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Published: January 4th 2010
UPDATED: January 3, 2009 I saw a t-shirt that said, "I Love the Grand Canyon" with a hip design that I kind of liked. I decided that I would wait until after we hiked out of the Grand Canyon before I made any purchasing decisions.
I wound up buying a shot glass instead If they had a shirt that said, "I might love the Grand Canyon a few years from now when the incredible pain from hiking to the bottom and back out is a distant memory"....I would have bought that one.
We were off to a good start heading down the South Kaibab Trail. A couple hours into it I thought to myself,
"this is great...I could do this all day!" Our bags were heavy with water. While there are a couple water stations on the trail, you are told to take plenty because if the pipes break you're out of luck. Fortunately for us the trail was under construction so all of the mules had been re-routed down Bright Angel Trail.
As you can probably imagine, the site was incredible, but you only got to enjoy it when you paused to take a look,
Alex
Hiking down the Grand Canyona picture, or a break because attention to the path is crucial. While we commonly think of heat rising, the canyon is actually hotter at the bottom than at the top, which is fantastic after five hours of hiking. To this day, January 3rd, Alex's big toe is still black under his nail from being on his toes the entire hike down.
Once at the bottom, you cross a long bridge across the Colorado River to get to the path that leads to Phantom Ranch. There were benches and a sign that said,
"Tired? Stop and take a break." I had decided I would rather stop and break after dumping my bag and ditching my shoes. After all, we had just passed a sign with an arrow pointing to our final destination.
About 10 minutes later is about the point that I lost my mind. I just kept saying,
"This is a joke, right?...This has to be a f**king joke." From that point, the ranch was I don't know how far away, but after hiking down into a canyon for five hours, no signs letting you know how much further, than passing cabin after cabin for
staff, I was ready to fall on the ground and call it quits. Just a
sign. That was all I wanted. All I needed. A glimpse of hope that the journey was almost over.
We checked in, found our "dorm" rooms, and because boys and girls are separated, we went split to our designated bunks. It wasn't until I peeled off my filthy, sweaty, hiking boots and socks that I realized I didn't bring a pair of shorts or sandals to change into. Only a t-shirt, sports bra, and change of underwear. That was it. Everything else was food and water.
At that point, it didn't matter though. I zonked out and was just happy to be horizontal.
Some other gals started to trickle in. One, in her late 50's, early 60's, I would guess, had hiked the canyon numerous times and just got in from the north end of the trail....a nine hour hike down! Out of her ever-loving mind is what I say, but props to her for being able to do it. Another gal, who looked pretty fit, got in and she was sick. They tell you to drink, and eat, a LOT. There
is warning after warning that this isn't the time to diet. If you don't eat, you won't have the electrolytes in your body to process the water. She didn't eat. Eating is the last thing you feel like doing. It is hot, you're tired, and have no appetite, so I couldn't blame her. I had to force down every bite and probably didn't eat anywhere near as much as they recommended (double your calories, double your fun is what they promote.), but enough to get me by.
Alex and I found a bench in the river, literally, in the river, to soak our feet and let the little fish nibble at our toes. Mule Deer wandered around. Alex watched the mother feed the baby while I was snoozing. After dinner we listened to one of the rangers talk about the history of the canyon and its many different layers. I called it quits around 7 and went to bed for the night. We had to be up at 4 am to start our journey out.
It was pitch black in the girl's cabin. Flashlight in hand, I got dressed, gathered my gear, and headed outside to patch up
my feet before we started back up. We picked up our sack lunches (cold bagel w cream cheese, pretzels, apple, summer sausage - high cal, high sodium) and hit the Bright Angle Trail. Nine miles to get out.
Five miles up, again, I thought,
"This is great! We could do this all day!" We did do it all day. It took us 8 hours to get out. We had been forewarned about the last mile and how it is hell for even the veteran hikers. The further we went after mile five, the more I thought my legs were turning into stone. We would stop to rest, force ourselves to eat, and I'd roll big rocks under my calves to try to loosen the muscle. Resting was pointless. You didn't feel anymore rested or less sore, you only delayed getting out those few minutes longer. Alex started to become delirious, cracking himself up over beef jerky. The passing mules kicked up dirt with remnants of their fecal matter and urine. We pressed ourselves against walls, or climbed up a boulder to get out of the way while nine or ten passed with passengers on their backs. I covered my
face with my shirt to try to avoid breathing it as much as I could.
The worst part about the last mile is that you are conquering one of the biggest feats of your life and emerging from the canyon
"We Are the Champions" by Queen should be blaring, but there is nothing. There are hundreds of tourists skipping and running up and down this mile stretch and looking at you like,
"wow, that mile really ran you ragged," not realizing that people are crazy enough to actually venture to the very bottom. We finally got to the very end, found our car, then had no where to go.
We drove for a while and found a hotel to stay at for the night. That shower was priceless. Our legs were so stiff we walked around as if our knees didn't exist, bobbing up and down.
Bottom line is that it *was* amazing. It was beautiful, challenging, fun, exhausting, and hands down the biggest physical accomplishment of my life. Am I glad we did it? Absolutely. Would I do it again? Only if it were far enough down the road that I cannot clearly remember the exact
pain that comes with it. Am I burnt out on Cliff Bars? You betcha!
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Liz
non-member comment
I lol'd ...
at the bullfrog! Holy crap looks like he needs to go on that hike!