Flash Flooding near Phantom Ranch

The August 29 flash flood in the Grand Canyon’s Bright Angel Canyon took at least two lives and damaged or destroyed infrastructure including bridges, trails, and the Transcanyon Waterline. Phantom Ranch, the tourist resort designed by Mary E. J. Colter (1869 – 1958), was evacuated and closed, but no damage to the historic buildings has been reported.

At the time of this writing, I have found no mention of the mules that carried visitors to Phantom Ranch. Today mules are essential to operating Phantom Ranch, packing supplies and guests. Mules and pack horses played a key role in constructing the 1922 tourist resort and the suspension bridges over the Colorado River that provided access to the site. Almost all the necessary building materials had to be transported from the canyon rim down one vertical mile to the canyon floor, and pack animals did most of the hauling. Read about this in Mary Colter, Mules, and Phantom Ranch, my 2022 post on the topic.

Phantom Ranch in 1922, before trees were planted. (Grand Canyon Museum Collection image index no. 04440)

The long cables required for the 500-foot long suspension bridge built across the Colorado in 1928 were carried down the winding trail by men on foot. Read more about the construction of the 1921 suspension bridge, Phantom Ranch, and the 1928 Black Bridge--currently closed owing to the flash flood--that replaced the first bridge. Read more in my Construction History article Case Studies in Resource Efficiency: Design and Construction in the Grand Canyon, 1921-28. It’s worth a look just for the pictures!

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