Day 1 – Phoenix to Williams, AZ
Apr 9
2010
After the worse flight of my life last night – three straight hours of banshee shrieking and tantrum kicking the back of my seat – we made it to Phoenix. We woke early this morning, thanks to a wrong number call at 05:00, and started our vacation. A nice hot breakfast at the hotel and some last minute shopping at REI and we were on our way to meet up with our friends Sylvis and Peach just south of the Grand Canyon. The drive wasn’t bad but we took our time and made stops for shopping and lunch before finally making it to the hotel where they were already waiting on us. We spent a few hours catching up, gathering and packing our hiking gear, and then went out for a nice steak dinner. Tomorrow is going to be a big, exciting day!
Day 2 – Into the Grand Canyon (S. Kaibab)
Apr 10
2010
I was up and ready to go this morning. After years of wanting to hike the Grand Canyon, I was so excited to get started. We had an hour drive and we stopped along the way for a hearty Denny’s breakfast, our last real meal for the next two and a half days. When we finally arrived at the canyon, we toured the rim a bit and made one last shopping stop.
At last, we caught the shuttle to the South Kaibab trailhead and started our descent into the canyon around 13:00.
I was still a bit anxious when we started. I knew I could do it but I just didn’t know what lay ahead of me and I was a bit nervous. I had heard that the trail could get scary. I have a history of freaking out on extremely narrow, two-sided-fall trails. I was led to believe that this trail could be like that in places. It was not. It was, however, a very downhill trail. By that I mean that there was steepness the ENTIRE way. There were not stretches of level ground with steps between – there were steps or steep declines and switchbacks all the way down.
Also , I have never done any packing. I started the trek this morning carrying 25 extra pounds of supplies and equipment. I was unsure how my legs, back, and shoulders would adjust to this extra stress.
By the end of it, my two big toes (not to mention my broken fourth toe) were killing me. But the views… the views were incredible.
And the hike was wonderful. It has been so long since we really did any hiking that I had almost forgotten how enjoyable it really is. I LOVE hiking. Even toward the bottom, when my toes had started throbbing, I had a huge smile on my face and was enjoying every minute of it. Although, I will admit to being overjoyed at the sight of the black bridge, which I knew to be the end-marker of our descent and the gateway to our end-point.
Once we crossed the bridge, it was fairly level ground and only a ten or fifteen minute walk to the Bright Angel campground.
We found a campsite and settled in.
My toes were thrilled to get out of my boots and into some comfy flip-flops – what can I say, they are beach feet!
Peach cooked dinner (Mountain House lasagna for hubby and I – a surprisingly tasty meal), which we took with us to the ranger program up at Phantom Ranch where we learned all about the CCC and the improvements that they made to the canyon. When we returned to our campsite, we shared a dark chocolate cheesecake dessert (basically just chocolate pudding with toffee crumbles, no cheesecake flavor) before calling it a night.
Day 3 – River to Garden (Bright Angel)
Apr 11
2010
Last night was amazing. Lying in our tent, we had a full view of more stars than I’ve ever seen and the sound of the river was reminiscent of the waves back home. Of course, I didn’t sleep much. While the bedrolls were very light to carry, they were no match for an air mattress when it comes to comfort. It was hardly better than lying on the bare ground. I also had a lot of throbbing in my big toes and the weight of the (super-light) sleeping bag on them was nearly unbearable. All small costs for such a great experience. This morning, hubby and I were up at first daybreak.
He got up and went wandering around the campground and I soon joined him.
A couple hours later, Sylvis and Peach woke and we started the breakfast (oatmeal) and camp break-down processes. Close to noon, we started our ascent of Bright Angel trail.
The bottom, river portion of the trail was wonderfully level.
It didn’t take long, however, before we reached some very mild inclines which were, unfortunately, followed by declines. Ugh! My legs and toes are DONE with the downhill motion. There was way more of it in the lower portion of this trail than I would have liked.
It was also much hotter than I would have liked today. I actually ran out of water (2 liter bladder) about a mile before reaching Indian Garden. Not to worry - hubby (and Peach and Sylvis) had plenty if I had needed it, I must just be more hydration-needy than others. And I was sure that I was evaporating in that heat.
The trail was nice though in that it mostly ran along a creek that provided scenery and pleasant sound
Despite the heat and lack of shade and steep climb, it was a great hike.
While my legs and toes were much happier to be going uphill, it was still very tiring. Especially in the heat.
But seeing this sign was such a welcome sight. Not only is it the ONLY sign we’ve seen in two days, but it means that we have arrived at our destination du jour!
It was wonderful to reach the campground and get out my boots again!
After setting up camp and resting and snacking a bit, we considered going another three miles to see Plateau Point. We walked just a little bit of it, to the first turn where there was a view,
before deciding to head back to camp.
First, I was in flip-flops. Second, we were putting in enough miles without adding to it. Third, hubby has been to Plateau Point before and suggested that if we had just done a day-hike from the rim and were not going any further, it was absolutely a must but since we had already been to the river, it would be nothing new or spectacular. Sold! We returned to our campsite and ate dinner (Mountain House Teriyaki Chicken and Rice for hubby and I – I preferred last night’s lasagna but not because this was not good, I’m just more of an Italian girl than Asian) and dessert (Mountain House Chocolate Strawberry Crunch – same as last night: chocolate pudding with flavored chunks).
We plan on getting a much earlier start tomorrow so that we can get out of the canyon before it gets too hot.
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