Before I describe Day 2 of the Grand Canyon hike, I wanted to share a neat tool I discovered. There’s a computer program (QGIS) that takes photo geographic data and plots it on a map. Wes’s sister, Maggie, and I traveled along the Camino de Santiago – Camino Portuguese (September 2025) that was a two-week hike covering over 300 km. I wanted to capture our route and this photo data made it very easy. As I started in on this blog segment, I wanted to similarly chronicle this journey.

Expanded view of part of Day 1 – Descent to Cottonwood Campground

Now on to day 2…

Wes and George near the entrance to The Box

A fitful sleep was not what I was expecting after our first day of the hike. It certainly wasn’t what I needed! We turned in relatively early after our night photography session but sleep eluded me. I felt like a clay pot in a kiln with how hot and dry it was. Try as I might to sleep, I tossed and turned until about 3:30 am the next morning. I knew we were going to have to get up early for breakfast so that we could break camp and hit the trail before first light. So, I gave up on trying to get a few more minutes of sleep and decided to have my first canyon yoga session.

Trying not to disturb Wes or my other companions, I crept out of our tent with my sleeping mat and assumed Sukasana (easy pose) under the starlit sky. When imagining Sukasana, think of a bunch of kindergarteners sitting “criss-cross applesauce”. As I slowed my breathing, my eyes gradually adapted to night vision and I marveled at my surroundings. The stars became increasingly bright and I could make out much of the surrounding terrain. With night vision, the world is colorless. Everything was in black, white, and shades of grey. Even though I could see in the darkness, my world was a dichotomy. I could make out our campsite and the nearby trees and landscape. I was surprised to see our guide Jonathan dead to the world in a sleeping bag on top of the picnic table! Beyond that, there was not enough light to perceive my surroundings. The stars, on the other hand, lit up the sky providing a backdrop to illuminate the canyon rim in silhouette.

Instead of the typical calm that descends on me when I start my yoga sessions, I felt energized, joyous, and grateful. Blessed that my life journey had led me to this place and time, my heart expanded to fill the canyon. My range of vision led to imagining being on stage with a dim spotlight making me visible to some ethereal watcher somewhere above me. Each asana became my performance for the unseen watcher. I smiled to myself as my universe split between by inner and outer worlds. Eventually my companions stirred to start day 2 breaking the spell that held me. With a silent thanks for this spiritual experience, I folded up my mat.

We enjoyed a relatively relaxed breakfast, had our morning ablutions, and broke camp before first light. We had enough ambient light to see by so we didn’t use our headlamps as we left Cottonwood Campground. Thinking back, I realize that that I really have no clear memory of Cottonwood. We arrived in the dark, walked around the campground in the dark, and left in the dark.

After the steep descent of day 1, our day 2 started with relatively gradual altitude changes. The dense, winding walls of the canyon gave way to a wide valley of gentler hills.

Open spaces heading out of Cottonwood Campground

Our first side quest, Ribbon Falls, was an early adventure shortly after leaving Cottonwood Campground. I read that less than 1% of visitors to the Grand Canyon hike below the rim. The hike to Ribbon Falls is a specific destination and even fewer of the hikers who go below the rim make it to this unique spot. The trail to the falls is not clearly marked and we had to cross the creek several times back and forth to eventually reach the falls. We crossed hundreds of hikers on the main trail on Day 2 but only met four or five at the falls. That serenity served to make the history of the falls all the more impactful.

Jonathan encouraged reverence at the falls as he described its history. The Zuni people, native to the Grand Canyon, view the falls, which they call Chimik'yana'kya Dey'a, as a sacred place or origin where their people emerged into the world. After their emergence, Zuni ancestors are said to have journeyed along Bright Angel Creek and other rivers to reach their home, now known as the Pueblo of Zuni. The Zuni view the canyon waterways as a physical connection between the two places. Historically, it was known to early European visitors as "Altar Falls" before the name Ribbon Falls became common in the early 1920s.

Ribbon Falls - Upper section flows to lower section

Ribbon Falls has two parts – upper and lower sections. A trail leads from the base of the falls to a passageway behind the falls where a small pond catches the water falling from the upper section. The view of the canyon opens up from this vantage point highlighting the path we traversed to reach the falls.

Through my yoga training, I am on spiritual journey to help me grow into my best me. Ribbon Falls awoke in me an unexpected connection to this sacred site. I found myself contemplating life as I explored the falls. Separated from my companions (because of my obsession with photos and videos 😊), I reached the area behind the falls by myself. I found myself joined by a feathered friend. A Raven decided at that point to enjoy the pool. My friend was not the least bit concerned that I stood a couple of feet from him. A thought came to me that this was a sign and that the bird represented a spirit guide for me. I’ve since learned that a Raven as a spirit guide symbolizes transformation, wisdom, and magic, often acting as a messenger and a guide through difficult transitions. Their significance includes a connection to both life and death, a role in prophecy, and the ability to illuminate the darkness by helping to navigate challenges and embrace change. I have often remarked to Wes and Maggie that they don’t ever need to be just one thing in life. “You can reinvent yourself as you go through life.” I am taking the advice I gave them to heart in my retirement. My visit by the Raven is reminding me that I am on the right track!

The canyon walls started to close in on us as we made our way down the trail from Ribbon Falls. Bright Angel Creek was now our constant companion as we made our way down the trail. I appreciated this as it allowed me opportunities to easily soak my hoodie. Even though it was relatively early, about 10:00 am, it was starting to get hot and the wet hoodie felt like the difference between the Sahara desert and Alaska! Temperatures were expected to exceed 100° F at our destination and I was committed that my hoodie would never dry out!

Narrowing canyon as we descend North Kaibab Trail

Our pre-dawn departure had another goal besides beating the general high temperatures. The North Kaibab trail ends in a section notoriously known as “The Box”. The Box is approximately three miles long and ends about a mile from Phantom Ranch. It is characterized by high black rock walls that absorb the sun’s energy throughout the day and radiate the absorbed energy down onto the trail. The temperatures in The Box can exceed 120° F! We scheduled our hike to pass through this section long before the heat got to that point.

We passed Phantom Ranch on our way to Bright Angel Campground. We were grateful to be past The Box but that didn’t mean that it was cool by any stretch. It was well over 105° F by the time we reached Phantom Ranch at about 12:30 pm. We stopped for a beverage along with many other hikers before completing the short stretch to Bright Angle Campground. Beer, lemonade, iced tea were available along with various snacks.

We made our way to our campsite along Bright Angel Creek. It was quite a bit different than our arrival to Cottonwood where we arrived in the dark. We found ourselves with lots of free time on our hands. While Jonathan prepared our lunch, we took the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the creek. We were in no hurry to pitch our tents. We waited until nightfall to help keep the tents as cool as possible.

After lunch, Wes and I split our time between hiking and soaking in the creek. We did a bit of exploring, scouting the trail that we’d be taking to the Colorado River and our ascent along Bright Angel trail on our third day of the hike. In the stream across from our campsite we were encouraged to “sit our butts down in the water” by some fellow hikers. They started giving us shit when it took us a couple of minutes to get in. For some strange reason they thought we would not get in! The cool water and new friends were both a welcome break from the heat.

North Kaibab Trails south of Bright Angel Campground

Eventually we made it back to our campsite where we visited with our companions while Jonathan prepared dinner. Red curry was on the menu and everyone was excited about dinner. We chatted patiently as the curry simmered. Every now and then a shift in the wind would enhance the aroma and make our mouths water. Darkness had settled over the campsite and that was when disaster struck! Jonathan was getting ready to serve the curry when it accidentally spilled all over the ground! A collective gasp erupted as the implications of the spill settled over us. We were left with rice but no main course. We only carried enough food for each meal and we had no backup food!

Jonathan was devastated and very apologetic. Everyone was understanding and consoling as we discussed how our snacks could be used to complement the rice. At this point we were visited by a park Ranger who was making his rounds. He was very sympathetic with our plight. He thought that they may have some spare items in their stores that he could share with us. We held our breath wondering when he’d return and with what. The ranger returned shortly with six ramen packets and our alternate Asian menu was set. Even though the red curry was missed, we all were grateful for the food available to us and enjoyed every bite!

We pitched our tents and happily crawled in for our nights sleep. I was grateful that the temperature dropped considerably and was much cooler than Cottonwood even though the daylight temperatures were hotter. I fell asleep quickly and slept well.

Many thanks to Wes for his review and edits. Always appreciated!

YogaGeorge

Day 2: Cottonwood to Bright Angel

Iridescence Thin Film Consulting

Day 2: Cottonwood to Bright Angel

Day 1: Descent to Cottonwood Campground

Iridescence Thin Film Consulting