We started the morning at 5:30, in the dark. The lot at the trail-head already Was more than half full. As we tested out our headlights, we saw another group form at the trail-head. I think there were 3 guys and 1 girl. We said hi and passed them as we started down the trail. We had no idea how many people we would see that day, but early indications were that we were definitely not alone.
As it became light, we passed a few people and came up on a group of maybe 8 Indian men. They
had already spread out. We passed the first few who were snapping pictures at every turn, saying hi and commenting on how beautiful it was. We walked along with others in the group for a while. They were quite a mix, some hiking regularly with their scout troop, while others much less frequently. One commented that they had done Half Dome (which I had done this year) only to find that he had done it 6 years ago:). Based on their comments, they were planning a Rim-to-Rim (R2R) hike. Needless to say that after passing this group, and even with our detour to Rainbow Falls, we never saw them again. I really doubt that they made it. I hope they turned back early or had more in their backpacks than it appeared to camp for the night.
One of the next groups that we came upon were 6-8 teenage girls. They all looked fit with light backpacks and exercise cloths. They were stopped on the side of the trail taking a break. One of them had her shoe and sock off as if she were dealing with a problem. I think she had sketchers tennis shoes on. My first thought was that there is no way they are going to make it. We saw then a couple more times on the trail, passing them again after our detour and seeing them during our stop at Phantom Ranch. We never saw them again, but think they would have made it, although after us so in the dark.
During the first half of the hike we were passed by a number of runners. I would guess 15-20 in all. Early in the day they were going the same direction as we were. Most were running with very lightweight CamelBak packs, just for water and maybe a bit of food. Just before Phantom Ranch we saw runners going the other way. These were the R2R2R folks! We talked to a mom who had run from North Rim to Phantom Ranch with four kids (her two and a friend's two). She was exhausted. I asked her if she was running the rest and she said no, she only hoped she could make it walking. She told me her husband and friend were two of the people we saw running the other way. They left at 2:30am from the South Rim to do their R2R2R. Crazy!
Just after our detour to Rainbow Falls, we ran into another big group going in the opposite direction. I think there were 20 of them. They had to have been in their 70's, from the UK and all pretty fit. We didn't find out where they came from but given how energetic they seemed, our guess is that they could not have started on the South Rim. They likely stayed overnight at Phantom Ranch.
After leaving Phantom Ranch and crossing over the Colorado River, we met up with the only mule train group that we would see. There were 8 of them. I am really glad we met them where we did. The trail was wide enough for us to get out of the way. There are lots of places on the trail where passing would have been really difficult.
As we started the climb up to Indian Garden, we passed two girls while they rested. When we stopped, they passed us. This went on back and forth another toupee times - becoming funny. As we passed, we would say "see you in a bit." As we reached Indian Garden, we passed them for the last time.
Into the last legs of the hike, we saw and talked to quite a few people. Here are two quick highlights.
- We chatted with a ranger as we slowly passed her. She was making sure everyone was ok.
- We laughed with a couple girls about the sign at the 3 mile rest stop - "Down is optional. Up is required."
- As we neared the top we said hi to a couple who had walked down from the top and were sitting in a perfect spot leaning against the rocks and enjoying the spectacular view.
Not only was the hike great, the views amazing, but connecting with other hikers was pretty cool too!
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