Brief break at Indian Gardens, then on down to the inner canyon. By the time I got to the river I could feel the fatigue and stiffness building in the quads. Not helping was the fact that I was carrying ten pounds of fluids from Indian Gardens because the water was out at Phantom Ranch.
Crossed the river and through Phantom Ranch, on to The Box which I was looking forward to greatly since it's the only part of the Kaibab trail I hadn't seen yet. Didn't disappoint, and with the early start there was plenty of shade so it was actually pleasant.
Phantom Ranch pipeline break
Vishnu glamour shot
After the gradual incline of the Box, the somewhat steeper sections just downstream of the falls were most unwelcome and a pretty clear indication the climb back out would be a chore. Took a nice long break at the falls of course, cooled off by the spray:
starting to feel like this agave looks
then the trip back, camera safely stowed for the duration. Kept the intensity level low on the way back down the Box, mindful of the impending bonk. Kept it relatively together until the climbing of course, at which point walking breaks became both more longer and more frequent. At this point my main concern was not running out of fluids. Wondering if Indian Gardens would ever come as the trees and creek show up before the actual stop does. Finally it did, and I knew I wouldn't be running a step further once I sat down on the bench. Another long break before beginning the final 4.5 miles up the trail to the rim. This took 3 hours, and I could feel the right quad ready to go at any moment if I tried any kind of sudden, explosive movement. Which of course wasn't happening anyway. Long hot trudge. I may not know my limits but I know when I've gone past them. Still not quite the ordeal as back in March in Tucson, thanks to having enough fluids. Finally, it should be noted that yesterday three guys went from rim to rim on the Kaibab in under 3 hours. I covered more mileage, so there.
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