The Grand Canyon! Day 3

Day 3 at the Grand Canyon didn't really involve much more than breakfast and taking pictures. And squirrels. And difficulty ambulating.

Nikkie and me.

Grand Canyon hot sauce. Huevos rancheros AND blueberry pancakes AND I ate almost all of it.

Bright Angel Lodge. The door to our room.

That's the trail I was on last night.

Grand Canyon squirrels know how to get attention/snacks.

We left around 11:00am to drive home. I don't know if I'll ever be back, but I truly hope so! 

Weird sand tornado thing we saw on the drive home. I felt like I was in Twister.

The Grand Canyon! Day 2 - North Rim to South Rim

Today, I woke up around 5:15am for no apparent reason. I anticipated being so exhausted from my first day's efforts (and from staying up late celebrating) that I would sleep late.

Grand Canyon Lodge

Our cabin

Top bunk! Just like when I was a kid...

View from Grand Canyon Lodge

Inside Grand Canyon Lodge

There were supposed to be five of us heading back across, but after the first day's efforts, only two of us were feeling up to it. After eating half a breakfast burrito and drinking lots of coffee, it was time to head back across the Grand Canyon. We got moving around 11:30am. But before actually entering the Grand Canyon, we had to hike the 1.7 miles to the trailhead.

And then came the mules. What a nightmare! We were stuck behind this group of people on mules that were stopping to crap and pee every two minutes (the mules, not the people) and it seemed like we were never going to get moving, until finally the leader of the group allowed us to pass. After about 2 or so miles, we were stopped by a ranger who informed us that the water situation had worsened since the day before. Now there was even less water to refill our supply than there was yesterday.

There's more of the trail, way down below...

We hiked down to Cottonwood Campground and found access to the creek to soak ourselves. It was really really hot. We sat with our feet in the icy water for a while, and I got my clothes all wet to try to cool off. Then we were off again.

Thank goodness

We hiked fast toward Phantom Ranch. All I could think was: "Get to Phantom Ranch. There is lemonade there. It is cold, not warm like the water that you are trying not to drink." We finally arrived at Phantom Ranch around 7:00pm, and guess what? The store where they sell lemonade was closed because they were serving dinner! I almost cried. Not really, but I was kind of mad. I ate the rest of my breakfast burrito (and did not get food poisoning) and then was lucky enough that an employee offered to sneak some lemonade out to me and my friend. This is when I almost cried because I was so happy. I gave him a big hug without even realizing how weird that probably seemed.

Now, when we left Phantom Ranch, it was pretty dark. People are funny. When they hear you're hiking across the Grand Canyon in one day, they look at you like you're crazy. And when it's getting late, they ask you stupid questions like, "You know it's going to get dark, right?" It was kind of awesome to hike the Grand Canyon in the dark (but then again, I love hiking in the dark -- some people really hate it).

We took Bright Angel trail this time (not South Kaibab). Bright Angel is a lot less steep, but it adds mileage because it's a more gradual incline. 

In the almost dark on the bridge

About 3.5 or 4 miles left.  I can't remember.

Probably when there were about three miles left, I started to get really really tired. I remember thinking, "This is the hardest thing I've ever done". My calves felt like cement. Looking back now, I don't really feel like it was that hard, but I know that it must have been or I wouldn't have been having those thoughts. 

Down is optional. Up is mandatory.

The lights of Bright Angel Lodge faaaar in the distance.

Another of those warning signs they put near the trailheads.

Done and done!!!

We had seen the lights of Bright Angel Lodge (where we had a room booked) from very very far away and high up above us, and kept getting glimpses of the lights every once in a while when we would turn a corner. I finally turned a corner and there was Bright Angel Lodge, right in front of me! I had made it! It was about 2:00am. I got to the room and pulled off my boots and...yuck...big blister. I didn't know where to get ice, so I soaked my feet in really cold water in the tub, but I started falling asleep and thought I would fall backwards off the edge of the tub, so I decided to go to bed.

And that's the story of my "R2R2R" journey -- which actually probably isn't "official" because it took me two days. You're kind of supposed to do it in one. So, I suppose that is another challenge for me to face someday.

The Grand Canyon! Day 1 - South Rim to North Rim

The things they say about the Grand Canyon are true. First of all, you need to see it for yourself. The pictures do not do it justice (I say that about everything, though). But really, the scale is difficult to appreciate without standing there on your own two feet looking down into it. Second of all, it is breathtaking. My first glimpse was through the window of a shuttle bus to the trailhead, as I was talking to my friend, and I just stopped. I didn't bother to finish my sentence -- I couldn't remember what I'd been saying anyway.

When you hike across the Grand Canyon, it is called an "R2R" ("rim to rim") hike. It is strongly advised against. When you hike from one rim to the other and back, it is called an "R2R2R" hike. Here is the story of the first half of my journey. Expect many pictures. It is the Grand Canyon, after all.

This is a map of the bus system at the South Rim. You pay $25 to drive through the gates to the National Park, and you find yourself in Grand Canyon Village, where there are hotels, cabins, campgrounds, restaurants, gift shops, buses, etc.

At the bus stop around 5:00a waiting for the shuttle bus to South Kaibab trailhead.

You encounter this sign early in your journey down into the Grand Canyon. The message is essentially this: do not attempt to climb down into the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back out in one day. I didn't really find the illustration of a man holding his hand to his head to be all that convincing that something terrible might happen, but it is true that people have to be rescued by helicopter (at their own expense) from the Grand Canyon all the time because they do not take this sign seriously. Even so, I knew I'd be okay (that's what they all say).

I look like crap. But there are many reasons for this.

Me and Nikkie.

They use mules to carry supplies down into the Grand Canyon. There are campgrounds and a store down there, and they also need to bring down materials to do trail maintenance. Also, people can pay to have them carry down their camping gear. Tourists who can't/won't walk down also ride them into and out of the Grand Canyon. They poop and pee everywhere and it's gross.

Colorado River.

This is Phantom Ranch. The best thing they do here is they sell ICE COLD LEMONADE. They have a restaurant and cabins and sell other things that you might need. They also have a place to refill your water. There are many places along the way in the Grand Canyon where you can stop and get water.

It was Nikkie's birthday, so I had carried brownies down to Phantom Ranch to celebrate. When we were done, I just went around giving brownies to everyone down there because I didn't want to carry any of them back out. It was kind of hard to fit a tray of brownies in my backpack.

I know I mentioned the fact that there are many places to refill your water along the way in the Grand Canyon. HOWEVER, on this particular weekend, the pipes burst in many places and water was unavailable for many miles of trail, so we had to carry extra water on our backs and be careful not to drink too much so that we would not run out. That's water from a broken pipe on the trail above.

This is the water bubbling up from the broken pipe. Aside from it being a little crunchy from the rocks, this water would be totally fine to scoop up and drink.

We took a detour to Ribbon Falls. Absolutely stunning!

And refreshing! This is me and Sergio.

Sara, guess what? Your bathing suit has been to the Grand Canyon...

Hi!! 

If we had not done this, I do not think I would have enjoyed the rest of the hike as much as I did -- it was really hot down in the Canyon and it felt so great to cool off.

This is at Cottonwood Campground.

Roaring Springs.

Almost done.....

I made it!!!! North Kaibab trailhead! This is still 1.7 miles away from where we were staying. Nikkie and I were the first to finish, and we flagged down a car and got a ride to the Grand Canyon Lodge.

This was not an easy hike -- nearly 23 miles, 11,698 feet of elevation loss and 12,726 feet of elevation gain. You might think the downhill is a breeze, but it isn't! The South Kaibab trail is steep as hell and it does a number on your knees. I kind of prefer the uphill. It's hard, when you're doing all that uphill at the end, and your water is warm and it doesn't taste good anymore. All I could think of was freezing cold iced tea. And I made sure to get some as soon as I got to the Grand Canyon Lodge. The journey was not over for me, however, and you will get to read about day 2 of my adventure in my next post.

The "X" marks the start, and that far away red pin marks the end.