Phantom Ranch and Bright Angel Campground lie in the corridor where the vast majority of Grand Canyon hikers go. Eighty campers are allowed on a given night. I prefer to backpack in much more secluded places, but the peaceful surroundings at Bright Angel surprised me. We were about 100 yards from the Colorado River and much closer to Bright Angel Creek.
I watched the sunrise from the river one morning. It was like watching the lights come on in a big city. Because of varying cliff heights and the angle of the sun, one cliff would light up to the south, then one to the north. There was no way to predict what the sunlight would touch next. All this while bats flew by me head, I could actually hear their wings.
We stayed two nights at Bright Angel and we did two side hikes on our layover day. The first was 1,500 feet up a rough, steep, barely visible trail to the Utah flats. The footing was loose and we were all cut up from thorns. It was fun! And the view from the top was tremendous. See the first photo I posted where I am standing next to the cliff. It sure was nice not to be hauling the heavy backpack around.
After the Utah Flats hike we had lunch on Boater's Beach where some rafters were hanging out. Mules crossed the black bridge above. We cooled off in the 58 degree river, then took a second hike to the narrow Phantom Canyon where we explored more waterfalls.
Bright Angel Creek flowed near our campsite:
Our home for two nights:
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