Gopher snake
We left the beautiful Ribbon Falls behind and returned to the canyon’s Sonoran desert headed to The Box. This, the only snake seen along the trail. I would have liked to see the pink rattler found only in the Grand Canyon, from a distance.
Amy on boardwalk over swamp
Where a side stream feeds into Bright Angel Creek a swamp has formed, complete with cattails. Yet another contradiction to the dry desert in the canyon.
Unknown canyon butte
The 7 mile (11.3 km) stretch of the North Kaibab trail between Cottonwood Camp and Phantom Ranch is the longest leg without drinking water. So we all carried about 4 liters each, but could have filtered the creek water if necessary.
Northern end of The Box
This narrow canyon with towering walls is one of my favorite sections of the North Kaibab trail. It can also be one of the hottest, during summer’s mid-day sun.
Bright Angel Creek and Bass Formation
The contact between the sedimentary limestone of the Bass Formation (where stromatolites are found) deposited 1.25 billion years ago and the 1.7 billion-year-old Precambrian metamorphic schist directly below leaves a gap of more than 50 million years in the canyon’s geologic time line called the Great Unconformity. An unconformity can mean mass erosion or no deposit at all.
We left the beautiful Ribbon Falls behind and returned to the canyon’s Sonoran desert headed to The Box. This, the only snake seen along the trail. I would have liked to see the pink rattler found only in the Grand Canyon, from a distance.
Amy on boardwalk over swamp
Where a side stream feeds into Bright Angel Creek a swamp has formed, complete with cattails. Yet another contradiction to the dry desert in the canyon.
Unknown canyon butte
The 7 mile (11.3 km) stretch of the North Kaibab trail between Cottonwood Camp and Phantom Ranch is the longest leg without drinking water. So we all carried about 4 liters each, but could have filtered the creek water if necessary.
Northern end of The Box
This narrow canyon with towering walls is one of my favorite sections of the North Kaibab trail. It can also be one of the hottest, during summer’s mid-day sun.
Bright Angel Creek and Bass Formation
The contact between the sedimentary limestone of the Bass Formation (where stromatolites are found) deposited 1.25 billion years ago and the 1.7 billion-year-old Precambrian metamorphic schist directly below leaves a gap of more than 50 million years in the canyon’s geologic time line called the Great Unconformity. An unconformity can mean mass erosion or no deposit at all.
Vishnu schist and Zoroaster granite
When the North American continent was smaller and far below the equator, a chain of volcanic islands formed along a subduction line off the coast. Because of plate tectonics, the island then collided with the land increasing the size of the continent and forming what would someday be the Southwest. In addition, subducted crustal slabs of ocean deposits mixed with volcanic ash and lava flows melted and squeezed into the overlying rock to form pink veins of igneous Zoroaster granite.
Canyon walls in The Box
The Vishnu basement rocks (grey) with igneous rock (pink, white and black) mixed in forms the vertical walls that surrounded us. It’s like walking in an ancient geologic museum.
Amy and Jan cooling off in Bright Angel Creek
The creek offers a narrow strip of lush riparian growth with box elder, grasses and sedges yet only a few steps away lays the aridity of the desert.
Bright Angel Creek in The Box
I took so many pictures of this canyon, and the rock intrusions that look like geologic art to me.
Approaching Phantom Ranch
This was the last of the easy downhill part of our rim to rim hike. The canyon widens towards the mouth of Bright Angel Creek forming a delta where the first tourist camp was built in 1906. We were motivated to get to the Canteen at Phantom Ranch for a cold beer and chocolate.
When the North American continent was smaller and far below the equator, a chain of volcanic islands formed along a subduction line off the coast. Because of plate tectonics, the island then collided with the land increasing the size of the continent and forming what would someday be the Southwest. In addition, subducted crustal slabs of ocean deposits mixed with volcanic ash and lava flows melted and squeezed into the overlying rock to form pink veins of igneous Zoroaster granite.
Canyon walls in The Box
The Vishnu basement rocks (grey) with igneous rock (pink, white and black) mixed in forms the vertical walls that surrounded us. It’s like walking in an ancient geologic museum.
Amy and Jan cooling off in Bright Angel Creek
The creek offers a narrow strip of lush riparian growth with box elder, grasses and sedges yet only a few steps away lays the aridity of the desert.
Bright Angel Creek in The Box
I took so many pictures of this canyon, and the rock intrusions that look like geologic art to me.
Approaching Phantom Ranch
This was the last of the easy downhill part of our rim to rim hike. The canyon widens towards the mouth of Bright Angel Creek forming a delta where the first tourist camp was built in 1906. We were motivated to get to the Canteen at Phantom Ranch for a cold beer and chocolate.