20th April: Grand Canyon
From Wd
Jinny's Blog
We had decided to wake up at 5.00am (despite much objection from Dan and Bev who routinely slept late), watch the sunrise at Yavupai Point, and then go to the Bright Angel Trail.
That morning, I forced myself to wake, washed up with the smallest amount of water possible (in that cold, water, especially cold water is the enemy). James had this new-found enthusiasm for hiking after having completed the Angels Landing and though he always had to be encouraged by his father to wake up and do his chores, he was up and ready to for the hike at 5.00am! Nat and I had pretty much slept in hiking gear, except the boots. We all declared the sunrise rubbish, compared to the sunset the night before—no colours. We took a shuttle to go to Bright Angel trailhead. In the bus I took out a CLIF BAR since I hadn’t eaten anything and wanted some energy before the hike. The driver reminded me there was to be no food on the bus. I wanted to me a smart ass and asked if I should spit it out. Dan pointed out that would be food on the bus.
We started at 6.15am and went down fairly quickly. I was left behind but not too far. There is a rest stop every mile and half on the six miles one-way trail. We saw barely a dozen other hikers. Some were coming back up, I guess they must have camped somewhere down there and were returning early to avoid the sun. I made it to Plateau Point a little before 9.00am. The paper said the Plateau portion of the hike (the last mile and half) is extremely strenuous and I wondered why, since it is the flattest part of the trail. When I got onto it, I realized why. On all the hikes I have ever been on, the impressions of the area around me are always positive. Words like beautiful, grand, breathtaking come to mind… you know, depending on how nice the view is.
Somehow on Plateau Point, I kept thinking how desolate and oppressive it was. Behind you are the cliffs you have come down on, very high and the rim is so far off (4½ miles hike to be precise), far ahead of you is the canyon spreading out, and around you is this same flatness, almost desert like in quality and if the sun is strong, imagine how mentally stressful it can get. Besides, it was deserted and I was walking some distance behind the rest of the group. Not a soul in sight (I would see the gang occasionally as the trail turned). Get the picture? Certainly not hiking there in summer. James and I agreed that part of the trail seemed to never end. The sun played hide and seek a bit behind the clouds. But the temperature difference is dramatic (I went from low 20s to upper 70s in hours), the only time in my life my fingers stayed swollen for hours.
Plateau Point was quite humbling, as we looked down we realized we were barely half way down to the Colorado river that made the canyon. You look up and there are these huge cliffs going up. Took a 20 minute break for photos, lunch and then started back. I told the gang to stay with me till Indian Gardens (the last rest area coming down) and then go on with out me since I was going to take my time and there would be plenty of people by then on the trail. Indian Gardens has a nice camp area, must remember that in case I decided to visit again and go to the river.
I hiked back up in about 4 1/2 hours with breaks. Jolly good compared to may past performance I say. If it had been any sunnier, I am sure I would have taken a lot longer (maybe the entire 12 hours the paper said it can take). There are really not many places to hide out from the sun on this trail. On the way met some mule parties. At some point as the crowd coming down started getting thicker, the comments on my hat started coming. I was wearing my large, colorful sombrero-like hat (that I had bought for my Caribbean trip years ago). Several people complimented my hat and some told me they were watching me (or my hat to be precise) come up the switchbacks (as you climb down you can see most of the trail as well as the Plateau Point). I was the “hat lady” that day. A woman on a mule said she loved my hat, I offered to trade it in for her mule. I can’t believe she gave up on the wonderful offer to be the “hat lady” of Bright Angels!
I had finished a liter and half going down and about 2 liters coming up (had filled up on the way). I had carried three and half in all. At the last 3/4s of a mile, ran into a guy who asked if I had water to spare. I gave him my unopened half liter bottle and was glad to be rid of the weight. The last half mile dragged on FOREVER! I had climbed down and back up 3,175ft in that hike.
I went back to camp and was sore in my legs. I sat down and didn’t want to get up or take a shower. The hikers were all back and so were a couple others. I made some tea, my first intake of caffeine that day (oh I forgot the 2 Cliff bars I consumed). But that cup was simply dee-lish! Took a shower. For such a popular national park, the shower and toilets are the worst. The toilet sinks don’t have hot water and the showers are completely separate from the toilets (we camped at Mather campground at South Rim). And it was the most expensive shower so far at $1.75 for five minutes. No new blisters (had two very small ones from Zion) though I had removed my outers socks at some point and had worn them back again after I felt the inner socks alone were chafing too much.
Ron had chopped a portion of a tree trunk, no silly logs would do for us in this temperature. Ron was cooking since it was our last night camping and was going to make Japanese curry. It had Indian curry powder leftover from my dinner, coconut milk, all the leftover veggies and meat and hot dogs from the night before. What was Japanese about it, I don’t know. He also made rice pudding with all the leftover cream, milk, rice (basmati, mind you), cinnamon sticks and cinnamon powder (I wonder why he hadn’t use the leftover bay leaves and garlic, that would make a nice touch, no?). The curry was fabulous, the rice pudding never got done (but some people ate it anyway, including me).
As we stood around the fire (sitting was not an option, it put you too far away from the fire), we passed Buttershots Schnapps around to all and toasted a few more marshmallows. It was expected to be in the mid 20s that night. For some reason, it was this last night of camping that Dan got drunk. He and Bev had made a show every night of competing to see who drank more beers and I guess this was win-or-lose night. He was quite mild as a drunk, went around to all and sang to them (at least sounded like singing), sat on Peta’s lap a bit, cuddled up to Chuck. After we had all gone to sleep, he started shouting. I never found out what he was yelling. But after some time, Peta yelled from her tent “Dan, shut the f@*! Up” and Chris followed with “Yeah, shut the f@*! up”. No more was heard and we all slept like little lambs. This was the loudest and rowdiest someone in the group ever got. Pretty tame group, I say (not that I am complaining).
As for the hiking, I was best prepared for Grand Canyon (all those warnings of death, I think) and it was personally the most rewarding hike though not the best views (at least not until you get to the end point). Kept my pace for all hikes and in general thoroughly enjoyed all activity. Even the stormy Monument Valley ride was thrilling. Hiking is the only outdoor activity I truly enjoy and I wish to some day become a serious hiker and conquer some difficult mountains.
Gavin's diary—10.20am Friday 20th April 2007, El Tovar Hotel, Grand Canyon NP
I am sitting in the lobby of the El Tovar, an old-style, expensive-looking hotel at the end of a dedicated railway line. Retired, well-to-do America—of an age (or a type) that is happy to go grey without resorting to hair dye—inhabits this hinterland. Like me, they seem to call a nice hotel room and few shuttle stops for photos the sum-total of their Grand Canyon trip.
I have rediscovered an old fear of heights. James seems almost fearless in this respect. Yesterday evening, our tour leader took the young guns to a really scary outcrop (at least from our viewpoint) to witness the Canyon sunset. <RANT ON> I couldn't bear to watch it for long, so walked back to the campsite, muttering that it was irresponsible to put these guys in harm's way, where a slip could lead to a thousand-foot fall and certain death. All it would take is an accidental elbow prod. Each of the trekkers may be confident of their own mental state, but how can they possibly put their total trust in others whom they've known for just ten days? This is reckless risk-taking for no substantial benefit—their photos were no better than ours, taken from a safe distance. Of course, kids need to take risks to learn new skills like rock-climbing, but there was no skill to be learnt here. There is a potential tragedy in the making here, leading to lives extinguished and careers ruined. <RANT OFF>
Our tour is staying in the almost deserted Mather campsite—deserted at least in the tent area—where conditions last night were as good as freezing. Two of our band—Tim and Collette—wimped out of the camping lifestyle and opted for a hotel room.
Yesterday we drove from our hotel in the Monument Valley area through the Cameron Store town (where Ron gets a cut of all our purchases), past the startling canyon of the Little Colorado river. The plain just ends abruptly with a steep cliff. How many animals must have fallen to their deaths over the years?
On our arrival at Grand Canyon's Desert View, Ron required us to put a spare T-shirt over our heads, walk in a crocodile to the rim and then open our eyes. It was safe, and it was pretty amazing, even for someone like me who has visited it before.
Gavin's diary—9.20am Saturday 21st April 2007, The Van, leaving Grand Canyon NP
Hike-wise, I had a short day yesterday, indulging in a free tea and coffee at the El Tovar and a nice solo lunch in the Arizona Room at the Bright Angel Lodge ($18, including tip).
I had started the Kaibab Trail, but the path, though wide, was on too steep a cliff for my liking. So I turned back. James meanwhile did the "extremely strenuous" (the Park's official description) Bright Angel Trail down to Plateau Point.
