Grand Canyon - North Kaibab Trail

Entered the park around 10:30 am - traffic was bad due to the holiday weekend but we made it in. Had a little trouble finding a parking spot but the backcountry office is a great location as I parked under a huge pine which shaded the truck well. The trail is 14 miles each way so we made sure we were good to go. Started the hike down and we were amazed at the flora and fauna along the way. Many trees and shrubs. Much more diversity than we expected, even with all the rain. Our goal was to hike to Cottonwood Campground about 7 miles down. I mean down. We hiked down for the entire 7 miles! Set up camp, had dinner and crashed. The stars were incredible! Got up in the morning and headed to Bright Angel Campground near the Colorado River. Stopped at Ribbon Falls along the way. It was one of the most spectacular waterfalls I've ever seen. Not because it was big (it wasn't) but the spot where the water landed was spectacular. Back on the trail to Bright Angel. Made it by mid afternoon and set up camp then jumped in the river to cool off. Water was cold as hell but I didn't care - it was 105 in the sun! Spent a few hours hiking down by the river then crossed both the silver and black bridges over the Colorado. Went to listen the the Ranger talk about death in the canyon - mostly stories about stupid peiople making stupid decisions. I say it's the Darwin award for most of those idiots.. Got up in the am and headed back to Cottonwood. Stopped by Ribbon Falls for lunch and a nap along the way. Spent a few hours there and read my book for a bit. Cottonwood is a boring place to camp as there isn't much to do. One thing we noticed while talking to people is that several were attempting a day hike from rim to rim. That's 28 miles down then up at one time. Some were running it. Idiots. The final hike was pretty steep the entire way but we did great. Took some amazing pics and saw some cool things. A bird buzzed by my head at one point and it made the coolest sound. Must have been doing 60 or so. Really moving! Had reservations at the North Rim campground so we headed there to set up camp. We had dinner at the lodge then back to the tent to crash. What a trip.