Trigirl,
Thanks for posting about your hike and congrats! It took me back! We did the same hike but in one day, did not stay at the canyon bottom. Perhaps because of this, we didn't encounter as many crowds going up Bright Angel as you did, since it was so late in the day when we we got to the top 2 miles, which is where all the people were. There were definitely a few, but I'm sure it had thinned out a lot, as it was getting near 5-6pm, as I recall. So that worked out pretty well. I think doing it the other way would be smart, tho. I guess we didn't do that since I was worried about the steeper profile of S. Kaibab being tougher going up and being very tired since we were doing the hike in one day. Over more than one day, tho, I think that would be the way to go!
Emily
2011 Jamis Dakar XC "Toto" - Selle Italia Ldy Gel Flow
2007 Trek Pilot 5.0 WSD "Gloria" - Selle Italia Diva Gel Flow
2004 Bike Friday Petite Pocket Crusoe - Selle Italia Diva Gel Flow