It is officially HOT in the Canyon. Caught the 5 AM South Kaibab shuttle to do a SK-BA loop. It was like a solar oven in the Redwall on the SK. It was hotter coming out from Indian Garden on the white sand. It was hotter still climbing to mile and a half with no shade. The full-sun thermometer at Indian Garden read 120 at 9 AM. I don't think I'll be below the Redwall again until fall, except of course that I have to lead a rim-to-rim the first week in June.

Someone cleaned up the graffiti! I could tell that panels we have been working on are now completely clear. Probably a ranger-type who actually gets paid to do it.

Coming out the Redwall in the Bright Angel, we stepped off to let the mules pass, and a hiker was right behind them. One is actually not allowed to walk that closely behind. Anyhow, he started off down the slope to cut the switchback and get ahead of the mules.

I yelled, "Hey, don't do that!"
Brad yelled, "Hey, dude, stay on the trail!"
His hiking companion yelled, "Don't cut the trail!"
The wrangler, who was at that point directly below him, so cutting wouldn't have worked anyway, yelled, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
The hiker said, "OK, OK", and got back on the trail.
I sympathize with not wanting to be stuck behind the mules, but they DO stop and let hikers by eventually.

It is miserable to hike in the heat. It was just a month ago that we were hypothermic coming out in a sleet storm, and now it is 100. And as we were climbing out, there were hundreds just starting down. In fact, I counted 100 people from Indian Garden to the Fault Switchbacks, 100 from the Fault to the first tunnel, and 48 from the tunnel to the Rim. Yes, I was trying to keep my mind off hiking in the heat.