Grand Canyon Hike

One week ago Raquel and I were preparing for our hike in the Grand Canyon. We headed up there Friday afternoon and meet our old friend Dennis Schaub and his friend, Terry, and Dennis' brother, Clarence and Clarence's wife, Kelly. They had gone up earlier and had camp all set up. All Raquel and I had to do was pitch our little tent (and she reminded me all weekend just how small it was) I tried in vain to put up a hammock, but I had brought a crappy rope that kept breaking and after falling on the ground 5 or 6 times I gave up.
Saturday morning we got up early and Clarence dropped Terry, Dennis, me and Raquel off at the Kaibab South trail head. We were hoping to see the sunrise in the canyon but we were just a little too late. We would hike 4 1/2 miles down before cutting across on the Tonto Trail to the Bright Angel trail and heading up. All total of about 14 miles but 9 of it was either straight up or straight down.

Here are a couple of pictures on our way down.

You can see the color changes in the canyon as the sunrises higher.

We were just 1 1/2 miles from the bottom of the canyon when we turned and started across on the Tonto trail. This was also about 4 1/2 miles and this trail was flatter and we were out in the open - or exposed to the hot sun. While it was only about 8:30 when we started this trail it was HOT. We enjoyed the change in trails though after 3 hours hiking straight down it gave our knees and feet a rest, plus it was nice to not see any other people on this part of our hike. The other two trails we hiked are very popular and have quite a few people on them. It was a great experience to be in the heart of this canyon and see no one but our little group. From this picture you can't even tell that we are in a canyon. The canyon rim is so far it can't be seen. The rims you see in the background are false rims. It is an immense place.

One of the great things about hiking the Grand Canyon are the surprises it brings. While we were hiking through dry desert terrain, we came upon a tree lined creek with shade!

We reached Indian Gardens at about 11:00 and we were ready for a break and lunch. I found a great little spot where we could soak our feet in frigid water, get out of the sun, eat our lunch and rest for a bit. After the heat of hiking the Tonto trail, I was worried about how hot it would be hiking out. I knew that the last 4 1/2 miles up Bright Angel trail would be extremely difficult if it was really hot (I'd done it before). We were all very glad to see the sky become overcast while we were eating. Terry was especially glad because the heat had really affected him.

Indian Gardens is another one of those surprises in the canyon - you just don't expect to see lush green spots in this vast seemingly dry canyon.

As we headed out of Indian Gardens it started to sprinkle on us and we loved that. Raquel and I left Terry and Dennis and started out at a faster pace. The sprinkles really rejuvenated us and I thought we would have an easy time getting out with the overcast sky and sprinkles. About 1/2 mile later the sprinkles became drops and a 1/2 mile after that the drops became a torrential down pour. At this point Raquel was really glad I had made her pack a rain poncho and for the next 3 1/2 miles out of the canyon we hiked, slushed, slipped and plodded up the mud puddled switchbacks. The wind and rain made the temperature drop and since we were wet, it was cold.

Once again, you never know what kind of surprises the canyon will bring to you. While there were a few places we could have taken shelter, we decided just to keep going because the trail was just getting muddier by the minute. We saw mud waterfalls begin and lots of drenched hikers. Our one goal was to beat the mule train we caught glimpes of far below us. They slowly caught up to us but we managed to beat them out by just a few seconds.I think the whole hike was a bit harder than Raquel thought it was going to be and at one point she turned to me and said, "I'm trying really hard not to complain." Bless her little heart! We were definitely having an adventure and while I don't think Raquel was liking it much, I was loving it.

At a mile from the top we finally did stop and rest and so did the rain. As soon as we started hiking again the rain started also. When we got to the top Clarance was just pulling in to pick us up. As you can see, while we look a little worse for the wear, both of us can still smile. Clarence was great. He drove us back to camp fixed us hot chocolate (it was cold at the top) and he and Kelly made dinner that night of stew, bread and watermelon. It was great!

Actually, I was very glad at how well my knees had done and that revived my ideas for hiking to the bottom again and maybe from rim to rim. I don't think Raquel thought it was fun but I do think she would hike to the bottom with me some time.

All in all, it was a great three days with my daughter and I appreciate her willingness to come along with her crazy mom.