The ancient Greeks believed that the River Styx flowed through the depths of the Underworld, separating the living from the dead. The Grand Canyon calls back to this motif, with the mighty Colorado River carving the canyon deeper and deeper. Today we joined a select few who willingly descend into the Earth, knowing that we must eventually find the strength to pull ourselves back up to the surface.

The path down the South Kaibab Trail was easy enough, and we arrived at the Colorado River in good time. To avoid hiking through The Box during the hottest hours of the day, we rested at Phantom Ranch for several hours, enjoying several servings of lemonade and iced tea from the Canteen window.

By the time we hiked through The Box (~3pm), the sun had set behind the tall canyon walls, so the temperatures were actually quite pleasant. Ribbon Falls was a nice detour, but was not worth the dislocated shoulder I suffered while crossing a creek to get there - luckily my shoulder popped back in by itself.

The sun had almost set by the time we reached Cottonwood Campground, which was nested in a pretty location. We got to bed and prepared to ascend the North Rim the next day.

Today we ascended to the North Rim, leaving behind our tents and gear at Cottonwood Campground. The North Kaibab Trail was thrilling with several steep drop-offs, but was beautiful at the same time with its wide variety of plant life.

After ascending, we retraced our steps back to Cottonwood Campground. Several of us dunked ourselves into the Bright Angel Creek, which was accessible both at the Manzanita Rest Area and by the Cottonwood Campground itself.

Note: the side-trail to Roaring Spring was not worth it, in our opinion. We couldn't find a spring!

We timed The Box perfectly again, and reached Phantom Ranch before 10am. After enjoying a few more lemonades and iced teas, we began hiking to Indian Garden, stopping to bathe in the Colorado River along the way.

We reached Indian Garden in the early afternoon, and set up our tents amidst deer who frolicked through the campground.

Although many of us were tired, we rallied to hike to Plateau Point for the sunset. This was by far the highlight of the trip for me.

At Plateau Point we could see the towering South Rim above us and hear the roaring Colorado River below us, while California Condors soared overhead. This serenity was unlike anything I've ever experienced, and we all sat in awe of our majestic surroundings.

With only 4.5 miles left to go, we got an early start up Bright Angel Trail and finished our double-crossing of the Grand Canyon. Then we headed back to Vegas for dinner and celebratory champagne.