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    Grand Canyon's Phantom Ranch
    Grand Canyon's Phantom Ranch
    Grand Canyon's Phantom Ranch
    Ebook195 pages47 minutes

    Grand Canyon's Phantom Ranch

    By Robert W. Audretsch

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    Phantom Ranch is nestled in the Grand Canyon basin on the Colorado River a location hardly visible from the rim and only accessible after a journey through scores of geologic layers. The only way there is by river rafting, hiking, or mule, and with each foot of the journey, the traveler descends 30,000 years in geologic time. While at Phantom Ranch, the view looking above is of 1.7 billion years of geology, all swirling together in an alphabet of colors. Grand Canyon s Phantom Ranch is the story of the rustic buildings designed by architect Mary Jane Colter in 1921, of the park s first peoples, river rafters, the early trail and bridge builders, and dramatic flash floods. When travelers leave Phantom Ranch, they are never the same. For some of them, departing is as if they have just said good-bye to an old friend.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateFeb 13, 2012
    ISBN9781439649954
    Grand Canyon's Phantom Ranch
    Author

    Robert W. Audretsch

    Robert W. �Bob� Audretsch first hiked to Phantom Ranch in 1977 and has logged nearly 10,000 miles on canyon trails below the rim. Audretsch worked as a park ranger at the canyon for nearly 20 years, retiring in 2009. During that time, he extensively studied its geology, natural history, and human history. This book shares his intimate knowledge of the Grand Canyon, along with his thorough research in archival collections.

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      Grand Canyon's Phantom Ranch - Robert W. Audretsch

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      INTRODUCTION

      Is a hallucination not a hallucination if you realize that the aberration in front of you is not real? It was July 24, 1977, and I was on my way back from hiking to Phantom Ranch. I was attempting an extreme hike—from the North Rim of Grand Canyon to Phantom Ranch and return in less than 24 hours. The distance was 28 miles, and the elevation gain was nearly 6,000 feet. I had done everything right. I was in great physical shape, had trained for this serious hike, and had all the right clothing, gear, food, and water. I had done everything right up to that point. But the subtle hidden effects of dehydration were slowly creeping up on me. I was living in the damp Midwest. I did not realize I was slowly losing vital moisture from my body. In the dry Southwest, we lose moisture but never see the sweat on our skin. I was less than five miles to the rim, but it was already midday and the temperature was close to 100 degrees. The most demanding part of the North Kaibab Trail was still in front of me. At the edge of the trail, just 30 feet away and sitting on top of a large boulder, were three little green men calling me by name! In a panic, I continued by the little men. I looked back. They were gone! I was intent on making it to the rim. I put my head down now, walking slowly but purposely. I looked neither right nor left but just six feet or so in front of me, for I did not want to see anything so scary again. To occupy my mind, I began to count: One, two, three, and so on, I said. As I mumbled each number to myself, I imagined someone’s hand writing each number on a blackboard. By the time I reached a number more than 7,000, I had arrived at the North Rim safely near nightfall. Since that momentous hike, I have visited Phantom Ranch dozens of times without ever again experiencing the terrifying green men.

      Phantom Ranch is located at the bottom of Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, near the junction of Bright Angel Creek and the Colorado River. It is near river mile 87.5 and can only be visited by hiking, mule ride, or river trip. Phantom Ranch is about 14 acres of the park’s 1.2 million acres. The Grand Canyon is largely crags and cliffs, but Phantom Ranch is an oasis of nearly flat land along Bright Angel Creek and the creek’s delta in the Colorado River. The nucleus of the ranch is about two dozen buildings in the resort complex that includes cabins, dormitories, restrooms, shower buildings, and a dining hall on the east side of the creek. A National Park Service–operated campground is on the west side of the creek. Less than a dozen other buildings at creek side and the delta include a National Park Service (NPS) ranger station, NPS trail crew bunkhouse, sewage treatment plant, mule barns, and residence buildings for NPS staff. Many of the ranch buildings are constructed in a rustic style of natural materials, such as rock and logs. A heliport is located on the creek delta. Helicopters are used only for people with serious injuries. There is no commercial helicopter service to Phantom Ranch.

      Phantom Ranch got its name from nearby Phantom Creek, which flows into Bright Angel Creek less than a mile upstream from the ranch. The origin of the name Phantom is uncertain but most likely comes from the observation that narrow Phantom Gorge seemed to appear and reappear in a phantom-like haze. When John Wesley Powell stopped here on August 15, 1869, he was so impressed with the creek’s clarity that he named it Bright Angel Creek.

      Because of the isolation of Phantom Ranch, its story includes pioneer river runners. Later came the first surveyors and mapmakers. Next came pioneer trail builders and early tourist enterprises. Soon afterwards came cable cars across the Colorado River and then bridges replacing the cable cars. From 1933 to 1936, a seasonal Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp blazed new trails, installed the park’s first reliable trans-canyon telephone line, and constructed the Bright Angel Campground. Without these pioneering engineering feats, Phantom Ranch would not be what it is today.

      My visits to Phantom Ranch number at least 40. While camped at Bright Angel Campground, I explored nearby trails and routes. While employed by the National Park Service, I filled in for absent Phantom Ranch interpretive rangers, doing programs for a week or more on a number of occasions. On another occasion, I spent nearly a week at Phantom Ranch writing and reading. What a marvel to sit on the porch of the bunkhouse and look up at the splendor of rock and sky. Many times while running from rim to rim, I passed Ranger Bryan Wisher, who without fail exclaimed: Hey, Bob. Come into the ranger station. I’ll fill your water bottle with ice water.

      Not only is Phantom Ranch a junction, it is also a crucible. It has the power to mold and transform us. Standing on the rim, we attempt to fathom the immensity of the Grand

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