It has an average grade of 10% along its entire length. At trail's end, the River Trail continues another 2 miles to the Bright Angel Campground and Phantom Ranch. These two trails combined are the most common method used to access Phantom Ranch by hikers and mules.
There are two trails that cross or join this trail. The first being the Tonto Trail at Indian Gardens which leads towards the Monument Use Area to the west (the east leads to the South Kaibab Trail 4.7 miles (7.6 km) from the junction), and the River Trail which officially begins when the Bright Angel Trail reaches the Colorado River at the River Resthouse, although some consider that the Bright Angel Trail officially ends after crossing the Colorado River at the Silver Bridge.
Grand Canyon National Park categorizes the Bright Angel Trail as a corridor trail. With this designation it receives regular maintenance and patrols by park rangers.[2]
Water is available from the trans-canyon pipeline at the Mile-and-a-half Resthouse, the Three Mile Resthouse, and Indian Garden. During cooler months (usually October-April) the two resthouses are shut off from the water supply to prevent the pipeline from freezing.
Below Indian Gardens, both Garden Creek and Pipe Creek flow year-round (perennial). Water is also available at the River Resthouse from the Colorado River. All water from natural sources must be filtered, treated, or boiled prior to consuming.[3]
Hikers can camp at Indian Garden Campground or at the Bright Angel Campground. In both these places, they can stay overnight with a permit issued by the Grand Canyon National Park Backcountry Information Center. Use of the campground overnight is regulated by the National Park Service, and they call for a maximum number of groups (7 to 11 people) and parties (1 to 6 people), as well as a maximum total number of persons.[4]
Use permits are available on a first-come, first-serve basis from the park's Backcountry Information Center. Requests are taken beginning on the 1st day of the month, up to four months before the requested first night of camping.[5]
Hazards hikers can encounter along the Bright Angel Trail include dehydration, sudden rainstorms, flash flooding, loose footing, bootpacked ice, rockfall, encounters with wildlife, and extreme heat. At the Colorado River, additional hazards include hypothermia (due to the river's consistently cold temperatures), trauma (due to collisions with boulders in rapids), and drowning. Also, the trail is used by the mules to ride to the bottom of the canyon. These mules are highly trained [6] however the trail is not wide enough in some spots for a person and a mule; however, in many places there are areas for hikers and other travelers to seek temporary refuge from the mules. The trail also has many switchbacks, and a bad fall can result in serious injuries.[7] Also, according to the mule tour guides for Xanterra, squirrel bites at Plateau Point are the leading cause of infirmary visits by hikers and mule riders. Feeding the squirrels is strictly prohibited and highly discouraged.
The trail was originally built by the Havasupai (Havasu 'Baaja) Native American tribe for access to the perennial water source of present day Garden Creek. The Havasu settled seasonally in this area, now known as Indian Garden.
Ralph H. Cameron, who would later become a United States Senator (R-AZ 1921-1927), settled on the canyon rim in 1890 and began improving the old Havasupai trail. It was at this time that the trail was extended all the way to the Colorado River. Once official control of the trail fell to Cameron, he named it the Bright Angel Trail, commonly referred to in its early years as Cameron's Trail, and began charging a $1 toll to access it, plus additional fees for drinking water and the use of outhouses at Indian Gardens.
Ellsworth Kolb [8] arrived at Grand Canyon to work at the Bright Angel Hotel in 1901. He was employed as a bellboy. The next year, Ellsworth invited his brother Emery to come to the canyon as the possibility of mine work opened up. However, John Hance's asbestos mine closed before he arrived, leaving Emery unemployed.
Shortly after this, Emery discovered a photography business for sale in Williams, Arizona. He purchased the business for $425 ($9,690.24 in 2007 [9]) and moved the operation back to Grand Canyon. He and Ellsworth began taking photographs of visitors who took the mule rides down Cameron's trail, charging a fee for the pictures. The Cameron family leased a small piece of land nearby to Emery, where the two brothers set up a photography studio in a tent to develop and sell their photos.
The business was extremely profitable and after a few years the Kolb brothers built their permanent studio building on the rim of the canyon. Rock was blasted away to provide the foundation for the building, which is perched slightly below rim level.
Ellsworth left the venture in 1924, but Emery continued operating the studio until his death in 1976. The present-day Kolb Studio is operated by the Grand Canyon Association as a gift shop, art studio, and history center.
To compete with Cameron, the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad improved an existing horsethief trail in Hermit Canyon (the Hermit Trail) in 1910. Beginning in 1918, the newly created National Park Service began construction of the South Kaibab Trail near Yaki Point as an additional bypass for Cameron's tolls.
After a long series of legal battles, Cameron ceded control of the trail to the National Park Service in 1928 [10] , who stopped charging the $1 toll.
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