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Grand Canyon 2015 Part 2

Posted on January 2, 2016 12:55 pm by beno Comment

It has been too long since part one, so here it is for you to go back and refresh your memories….

https://thebaldgeek.net/index.php/2015/06/28/grand-canyon-2015-part1/

The short catch-up version is, I don’t know how to use a fax machine. I don’t now how to select the correct weather forecast for the area we are heading into. We booked a motel in the wrong town. We caught the slow bus. Things started out Ok, but were heating up quick.

Ok, so, as I said, the trip started out well enough, the slope is gentle and the steps are not too frequent.
What we did not relize at this stage is that because Freddy was using the walking sticks, it made it hard for her to use her drink tube. So while Terry and I were sucking down a little bit of water pretty often, Freddy was not taking in anywhere near as much.

At the next major stop, we had some food and proper fluids. Freddy commented that her shoes were starting to hurt, but nothing too bad, no blisters or anything, so we adjusted the tension on the laces and kept going.

The further you get in, the more the logs (aka steps) kick in. Each one is a bit of jar. This is why Freddy was using the sticks, to help ease the jolt onto her hips, and feet.
I will skip the really ugly photos, but we needed to stop a few more times and put bandages and stuff on Freddys feet to try and ease the pain and future pain.
It was only as we got near the bottom that it became clear just how dehydrated Freddy was.
After you go through the tunnel you come to the bridge that crosses the Colorado River.
It has amazing light and it is a bit of a tradition for me to take a selfie as I go though….

This means that we are close to the first major resting spot. Phantom Ranch.

Here is a shot of the three of us crossing the bridge.

One look at Freddy’s face pretty much sums it up for her.
Not long after getting over the bridge and half a mile along the river, she called it and said that she really needed to rest.
By this time it was hot, really hot. Like around 100 def F hot (37 C)……
We got Freddy to the junction of where Bright Angel Creek meets the Colorado, there is a little shelter there with some shade. We sat her down, took her pack off, wet down her hat and scarf and told her to stay put.
The plan was for Terry and I to go up to Phantom Ranch cantina, drop Terry and my pack off and then I was going to come back and get Freddy’s pack and walk back up to Terry (who was resting under the big trees).
Once the three of us were all there, it was always the plan to rest up for an hour or two, have a solid feed and refill the water bottles before heading the two miles to the first camp spot toward Clear Creek.
So that’s what we did. Terry and double timed it up to the cantina, dumped my pack and then I ran back down to where we left Freddy.
When I got back to the little hut, she was no where to be seen.

Here is my log of the trip into the Canyon.
The blue line is our pace. It is in miles per minute. It is pretty clear the bump in pace around the 7 to 8 mile mark where first Terry and I went double time, then the big jump up where I ran (yes, ran) back to get Freddy.

So, there I am, in the heat, looking for my heat affected wife… She had one job to do, sit in the shade… Just felt the need to point that out. One. Job. Sit. Stay.

Turns out, she thought she was feeling better just a moment or two before I got back and so she got up, hoisted her pack and started to try and find the right path (there are a few since it is the entrance to the Bright Angel campground) that would take her to where she (thought) knew we would be.
After a few minutes of me jogging around looking up a little of each of the trails, I found her wondering around looking slightly lost, but better. Her face had a little color in it.

It was a shortish walk back to Terry and we caught a seat on one of the picnic tables under the tree and started to cool off and eat some real food.
As expected, a few hours latter, she was feeling much better, but still had some sore feet.

The camping permits are pretty clear, you must camp at the grounds marked on your permit, for us, that was Clear Creek. About 2 miles away, a solid but very very beautiful climb away.

She is a little tough to spot, but here is a shot of Freddy on the trail.
We got to the point where, since there was no one on that trail (one of the many reasons why I like it), I would quickly march ahead, drop my pack off, then jog back to Freddy, grab her pack and walk with her up to my pack.
This really took a load off her feet. And so before long we got to the first spot where overnight camping is allowed along the trail to Clear Creek.
And thus we made camp.

(Terry’s tent is just to the right of ours).

So, there we were. 3 hot ‘happy’ campers.

Family Fitness Life in the USA Trips 📎and tagged grand canyon hiking
Grand Canyon – Part 6

Posted on December 9, 2014 4:02 am by beno Comment

Our last day in the Canyon was pretty straight forward. Wake up. Hike out. Drive home.

We got started around sunrise.

Here’s Lloyd hoisting his pack, ready to hike out. He knew how much up there was, me on the other hand, ignorance is bliss.

I found that I just love hiking. It was the first time that I have done this much and was just smitten with the whole thing.

I took this next photo for my mate BA.
He’s always telling me ‘If you’re not on the edge, you’re taking up too much space’.
So, here is a photo of me on the edge just for you BA;

I love this shot, not just ’cause I’m on the edge, but because it also shows a great view of the Canyon and again showing the trail, in this case behind us.

Up and up. The odd thing about it was two fold, firstly, because it was cold at the bottom, it was even colder up higher. They had a dusting of snow that night (melted by the time we got there, but there was still some frozen patches of water around), so the higher you hiked the colder it got. As you were hiking you kept warm, but you never got warmer, so gloves and jacket were required. It just felt weird to not warm up.
Secondly, we were going from ~3500 feet to ~7000 feet, the air was getting thinner. The higher you hiked, the harder it got because the air was getting thinner. Fun.

I had some time to think a bit about the whole thing and one thing that really jumped out at me was the fact that I was carrying everything I needed to keep me going for the past 4 days. All the food, clothing, shelter, everything.
I packed just the right amount for the weather we stuck. I used everything I took (Other than a pack of tissues), so did not feel that I was carrying more than I needed. Yes, it was low tech, so it was a bit heavier than it could be, but given my time and budget, we managed.

The other thing that really stuck me was how much time had passed in this place. The Canyon is old. Really old.
It was clear to me like never before that we are simply tourists on this planet. We are just specks. It was pretty humbling.

I’m very grateful to Lloyd for getting the camping permits and for inviting me along.
It was an amazing trip. I just had a blast.

Read the start of it all here, at Part Zero.

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Click on ‘Trips’ in the Categories to see the other parts of this epic Canyon adventure.

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Grand Canyon – Part 5

Posted on December 6, 2014 4:00 am by beno Comment

The plan – the requirement – was to camp at Indian Gardens Sunday night.
It was a simple plan, hike back from Clear Creek to Phantom Ranch, and from there up the South Kaibab trail about half way (the way we came down) and then hang a right at the Tonto Trail and take that to Indian Gardens.

Since there was little sleep due to the wind and rain, we were up at sunrise – even Lloyd was awake – we got a good start on the day.

The view while heading back was just as amazing as the view heading out the day before.

The trail was quiet at that time in the morning, the light on the rocks was amazing, the air was clear and cold after the rain and so it was just beautiful.

Before we knew it we were back at Phantom Ranch, filling our water bottles – there was no water between here and Indian Gardens, some 8 miles away – going to the toilet and heading off.

We headed off back the way we came and hiked our way up a fair bit up the South Kaibab Trail. You have already seen photos of that bit, so we will spare you from much the same view heading the other way.

Around half way up, we got to our turn off.

Up till this point, I had my headphones in, there was some traffic as usual on the South Kaibab and I was not feeling the need to talk. Not only that, but hiking the Canyon while listening to Trance is a… well…. it’s up there with my list of all time amazing life experiences.
Once we got to the Tonto Trail, we could tell it was less traveled and so I was happy to take them out……

The views were just astounding.
Even Lloyd who has seen a lot of the Canyon over the years was blown away……
Hard not to be with a view like this;

You see the Canyon from a totally different aspect. One side is further away, but just as towering, there is the plateau and then down the slope is more of the Canyon.

No one photo can make it clear just what it was like hiking along this trail. It was further than we expected, but the weather was so nice and we were in such good spirits that it really did not matter, in fact, I was a little disappointed when we got to Indian Gardens.

Here is the track profile. You can clearly see the hike up the Canyon and then along the plateau.

We ended up doing around 10 miles.
We made camp just before sunset and then headed out to plateau point to watch the sunset… It was only three miles… So yeah, in one day we hiked a half marathon. Hehe, I was pretty stoked.

That night was cold. A bit below zero but thankfully no wind or rain, so it was bearable.
There was a little presentation put on in the Rangers station that we attended. It was a silent movie about the surveying of the Colorado River in 1923, the Ranger provided narration while it was playing.
It was really well done and very worthwhile to attend. I understand that the society we live in requires power – I’m using a laptop to write this and you are viewing it on a computer – other than my Dad, all of us are plugged into the grid – some removed from the Colorado, some close – anyway, I understand that we need power, and the river can provide a lot of that when we dam it and tame it, but it was sad to see the movie of how it used to run.

Read Part 6 here.

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Click on ‘Trips’ in the categories to the left to see other parts of the Canyon story.

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Grand Canyon – Part 4

Posted on December 2, 2014 8:31 am by beno Comment

Saturday was an easy day.
Lazy around camp for a bit, go for a walk, late after lunch we pack up and hike around 2 miles to the next camp site.
A place called Clear Creek.

I could not sleep past 4:30, so was up and wandering around with camera in hand……

I was a bit surprised to see headlamps work their way across the bridge at that hour….
They then made their way down the trail towards me.

This time it was my turn to be annoying and hold people up by talking to them… I just had to know what was going on…..
Turns out they were trail runners and were doing a similar trek to us. Down the South Kaibab, along the river and up the Bright Angel.
So, wait, they were at the bottom at 5am…. What time did you guys leave the rim?
3am.
Yeah!! Perhaps one day. If I get to the point where I can rack out 20 miles as easily as I can do my current 13’s, I might have a go at that…….

They move on, and so do I.
The moon is well up and I want to get a few more shots before the sunrise.

Basicly I high tail it back up what we came down yesterday.
I know there is a really sweet lookout back up the trail and I want to get there for sunrise.
I do and I am not disappointed.

I won’t say much here, but it was an amazing experience standing there on my own watching this sunrise on Saturday morning.
Just. Amazing.

Heading back down, I wanted to take a photo of Bright Angel Creek.

Lloyd is awake when I get back, so I had coffee and oats for breakfast!

We went for a walk along the river since we were not going to see that part of the river again, thought we better take it in while we could.

I know it looks similar, but this is infact the South Kaibab Bridge, it is also known as South Bright Angel Bridge.
(Cause, you know, thats not confusing!).

Anyway, we have lunch, slowly pack up camp and head off to Clear Creek trailhead.

The trail guide said that this is not a well traveled path and so is not maintained much by the park service.
Yowza were they ever understating things!
It was fantastic!!!!
One of my clear highlights of the trip was this trail.

It was just so beautiful, quiet and rugged.
The views were just gob smacking.
A picture tells a thousand words, but even then, it somehow falls short of what it was like being in it.
The hike is along a ridgeline, you have towering cliffs on one side and a breathtaking drop on the other side.

Even the Strava cross section can not really convey the coolness of this trail.

Once we got to the first spot where camping is allowed, we made camp.
Since there is nothing out there (unlike Bright Angel where there are toilets and water), you have to have everything you need, water food and shelter with you.
Lloyd and I cut it a bit fine on the water, we had measured out exactly what we needed and not a lot more. (Remember, we were only 2 miles from water – so it was not that big of a deal, but a lesson for next time).

Again, just some photos to try and show what we were camping in.

This is the view in one direction;

And this is the view in the other direction;

My main camera battery was getting flat, too many cold, long exposures I think, but I just had to keep pushing it.

In the other direction there was some cloud that was picking up some light;

It was a wild night. We had rain, wind and more wind. Not a lot of sleep, but hey, check out the view in the morning after things calmed down a little;

I used the LED torch to light up the tent a little and help it ‘pop’. I deliberately did not do the classic shot of putting the light in the tent. I think that one has been done to death……

Anyway, it was cold, so breakfast (coffee) was of some importance;

Thankfully we got going around sunrise, we knew we had a big day ahead of us, but did not realise just how big.

Read Part 5 here.

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Click on ‘Trips’ in the categories to the left to see more trip reports.

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Grand Canyon – Part 3

Posted on November 29, 2014 2:55 pm by beno 1 Comment

We are about half way down on the first day, and everything is going to plan.
As long as Lloyd takes it easy, his knees are not too painful.
I, on the other hand, can barely keep still. Its just so exciting and beautiful that I am just jumping out of my skin every visita point I get to.

Trust me, I might look relaxed, but infact I am pretty excited.

All in all, the first day is pretty much about just going down and down and down.

Switchback central as you work your way down to the river.

You know you are really close when you get to the tunnel that leads to the South Kaibab bridge.
Chewed out of solid rock the trail goes through the short but slightly curved tunnel to the bridge over the Colorado River.

I hang out a few minutes till Lloyd shows up. I want to cross the river with him and I could see that our camp was not very far away, nor was there any more ‘down’, so we could hike the rest of the way together.

Crossing the river for the first time seems like a pretty big deal…. Its just a river right? I think its because we have hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon that makes it somewhat special.
I mean the river is both at the bottom of the Canyon and the reason for the Canyon, so its pretty cool to be crossing this mighty (or once mighty) river.

It’s only about a 6-7 minute walk from the bridge to our first nights camping spot.
First thing we did was set up our beds.

Next, given breakfast was a cup of coffee on the road to the Canyon, is food. We are both pretty hungry.
The main food / energy source is dehydrated meals that Lloyd has had in storage for ..well……never mind, just add boiling water, wait 9 minutes and it tastes great!

So camp is set, we are refueled and even Lloyd is up for a little sunset walk – a lazy 2ish miles along the river.

While on this walk, I get to take a photo of something a lot of people talk about…. Mule pee…..
The mules are in a chain and there is always a few of them in any given chain. They obviously do the trip a bunch of times and, well, they clearly have their toilet spots marked out.

It stunk really bad even in the Autumn, so I can only imagine what it must be like in the summer!
And yes, the same thing happens with their number twos!
I guess the upside is that at least all that yuck is not spread out over the whole trail so you only have to put up with it here and there.

Anyway, just as we hoped the sunset walk provided some nice views of the river and Canyon.

With the 37 pound pack off my back and a bit of food, I was even more energized. It was just so exciting to be out exploring such an amazing place. Every turn revealed a new look or angle of the light on the rock.
Everywhere you looked there were photos just begging to be taking in a different light, on a different way, in a different way.
I really was at sensory overload…. I kept running back and forth between the next turn and Lloyd asking him if he was seeing this or that.

We headed back to camp at last light and poked around a little.
The camp we were at is called Bright Angel. At the top of the camp is a place called Phantom Ranch.
As well as the rangers station, there are several cabins that can be rented and lastly there is a canteena.
They sell t-shirts, some basic foodstuffs and meals can be ordered for the following day….. and yes, they also sell beer.
Just as we walked in a big cheer was going up for some woman that was turning 40… The noise was way too much for me and I had to turn straight back around and high tail it out of there.
Thankfully Lloyd is a bit (cough-alot-cough) more extrovert than me and hung around long enough to get the two coffees that we headed in for.

It was about 5pm and we were both pretty tired, so yeah, coffee before dinner was in order.
Why?
Because I wanted to take some star light photos, not sleep!

Here is a shot just outside my tent door, from in the campground.

We walked around a bit.
Here is a shot of Lloyd (on the left) sitting on a rock just taking it all in.

There is just a soft murmur of the River, now and then you hear a brief rumble of a passing plane, but for the most part, it’s just dead quiet. It’s one of the blackest skies I have seen in the States.

I wanted a shot of Colorado River, the Canyon and the stars, this is what I ended up with.

Not exactly what I had in mind, but hey it works for me.

From there it was back to bed and just watch the stars through the tent fly.
It was such a warm night that I did not put the rain/dew cover on the tent so could look up at the stars every time I woke up.
It was hard to not be just totally blown away by the whole thing.
Just an amazing first day and first time in the Grand Canyon.

Read Part 4 here.

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Click on ‘Trips’ in the categories to the left to see other trip reports.

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