Monday 19 April 2004

I finally slept well that evening and my hike for the day was relatively easy (down the Old Bright Angel) to BA Camp.  I chatted with Mike for a while and wished him a good hike out – there was another couple who was hiking out and they gave me some left over Gatorade which was great because I was getting low on my own energy drink. 

I headed down the Bright Angel to the Tonto East – you only travel a bout 100 yards before you come to the first wash and the Cross Canyon telegraph wires (metal telephone poles).  This is where you pick up the Old BA which was abandoned some where around 1932.  Looking down the wash you can see remnants of the trail.  You can either pick your way down the wash or (what I did) about 30 feet before the wash I picked my way around the brush to the Old BA.  The trail isn’t really that bad and the remnants of the sidewalls are still there.  The trail actually still gets used and footprints were noticed on the trail.  The condition of the trail is not bad, a little crumbly in some spots but nothing even remotely dangerous, fairly moderate going actually and I made it down to Polished Rock in no time. 

The lower section of the Old BA is known as the Old Devil’s Corkscrew and you can see on the opposing ridge as you exit the top portion where it ends at Polished Rock.  I opted not to take this section since the last 30-40 feet of the trail is washed out and in very poor condition.  I didn’t want to tackle this section going downhill, solo, and with a full pack (see December’s trip report).  It turned out that I was correct about where the lower section started from my scouting in December.

I wandered in to BA Camp and it was pretty quiet – I grabbed site 4 (theme of this trip) and was happy that this was the last time to set up camp (I was here for two nights).  I met ranger Pam Cox yet again and we chatted for about a good 30 minutes.  Another ranger actually remembered me from December (am I becoming a regular?)

I hiked over to Roy’s Beach, which a friend told me about – there was a bit of a 5 –point scramble (hands, feet, bottom), down the rock face which was easy, and since I have no climbing ability this wasn’t bad.  I headed over to the beach, which I had to myself and stripped down and crashed out, for the rest of the afternoon.  There were some great opportunities for excellent photos at this beach.

Later that evening while eating dinner, there were three ladies (Pam, Emily, and Debbie) from Boston at the adjacent camping site.  I was watching them with some amusement trying to set up their rain fly in the heavy wind  – it reminded me of my childhood when you use to play parachute in gym class!?!.  After awhile I offered my assistance, which they greatly appreciated – they were a great bunch and we chatted into the night.

Just as a note there is an Old Bright angel trail on the north rim, some call the entire trail on the south rim the Old Devil's Corkscrew, yet there is a section below Polished rock that is distinctly called the Old Devil's Corkscrew.  the naming convention can be as allusive as some of these old trails.