Bright Angel Trail is probably the most famous day hiking trail in America and one of the most famous in the world. You quickly realize this when you hike it. The other hikers on the trail with you are from every corner of the country and from all around the world. Rest stops are like a United Nations gathering. It is so popular for several reasons. The trailhead is in the very center of Grand Canyon Village, so this is the most accessible hike in the park. This is one of only two trails from the South Rim down to Phantom Ranch. It is a photographer's fantasy. Anyone even vaguely interested in Geology considers this a classic experience since the trail cuts through so many rock layers. And among the hiking fraternity, it's a rite of passage. Once you've hiked down to Indian Gardens and then survived the hike back up to the Rim, you've proven yourself.

Bright Angel Trail is the ideal first hike below the Rim. It presents the conditions common to the other trails, but in a safer and more manageable context. There are the three water sources. There are always other hikers and even mule trains coming by. There's shade down at Indian Gardens. Tthe distance is reasonable. And it's nice that as you emerge back onto the Rim, there's a snack bar and ice cream counter only a few steps away.

During peak season, a park ranger usually monitors everyone starting down to make sure they're properly equipped, know that it will take them three times as long to get back up than to walk down, and are carrying adequate water and sunblock. They also caution everyone NOT to try to hike to the river and back in one day. All the brochures handed out in the lodges and the ranger advice have pretty well acquainted people with the challenges involved, so many of them will only hike down to the first or second water stop, rest, then hike back up. But the classic hike is still to Indian Gardens and back. Done properly this is an all day excursion. The MILEAGE is not impressive by the usual hiking standard. It's the ELEVATION CHANGE that is challenging. From the Rim to Indian Gardens is 4.9 miles, making a round trip of 9.8 miles. But the total elevation change is 7074 ft., enough to stress even fit hikers' calf and thigh muscles and cardiovascular systems.

Here we are looking down on Bright Angel Trail from the South Rim Trail. This is one of the more famous stretches of the trail, called Jacob's Ladder. It zigzags down the drainage in short segments for a mile. These are steep zigs and zags. Make sure your hiking boots have plenty of room in the toe box. If your toes keep impacting the front of the boot on every downward step, you'll have quite a blister, probably on your big toe, by the time you get to Indian Garden. Jacob's Ladder descends through the Redwall Limestone. From this distance, it does look red, which would indicate iron. But it's an illusion. Down on the trail, you'll be close enough to see what's really happening. The original limestone is whitish-gray, but has been stained over the centuries by iron leaching down from the layers above. You can scratch away the reddish surface and get down to the soft whitish-gray underneath. Close up, you can also see how the reddish stain is richer where water seeps more.

Bighorn Sheep, Mountain Lion and other game originally created the Bright Angel Trail. The Anasazai used it to get up to the Rim, and later the Havasupai used it to get down to the crops they tended at Indian Garden. The Spanish Conquistadors were told of its existence by the Havasupai but tried in vain to find it; Since they never did they never found a route down to the river. Miners and explorers used it in the 1800s. Ralph Cameron arrived at the Canyon in 1890 and immediately saw the potential in the trail as a commercial venture. He bought the rights to the trail from the Havasupai. He built the Half Mile and Three Mile shelters and the restrooms and picnic shelters at Indian Gardens. Then he began charging tolls for hikers and launched the famous mule rides. When the Santa Fe Railroad built their line into Grand Canyon Village and erected El Tovar Hotel, they tried to buy Cameron's trail, but he refused. So the Santa Fe went five miles west, improved the old Horse Thief Trail, renamed it Hermit's Rest Trail, built the Hermit's Rest Station, and sent their guests down that route all the way to the river. When the National Park Service arrived, they also tried to buy Cameron out. Again he refused. So they initiated legal action for the long term, using the Law of Eminent Domain. In the meantime, they created a brand new trail, the South Kaibab, as an alternate route to Phantom Ranch. Finally, they wrested control of the Bright Angel from Cameron, who went on to a career in the U. S. Senate. So the Bright Angel Trail, along with its mule rides, Indian Garden Campground, and two shelters, entered the modern era.

Today, composting toilets have been installed at Indian Gardens. The debate over mule rides continues. Park administrators believe the mules damage and foul the trail and would like to end them, but the mules have become a 100 year old tradition which is an important part of park history. Public outcry has so far saved the mules. However, in 2012 the one day down and back ride to Indian Point (way out at the end of the Tonto Plateau from Indian Garden) has been suspended despite public protest.

You need to pace yourself. The first shelter is half a mile down. This is a good place to top off your bottles and pause in the shade for a while. In this photo, there is no shade, but back along the trail there are bushes and small trees which provide a small amount. From this first shelter it is 2.5 miles to the second shelter. We suggest you hike about a mile, stop for a drink and to cool off, then hike another mile, stop, then hike the last five tenths of a mile. Again, we recommend topping off your bottles. If you're drinking water right along, you should need more at each shelter. From Three Mile Shelter to Indian Gardens is two miles. We recommend hiking this in one mile increments. We also recommend changing socks and tetalcing, and reapplying sunBLOCK each time you stop.

Don't forget to socialize during your rest stops. You'll be joined on the trail by an interesting group of international hikers. They all have stories to tell. A lot of these people have hiked in the Alps, the Dolomites, the Himalayans, the Pyrenees, Hadrian's Wall in England, Mt. Kilamanjaro in Africa and in to Petra in Jordan.

When you're stopped, leaning back, resting your feet, take time to glance up at the birds riding the thermal currents. The Canyon has been heating up all day and that hot air is rising in upward spirals. Ravens in particular will ride these spirals just like humans surfing ocean waves.

Hiking back up, you're almost certain to be overtaken by the mule trains coming up from Phantom Ranch. The rule is to stand on the UPHILL side of the trail and get as far off the trail as possible, scrunching back against the cliff or stepping into the rocks.