 |
 |
| South Kaibab & Bright Angel Trails Page Two |
 |
| Two strings of pack mules coming up from the Phantom Ranch. Everything at Phantom Ranch gets there by these pack mules. Mail and garbage has to come up this way too. On my trip up Bright Angel Trail I passed four groups of tourists riding mules down to the inner canyon. These mules leave nasty puddles of urine and dung on the trails that have to be navigated around. When mules pass all hikers must stand on the inside of the trail until the mules pass. While it seems that the mule trains are a hassle for hikers it must remembered that none of these trails would even exist if it wasn't for the mules. Almost all trails and everything else inside the canyon owes their existance to the mules. |
 |
 |
| View of Bright Angel Campground/Phantom Ranch area from just above the inner canyon. Bright Angel Creek is the green streak flowing into the river. Several NPS structures can be seen; the circular feature is a corral with stables for the mules. The lower picture is a close-up of the camprground. Large cottonwood trees line the banks of Bright Angel Creek and a footbridge can be seen going across the creek. Phantom Ranch is just above the area where the stream doglegs up to the right. |
 |
 |
| Views of the two suspension bridges. The picture to the left is the Kaibab Suspension Bridge. The beach near the bridge is where the river runners land if they want to visit the Phantom Ranch. The mules only cross this bridge: it has a solid floor. The picture below is the Silver Suspension Bridge. This bridge leads to the Bright Angel Trail. Mules won't cross this footbridge because it has a metal grate floor that you can see through. It also seems to sway more than the other bridge! |
 |
 |