Bright Angel Trail

Infobox Hiking trail
Name=Bright Angel Trail
Photo=Ba-trail.jpg
Caption=Indian Garden and Three Mile Resthouse from Bright Angel Trail
Location=Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, United States
Length=8.1 mi; 13.0 km
Start/End Points=Phantom Ranch
Grand Canyon (South Rim)
Use=Hiking
ElevChange=4380 ft (1335 m)
HighPoint=South Rim, 6860 ft (2091 m)
LowPoint=Colorado River
2480 ft (756 m)
Difficulty=Strenuous
Season=All year
Sights=Grand Canyon
Colorado River
Hazards=Severe Weather
Overexertion
DehydrationThe Bright Angel Trail is a hiking trail located in Grand Canyon National Park in the U.S. state of Arizona.

Access

Description

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 18% 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 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.

Condition

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. [ [http://www.nps.gov/archive/grca/wilderness/documents/1988_BCMP.pdf Backcountry Management Plan, Grand Canyon National Park, Appendix G, Section C, p.39] ]

Water availability

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. [ [http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/hiking-faq.htm Grand Canyon National Park - Hiking FAQ (U.S. National Park Service) ] ]

Camping

Hikers may only camp at Indian Garden, where 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. [ [http://www.kaibab.org/bc/gc_use.htm Grand Canyon National Park Use Areas] ]

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. [ [http://www.nps.gov/archive/grca/backcountry/permit_procedures.htm Grand Canyon National Park Backcountry Use Permit Procedure] ]

Hazards

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 that people can ride to the bottom of the canyon. These mules are highly trained, however the trail is not really wide enough for a person and a mule so there is always the chance of getting kicked. The trail also has many switchbacks, and a bad fall can result in serious injuries. [ [http://www.nps.gov/archive/grca/backcountry/smart.htm Grand Canyon National Park Summer Hiking] ]

History

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 Cameron

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 "Cameron Trail" and began charging a $1 toll to access it.

Kolb brothers

Ellsworth Kolb [ [http://www.kaibab.org/misc/gc_misc.htm#kolb Kolb Brothers Bio] Grand Canyon Explorer ] arrived at Grand Canyon to work at the Bright Angel Lodge 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 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.

Competition with Cameron

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. Fact|date=February 2007

NPS control

After a long series of legal battles, Cameron ceded control of the trail to the National Park Service, who stopped charging the $1 toll. The NPS renamed the trail "Bright Angel Trail" in 1937.

References

ee also

*Ralph H. Cameron
*List of trails in Grand Canyon National Park

External links

* [http://www.nps.gov/grca/ Grand Canyon National Park, Official site]
* [http://www.kaibab.org/ Grand Canyon Explorer]