In the summer months Cremation Camp is reserved for boating groups that are exchanging personnel at Phantom Ranch. The river is flat enough here that hikers can come down either rim trail down to Phantom Ranch. From there they take a short hike upstream from the north end of the Black Bridge. The short trail cliffs-out after about a quarter mile but there is a small beach there where boats from Cremation can land to exchange personnel. After the exchange, the boats can return to Cremation Camp. In our case, we dropped off two riders and picked up two new riders. All riders had to be accounted for on the permit prior to launching. Boat Beach at Phantom Ranch is only a half mile below Cremation Camp so the next morning it is a quick float to our first sign of civilization in several days. It is fun to hike up to the lodge and have a cold beer and a candy bar. Or, on a cold, rainy, and windy day, hot chocolate might be the preferred drink. One usually thinks of the Grand Canyon as a very hot place and, it is. But, there are days when the canyon can be downright miserable with cold. At Phantom Ranch, it is traditional to purchase a post card at the lodge and mail it from there with the Grand Canyon's special post mark which reads: "Mailed By Mule At The Bottom Of The Grand Canyon Phantom Ranch". You can view this and other panoramas of the Grand Canyon, along with associated maps and more detailed descriptions, at GCPano.org. You can directly view this panorama at url: https://project.gcpano.org/?enterAt=CremationCamp.pan GCPano.org