luv'nAustin
05-26-2007, 06:57 PM
Hi ya'll, after months of training the hike is finally over. I got back last night from the Grand Canyon and it was fantastic.
I went with my husband and a girl friend from Austin. We arrived in Phoenix on Monday night and left for the Canyon early Tuesday morning along with three more friends from Phoenix and two additional friends from Austin that were coming along to drive our SAG wagon from the South Rim to the North while four of us hiked from South to North. The other two hikers were planning to hike to Horn Creek and camp for the night.
We spent the first day getting used to the altitude and had a lovely bus tour from the Bright Angel trail head to the Hermits Rest Trail head. We got off at every stop and took in the views.
No one slept well that night as we were all awake listening to a raging thunder storm as it shook the walls of our hotel room. We had a wake up call for 4:30a with plans to meet in one room for a cold breakfast before heading to the trail. The alarm went off along with another clap of thunder. I was having flashbacks of the last hike into the Canyon that I took in October. It was pouring rain on that day as well. This time I decided to skip the rain soaking hike and ride in the SAG wagon with my friends from Austin to the North Rim. I was hoping for better weather the next day so that I could then hike from North to South and at least complete half of my planned hike. I wished my other two hiking friends (the ones that brought proper rain gear) good luck and went back to bed.
Two hours later, my friend, the one that stayed back with me due to the rain, knocked on my door to drag me out of bed for coffee. I was very surprised to see that the rain had passed and that it now looked like perfect hiking weather. We made a quick decision to gather our gear and head to the trail head. The two campers were still around and agreed to drive us to the trail head as we frantically made peanut butter sandwiches in the back seat to stick into our packs.
It was 7:18a when we took our first steps into the Canyon. I was a little nervous despite the fact that it was at least my fifth trip down the Bright Angel trail as this was the first time I was doing it without my usual male hiking companions. This time, I was the leader and felt responsible for my friend's safety. It was her first time into the Canyon and I knew it was a long hike (nearly 23 miles) and would take us close to twelve hours.
Off we went. I was feeling pretty confident until about 15 minutes later when my friend said that she was surprised that the mules could really pass people on such a narrow trail. This caused the alarm bells to go off in my head and I realized that we had missed the very first switch back and had wandered off trail. So much for being a good leader! It was a short hike back to the real trail and we were off again until we hit the first of many bathroom breaks at the mile and a half house.
We successfully made our way to Phantom Ranch where we wondered around a bit before finding the correct trail that would lead us to the North Rim. For some reason I had it in my head that we needed to stay on the Bright Angel Trail. Eventually we located the map board that told us to get on the North Kaibab Trail. I can't believe that in just two years I had forgotten. That is what I get from depending on others to lead.
It was a long haul from Phantom Ranch to Cottonwood Camp and the only excitement that we had was when a snake slithered onto the trail right in front of my boot. I must have frightened him too as he quickly turned around and went back into the grass.
We had a quick stop at Cottonwood to eat our sandwiches, cool our toes, change our band-aids and put on clean socks. We had a goal. We needed to get out of the Canyon in time to shower before our 8p dinner reservations! This was one meal that we didn't want to miss as we were burning every calorie that we would be eating and then some! In total we burned 7,098 calories. It would taste good to get some real food after all of the nuts, bars, e-load drinks and other stuff we were consuming to fuel our bodies throughout the day.
We kept up a steady pace and finally made it out at 6:40p. It took us just a bit over 11 and half hours! Whoo hoo! We were lucky to have hiked on a cool day and experienced no problems ... until later in the evening when I started shaking and was unable to stay seated at the table during dinner. I retreated to the bathroom several times, but what I really wanted to do was to go to sleep. I couldn't eat more than a bite or two and felt like I had the worst case of flu. I guess I didn't eat and drink quite enough while on the trail.
I decided to ride in the SAG wagon the next morning and not push myself a second day. It was a good decision. My knee was hurting a bit and I'm hoping to compete in the Danskin Tri in less than two weeks.
Sorry this was so long. Happy trails everyone and stay safe!
I went with my husband and a girl friend from Austin. We arrived in Phoenix on Monday night and left for the Canyon early Tuesday morning along with three more friends from Phoenix and two additional friends from Austin that were coming along to drive our SAG wagon from the South Rim to the North while four of us hiked from South to North. The other two hikers were planning to hike to Horn Creek and camp for the night.
We spent the first day getting used to the altitude and had a lovely bus tour from the Bright Angel trail head to the Hermits Rest Trail head. We got off at every stop and took in the views.
No one slept well that night as we were all awake listening to a raging thunder storm as it shook the walls of our hotel room. We had a wake up call for 4:30a with plans to meet in one room for a cold breakfast before heading to the trail. The alarm went off along with another clap of thunder. I was having flashbacks of the last hike into the Canyon that I took in October. It was pouring rain on that day as well. This time I decided to skip the rain soaking hike and ride in the SAG wagon with my friends from Austin to the North Rim. I was hoping for better weather the next day so that I could then hike from North to South and at least complete half of my planned hike. I wished my other two hiking friends (the ones that brought proper rain gear) good luck and went back to bed.
Two hours later, my friend, the one that stayed back with me due to the rain, knocked on my door to drag me out of bed for coffee. I was very surprised to see that the rain had passed and that it now looked like perfect hiking weather. We made a quick decision to gather our gear and head to the trail head. The two campers were still around and agreed to drive us to the trail head as we frantically made peanut butter sandwiches in the back seat to stick into our packs.
It was 7:18a when we took our first steps into the Canyon. I was a little nervous despite the fact that it was at least my fifth trip down the Bright Angel trail as this was the first time I was doing it without my usual male hiking companions. This time, I was the leader and felt responsible for my friend's safety. It was her first time into the Canyon and I knew it was a long hike (nearly 23 miles) and would take us close to twelve hours.
Off we went. I was feeling pretty confident until about 15 minutes later when my friend said that she was surprised that the mules could really pass people on such a narrow trail. This caused the alarm bells to go off in my head and I realized that we had missed the very first switch back and had wandered off trail. So much for being a good leader! It was a short hike back to the real trail and we were off again until we hit the first of many bathroom breaks at the mile and a half house.
We successfully made our way to Phantom Ranch where we wondered around a bit before finding the correct trail that would lead us to the North Rim. For some reason I had it in my head that we needed to stay on the Bright Angel Trail. Eventually we located the map board that told us to get on the North Kaibab Trail. I can't believe that in just two years I had forgotten. That is what I get from depending on others to lead.
It was a long haul from Phantom Ranch to Cottonwood Camp and the only excitement that we had was when a snake slithered onto the trail right in front of my boot. I must have frightened him too as he quickly turned around and went back into the grass.
We had a quick stop at Cottonwood to eat our sandwiches, cool our toes, change our band-aids and put on clean socks. We had a goal. We needed to get out of the Canyon in time to shower before our 8p dinner reservations! This was one meal that we didn't want to miss as we were burning every calorie that we would be eating and then some! In total we burned 7,098 calories. It would taste good to get some real food after all of the nuts, bars, e-load drinks and other stuff we were consuming to fuel our bodies throughout the day.
We kept up a steady pace and finally made it out at 6:40p. It took us just a bit over 11 and half hours! Whoo hoo! We were lucky to have hiked on a cool day and experienced no problems ... until later in the evening when I started shaking and was unable to stay seated at the table during dinner. I retreated to the bathroom several times, but what I really wanted to do was to go to sleep. I couldn't eat more than a bite or two and felt like I had the worst case of flu. I guess I didn't eat and drink quite enough while on the trail.
I decided to ride in the SAG wagon the next morning and not push myself a second day. It was a good decision. My knee was hurting a bit and I'm hoping to compete in the Danskin Tri in less than two weeks.
Sorry this was so long. Happy trails everyone and stay safe!