I haven't ridden my bike in a week. Did the Earth stop rotating? Did a giant tornado pick me up and throw me to a new uninhabited location? No, silly- we just spent the last week hiking the Grand Canyon and I've been nowhere near two wheels. Well, I guess I was near 4 wheels, but more wheels doesn't always mean better transportation- just much faster.
Here's a recap of our week. It's long, but hopefully you'll enjoy it. Click on any of the pictures for a larger view. I wish I could capture the beauty of the Canyon in a photograph, but it's just impossible to put on film the immense and tremendous beauty of the GC. I try, but none of the pictures can truly capture all that your eyes can see when you are there. It's something you have to see for yourself, and I hope you do some day.
Last Saturday we headed to Santa Rosa, NM on our journey to the Grand Canyon South Rim. Got up early the next morning and finished the 14 hour journey back to that big ol' hole in the ground that I love SOOOO much!
Our first night we arrived we stayed at Bright Angel Lodge on the rim. We stayed in the old historic dorm type rooms that have a bed and a sink in the rooms and bathrooms and private showers at the end of the hall. It was half the price of a regular room, and not an inconvenience at all.
We walked to the rim to get a good view of the sunset. Notice how much snow is still at the top. Two weeks before we arrived they had a snowstorm that dumped a foot of snow on the rim. Most of it was gone on the surface of the ground, but any north-facing area still had piles of snow. I love this picture and the juxtaposition of the desert canyon and the snow covered rim.
The next day we got up bright and early to begin our hike down the South Kaibab Trail. The S. Kaibab is about 7 miles down to the bottom.
Here are some views from the trail going down:
On the Tonto Formation- my favorite layer of the GC
Below is a dizzying view of the Colorado from a striking overlook. While we were admiring the view, we witnessed a helicopter coming down the Canyon at the river and landing hear the circle you see at the bottom right of the picture. It was the NPS delivering a worker to the bottom. Normally they have to hike in and out (all employees who work at the bottom), but the ranger we asked at Phantom said this guy was a fill-in for an injured worker as was not exactly "a hiker by nature" so he got delivered. Hee hee
As we crossed the Black Bridge you see in the background, we stopped at the Colorado River to chill our tired muscles in the cold water. The water is about 45 degrees and VERY cold! I put my wool socks back on so I could stand in the water for about 10 minutes to help my muscles recover.
We made it to Phantom Ranch after about 5 hours of downhill hiking. Woo hoo!!
We arranged to stay in the dorms for the night at Phantom Ranch, and to have dinner and breakfast the next morning. It wasn't cheap, but when you consider that a mule must bring down your meals, it's quite a bargain. Lodging for both of us was $80. Dinner for both of us was $50 and breakfast was $40. The meals were big and filling, and quite delicious. It also saved us the hassle and weight of bringing our own food and cookstove on the trip down (which we wound up doing anyway because we wanted to stay a second night and if we were allowed to we would have to cook our own meals because you have to order your meals 2 days in advance if you're going to eat at Phantom).
We got on the wait list to spend an extra night, but they were booked and we had to hike out the next morning. No big deal. I was thrilled to get this last-minute night at Phantom as it was, so I was happy to head back to the rim.
The next morning we got up at 6 for our 7:00 breakfast, and hit the trail about 7:45. We took a different trail back to the rim because we hadn't traveled on the Bright Angel that low before and we wanted some different views. The Bright Angel Trail is about 9.5 miles up. Those extra 3 miles would prove be very tough. Very tough indeed.
The first two miles of the trail parallel the Colorado River, undulating up and down while following the river downstream. We got to see some rapids, some beautiful side canyons and encountered a couple mule trains headed to Phantom Ranch. The mules carry down supplies daily, and carry back out all the trash that is generated at the Ranch. They are a tough breed, those mules are. They are truly amazing creatures.
A lot of the trail along the river is pretty deep sand and difficult to walk through. No worries- it's the Grand Canyon- it's not SUPPOSED to be easy. We met three women who had run down the trail. Canyon runners are pretty common in cooler months. Impressive that they can run down such a steep and rocky trail. I break and ankle just thinking about it.
The trail along the Mighty Colorado:
On the way up: Here hikers look over Devil's Corkscrew (a very tough twisty section you can see to the right of the photo)
The view of the rim from Indian Garden- halfway up in mileage, but less than half the gain in altitude. From here it's about 4.5 uphill miles to the rim. This is one of my favorite shots.
Here is a look back down into the canyon after leaving Indian Garden. We still have about 3.5 vertical miles to climb from here. 3.5 VERY tough, switchbacky, steep, grueling miles.
After we made it to the rim, we high-fived, kissed and then proceeded to collapse. We headed to our car and drove to the campground showers to clean up a bit. We didn't have any lodging set in place for this night, so we knew we'd have to camp. There is a National Forest right outside the park, so we decided to save some money and camp for free. Did you know that you can camp anywhere in a National Forest for free? Yes, you can! Look it up- it's a pretty sweet deal!!
After our shower we were so hungry we headed to McDonalds in the town of Tusyan for dinner. Yes- we were THAT hungry. You know you're hungry when McDonalds sounds yummy. I ate a Quarter Pounder with cheese meal. I ate the WHOLE THING. Egads, man- that was not the most nutritious meal I've ever had, but it satisfied the tremendous hunger I had from climbing uphill for 6.5 hours.
After our gourmet dinner, we found a spot to camp in the National Forest and set up the tent. We knew it was going to be cold so we had planned in advance and had brought every blanket and sleeping bag we owned. We had our VERY warm double sleeping bag, an extra bag for the top, and 2 blankets to use as insulation underneath us. I wore pants, wool socks, a long sleeve tech shirt and a wool sweater to bed (oh, and a wool hat, too). I stayed VERY warm so long as I didn't have to get out of the sleeping bag.
Which I had to.
4 times during the night.
To use the bathroom... errrrr... tree..
It was most annoying.... to say the least.
We heard the coyotes howling, the elk moving and had the most peaceful night. It was difficult to sleep, tho, because it was just very cold. My sinuses were incredibly horrid, so sleep came to me in about 10-20 minute increments throughout the night.
Our campsite- don't let the sun fool you into thinking it was warm. It most certainly was not.
This night of camping would prove to be one of those moments you look back on with pride (like: we survived that). We woke up as soon as it was an acceptable hour (5:45 am) and immediately broke down camp, threw everything in the trunk/backseat of the car without proper packing and headed to, yes, McDonalds in town for breakfast (only thing open) and to use a proper bathroom. Checked the thermometer on the car, and it read 30 degrees at 6 am. I'm quite certain it was at least a few degrees cooler during the night. We survived, tho. The tent had ice on the inside of the rainfly from the condensation of us breathing and creating warmth. At least it didn't snow inside the tent...
After we were fed and warmed up, we headed to the GC campground to unpack our things and pack them back properly. We pulled into an empty site, unloaded everything then loaded it back up.
At the campground re-packing everything:
We then headed to the Rim to see the Canyon out at Hermits Rest (an area accessible only by the free shuttle). The views were spectacular (of course, they were!).
We came back and rode the shuttle to the grocery store in camp to find some lunch and get a few things to eat. We had lunch, then headed back to the Bright Angel Lodge to see if our room for the night was ready- and it was. Score! We checked in, I took a hot bath in the claw-footed tub and we both napped. Glorious!
Later we headed back out to the rim for some final shots of the Canyon.
Here they are:
Hit the road early the next morning, and made it to Albuquerque, NM (the halfway point).
On our way out of the GC, we had some elk cross right in front of us. A whole herd of 12 females. They were very cute in a "you better look out or we'll trample you" kind of way.
You know you're a long way from home, when you start seeing signs telling you how far away LA is and which direction to take to get there. We're not in Kansas anymore, ma!
Along the way, we stopped at Meteor Crater. We've driven past this a gajillion times, so we just HAD to stop. It's not as impressive after you see the GC, but it's still pretty cool! We even got to touch an actual Apollo spacecraft. WOW!
Rian wouldn't be goofy with me, so I had to be goofy on my own. Not very flattering, but who cares- I'm touching an Apollo spacecraft, man!
Once we were checked into the hotel in ABQ, I went to the REI store there (of COURSE I did) while Rian watched the NCAA Tournament at the hotel. We made it home the next afternoon to 3 very happy pups.
I'm SOOOO glad we went back again. I have decided that I much prefer the North Rim to the South Rim. Way too many people on the SR. Far too crowded. Tons of tour buses, train visitors, and just people in general. The views of the Canyon on the trails were better from the SR than the NR, but it's all incredibly beautiful in it's own way.
The Canyon steals a little of my soul every time I'm there. I leave a little bit of it there every time I go. Being there makes everything OK with my soul and makes everything alright in the world. Being off the grid, in the midst of one of God's most beautiful creations is beyond words and pictures. It must be experienced to understand.
Maybe one day you'll experience it, too.
Now I will resume biking my life...
Happy Trails!
