By 10:20 we were at the bottom of Piano Alley which was just as much fun going down as up. A half-hour later we were at the flat rest spot just above the hairy section of the trail. I knew that this was not going to be fun. We took another short rest and tried to psyche ourselves up for it. By 11:00 we were on the way down and it was steep and slippery for most of the way down. There were little sections here and there that were easier but for the most part the trail was pretty bad. We never had any encounter with "the cliff" or "the detour around it" on the way down and we were almost to the bottom before I realized this. I don't know what happened there either. I would have expected the trail to come to the edge of the cliff and to have to detour around it but more people must be using the detour route and that trail must have been more obvious and easier to follow. I also don't remember going down the section that I carried Robin's pack up on though I am sure we must have gone down the same way. The bottom of that section should have had a little exposure but I don't remember seeing that either. It was a very odd descent but not as bad as we thought it would be. There were some spectacular views of Phantom Ranch and also of Bright Angel Campground on the way down.

By 12:00 we were at the bottom and back in Bright Angel Campground. There were not many people around and we had out choice of sites. We took site number 2, the first one at the northeast corner of the campground, next to the bridge. This is the third time that I have used this site and it is starting to feel like home. After setting up camp we ate lunch and then headed up to Phantom Ranch to check in for our meals and have a couple of well deserved beers.

We didn't do much else that afternoon except hang around camp and relax and watch the hikers and backpackers come down and fill up the campground. We both got out our books and read for a while. Robin was a little cold but I thought that the afternoon was very nice. The thermometer at the entrance to Bright Angel Campground read 55 degrees. When it finally started to get dark we headed back up to Phantom Ranch to hang out there and wait for the dinner bell. We had the stew dinner again that night and it was just as good as ever. The chocolate cake for desert is a really nice touch.

After dinner we hung around at the Beer Hall for a while and talked with a very nice couple from San Diego that we met during dinner. Phantom Ranch was one of the favorite spots and they were becoming regulars. They had done some backpacking at other places in California but had never done any in the Canyon and I was trying to tell them about all the really cool places they could go if they wanted to do some backpacking here. They were staying in the dorms and had just come down with day packs and seemed very content with just being at Phantom Ranch and being at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

This was the most comfortable night for sleeping yet, cool but not very cold. I only woke up a couple of times during the night and got back to sleep easily each time.