Grand Canyon R2R - Day 4: Havasupai Gardens to Bright Angel Trailhead

The home stretch — the final climb, the mule train, and the finish line.

Distance: ~8 km (5 miles)
Elevation change: Ascent from ~3,800 ft to ~6,860 ft
Trail: Bright Angel Trail

This post is part of the travel series "Grand Canyon 4-day Rim-to-Rim Hike".

The 4 AM Alarm

This was the day we'd been thinking about since the trip began. The final climb out of the Grand Canyon — and by far the most physically demanding section of the entire traverse.

We started at 5:00 AM. The sky was still dark, headlamps on, and the trail ahead was nothing but switchbacks going up. Starting this early wasn't just a preference — it was a necessity. The upper section of the Bright Angel Trail faces south and bakes in the sun once it rises. Every hour of climbing in shade instead of direct sunlight is a gift.

The Grind

There's no way to sugarcoat it: this section is hard. The Bright Angel Trail zig-zags up the face of the canyon in a seemingly endless series of switchbacks. With a full pack on your back and three days of hiking in your legs, every step uphill is earned.

We kept the same strategy that had worked all trip: slow, steady, and frequent breaks. There are a couple of rest shelters along the trail — the Three-Mile Resthouse and the Mile-and-a-Half Resthouse — each with shade and water. We stopped at every one of them, refilled our bottles, and caught our breath.

The views, as always, were worth the suffering. With each switchback, the canyon fell away below us, and the scale of what we'd just walked through became more and more apparent. Looking back down at the trail snaking into the depths was both satisfying and slightly insane — we really walked all that?

The Mule Train

About halfway up, we heard them before we saw them — the clanking of gear and the steady clip-clop of hooves. A mule train was heading down the trail, carrying mail and supplies to Phantom Ranch. Tens of mules, single file, led by their handlers.

Trail etiquette says hikers yield to mules, so we stepped aside and let them pass. It was a cool moment — this supply method has been running for over a century, and watching it in action felt like a connection to the canyon's history.

The Crowd

As we climbed higher and got closer to the South Rim, the foot traffic started picking up. Day hikers heading down from the trailhead for quick out-and-back trips filled the trail, and the final couple of miles felt like a busy sidewalk compared to the solitude we'd enjoyed for the past four days.

It was a funny contrast — we were ragged, dusty, and running on trail mix and determination, passing fresh-looking tourists in clean clothes who had just walked down from the parking lot. A few of them looked at our packs and asked how far we'd come. "The North Rim" got some wide eyes.

The Finish Line

After six hours of climbing, we stepped out of the canyon at the Bright Angel Trailhead on the South Rim.

That first moment of standing on flat ground, looking back at the canyon we'd just crossed, is hard to describe. Relief, pride, exhaustion, and a deep sense of gratitude — for the experience, for the canyon, and for the friends who made the walk with us.

We did it. Four days, three campgrounds, roughly 35 km of trail, and more elevation change than any of us wanted to think about. We did it as a group of four friends in our late 40s, none of us professional athletes, all of us stubborn enough to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

The Aftermath

After some celebratory photos and a lot of sitting down, we walked to Parking Lot D, retrieved our car, and drove to the Mather Campground bathhouse for the most satisfying shower any of us had ever taken.

From there, we drove back to Phoenix, where we spent the night before catching our flights home the next morning. The car ride was mostly quiet — the good kind of quiet, where everyone is replaying the same four days in their head.

Trail Tips for This Section

• Start as early as possible. 4:00–5:00 AM is ideal. The sun on the upper trail is punishing.
• Stop at every rest shelter. Refill water, rest in the shade, and don't try to power through.
• Yield to mule trains. Step to the uphill side of the trail and wait for them to pass.
• Pace yourself. This is not the day for heroics. Slow and steady gets you to the top.
• Celebrate at the top. You just crossed the Grand Canyon. Take a moment.

The last day is the hardest, but it's also the one that makes the whole trip feel complete. When you step out of the canyon and look back at where you started four days ago — a rim you can barely see on the other side — the sense of accomplishment is real and lasting.

Photos by Rodrigo Senra, Nascif Abousah, Alexandre Da Silva, and Luciano Silva — fellow hikers and accidental photographers.