Grand Canyon - South Rim

We arrived at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon after visiting Wire Slot and Buckskin Gulch in the evening of the 23rd. The next morning we got to the Bright Angel Trail early to spend the day hiking into the Grand Canyon and back out. We conservatively decided not to go all the way to the bottom. We went to the Bright Angel Plateau a few hundred feet above the River which is most of the way down but skips the last set of switchbacks. This is a difficult trail, especially the last part on the way back up, but the weather was perfect - partly cloudy, about 75 F. [Note: the larger icon images link to larger (640x480) images]

	<= Dusk from the South Rim; Sunset =>
	The top part of the trail is steep and has many switchbacks. One may encounter the infamous mule trains that carry cargo and campers to the bottom.
	Water stop at Indian Gardens, about half way to our destination. Ferret among the cactus.
The view of the Colorado River from out destination on the edge of the Bright Angel Plateau.
	There seemed like there were more switchbacks on the way back up. While the geology is the main attraction of the area, the wild plants are all in bloom in May.
The view back at the top was more special for all the effort		(the trail we took went to the end of the wiggly line above the center in this picture)
	Another view at the top to the Vishnu Temple (<=) and the Brahma Temple (=>) named in the 1800s by a divinity scholar. [The Shiva Temple is among the features in the sunset picture above]