The next morning, after breakfast, we drove out to the trailhead for the South Kaibab Trail and started down. The morning was sunny and cold and the few people who were around were all bundled up against the weather. The Canyon looked awesome with snow on the rim and I had seen it like this a few times myself but Robin was seeing it for the first time. The top of the trail had a lot of snow on it but the mules had been on it ahead of us and there was a well-beaten path through it. There was snow on the Tonto Platform and people we met later in the day said that it had gone all the way down to the bottom. What a sight it must be to see snow at Phantom Ranch. It was all melted by the time we got there. The snow melted quickly at the lower elevations as the day warmed and we were pretty much out of it by the time we reached Cedar Ridge. Beyond that point the snow was replaced by slimy, gooey mud.

Robin’s hiking shoes were not waterproof and she started having problems with her feet once they got wet. She was not doing well by the time we started closing in on the river and she was very happy when we finally arrived at Phantom Ranch.

We checked in at the cantina and got our cabin assignment. Luckily we had also brought or sneakers with us to wear around the ranch and we both changed into dry socks and put them on. We spent the rest of the day just hanging around the Ranch and had stew for dinner that night. It was cool to have our very own cabin to go back to after dinner and we hung out there for a while until it was time to go back to the cantina for the beer hall.