Travel Day
Thursday, June 14, 2007
I’m on vacation! Finally… I’m going to the Grand Canyon, someplace I have never been before, a new adventure with my hiking buddy who really is the instigator of this adventure vacation. I pack my bags, hoping I have everything I need, and very early in the morning,we are off!
The flight to Phoenix is running a little late, which causes some anxiety about making the 3 o’clock shuttle van from Phoenix to Flagstaff. We make it only because they wait for us. I sit in the front seat and Nancy sits next to a lady with a terrible cough in the back. It’s hot. Thermometers said 110°. It doesn’t feel that hot, but it’s hot. The drive up to Flagstaff shows off the variety of western desert terrain. From the aridity of the city of Phoenix through the mountains north of Phoenix where we hit an area where Saguaro cactus spreads out across the hills with red flowers dotting their up-thrust arms. These bad boys can weigh up to a thousand pounds – you wouldn’t want to tangle with one. Lots and lots of empty land and no small towns dotting the landscape like they do in New England. Just an occasional house and lots of empty land.
We arrive at the Little America hotel and check in, grateful to finally be able to rest. We both perform the stereotypical full body flop onto the bed, arms outstretched and reveling in the luxury of being prone for a few minutes. We then scope out the gift shop and head to the cafe for supper. Still trying to be “good”, we order salads. Blah. By then our eastern time says it’s way past bedtime so we set our alarm and hit the sack.
Lower Antelope Canyon
Friday, June 15, 2007
We don’t sleep well – no surprise – and are up before the alarm. We pack and head to the cafe for breakfast, knowing we have to meet the group at 8:00 am. I’m pretty psyched and curious to meet the ten people and two guides who will be our companions on this adventure. Who will they be? How old? How fit? What stories will they have to tell? A little before 8:00 am, we head to the lobby where we see the World Outdoors van pulling up. There we meet Bill, the owner of the company and the lead guide for the trip, and Mark, a 25-year old guide who has been with the company for three years (a long time in the guiding world) and who hasn’t actually done a rim to rim hike yet.
As we wait, the rest of the group arrives in drips and drabs. Ann and Buzz, a couple from Wisconsin, high school teachers, and their friends Tom and Mary – Tom was Buzz’s high school basketball coach when Buzz was a freshman – they became friends and remained friends all these years. That makes me smile. I like that story right off. Then Bonnie and Tracee, friends from Chicago, and Jenn and Chris, a young couple celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary. Jenn says she’s been pregnant or nursing for the last 5 years and this is the first vacation they’ve taken since they started to build their family. Man, not my thing. Lisa, a brave and courageous woman traveling alone, is celebrating 10 years of remission from cancer. Brenda, also traveling alone, from Vancouver, Canada is celebrating her 50th birthday. We stand in a circle in front of the hotel and introduce ourselves: name, where we’re from, our occupation and why we’re on this trip. After that we pile into the van and take off for the north rim. Whoo hooo!
The drive feels long to me – I am so ready to get out and move! When we finally arrive at Lower Antelope Canyon, a slot canyon near Page, AZ, I ‘m ready. Unfortunately, this slot canyon is also known for the loss of 11 lives to a flash flood on August 12, 1997. That’s sobering but my enthusiasm and the fact there’s not a cloud in the sky and the temps in the mid 100’s lead me down into the shadowy gloom. The temperature drops ten degrees as we climb down. It’s eerie and gorgeous and amazing. The canyon floor is over 75 feet deep in places, maybe more – I’m not good with distances. The walk through the canyon is only a quarter mile, but with all the picture taking and oohing and aahing, it takes an hour or more. The color of the light, the feel of the canyon walls, the warm air on my skin – everything is perfect. Absolutely perfect.
Out of the canyon, we walk back to the van and head north toward the Grand Canyon Lodge, located on the north rim of the Grand Canyon. We stop at the Navajo Bridge which spans the Colorado River just down from Lee’s Ferry where all the rafting trips launch, and take pictures. Then we load ourselves back in the van and make the two hour trip to the Lodge. We pass through some country that’s awe inspiring. Forests of Ponderosa Pine and open meadows that look like they must be man made but aren’t. The western meadows are gorgeous. 
We arrive at the Lodge around 4:30 pm with dinner reservations for 6:15 pm. Bill suggests we check in and freshen up before walking out to Bright Angel Point. Nancy is beside herself with the need to see the Canyon and votes on going now, immediately, to the rim. Everyone agrees, so we drop our bags in our cabin and meet in the parking lot.
My first view of the Canyon is breathsucking – wow – what a huge place, and we are only seeing a small portion of the vastness of it. The late afternoon light shows off the south rim and the temples in between are highlighted by incredible color. It’s hard to walk, look and take pictures at the same time – I stumble along, amazed and awed, with Nancy smiling beside me, happy to see the look of joy on my face. Reluctantly we eventually walk back to our cabins, shower and dress for dinner. The dining room is a large glassed-in enclosure with ceilings that must be 50 feet high. Everything is dark, with old wood and a deck overlooking the rim filled with chairs where people sit and take in the view. We wait a while to be seated and end up at a table with Buzz, Ann, Tom and Mary. We eat a delicious meal and afterward Nancy and I take off for the deck to take a sunset picture. We’re pretty tired so we head back to our cabin where Nancy proceeds to laugh, high on being in the Canyon at last. She finally calms down and we fall into another night of restless sleep.
Widforss Trail
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Stats
Miles: 10
Time: 6 hours
Nancy and I wake up early – so what else is new? – we dress and head for the breakfast line. Nancy is really feeling the effects of the dry climate – she says she woke up in the middle of the night barely able to swallow, her tongue so dry and swollen. I feel the dryness but am not having the same problem. We end up eating with Bill – the breakfast buffet is good and filling. With some time ahead of us, Nancy and I walk down the rim trail until we find a bench and sit gazing at the Canyon in silence for half an hour. I can hardly describe how exquisite it feels to sit there with my best friend and look upon this huge expanse of majestic beauty, knowing we are actually going to walk from one rim to the other. A couple stops to admire the view and we ask them to take our picture. Reluctantly we amble back. As we near the Lodge, we stop near a small bridge where we see two baby chipmunks – siblings – wrestling under the watchful eye of their mom. They ignore us and we walk right by them as they play. So cute.
Afterward, we gear up and load into the van for a short drive to the Widforss Trail. What a beautiful trail! 10 miles round trip and such a variety of flora and fauna that I am in overwhelm from the wonder of it. We start off crawling down the trail – at least that’s what the pace feels like to me. Mark is in the lead and he’s moving so slowly I think I’m going to go crazy. Finally, after a short rest/picture stop, Nancy and I ask if we can go ahead and he says yes. Phew! What a relief! Nancy i s going out of her mind – her patience with the pace even lower than mine. Heading out at our own pace feels glorious – the sun on my face, the warmth of the day, the strength in my legs. I’m suffering from some pain on the outside of my right knee and have been for three or four days. I’m worried how it will do on the rim to rim. As I warm up, the pain lessens, receding into the back of my mind.
I love the forest – full of Ponderosa Pines, some very old, with bark that smells like vanilla. And blue lupine – a shorter version than the ones we see in the east – tons of them. Our eastern forests are so dense – this western forest is sparsely furnished with low dry grasses, wild flowers, short bushes and empty space dotted by Ponderosa Pines. Very cool. The trail follows the rim of a canyon called the Transept, a north rim tributary that flows into Bright Angel Canyon we’re going to hike tomorrow. At one point we stop to take pictures and see folks edging their way out onto a point of rock that’s about ten feet wide at its widest and about 30 feet from the edge, with sides that go straight down for 800 feet. 
We stand in line as folks ahead of us crawl out as far as their fear will let them before turning and smiling into the camera. When it’s our turn, I go first, and although I don’t like heights and can sometimes be completely undone by fear, walk out to the end where Nancy and I pose for our picture. Eventually the trail turns into the forest – again I love it – so different from home – with new bird sounds, new flowers, new trees – it feels great to be alive and exactly where I am.
We reach the point at the end of the Widforss Trail, take more pictures, and sit for a while, soaking it in. The view is magnificent. Meanwhile Bill and Mark prepare a delicious lunch – tabbouleh, chips and different hummus dips, a variety of breads and meats and cheeses, olives, topped off with Fig Newtons. Nancy and I had thought to bring our sandals, having heard that it’s important to take our boots off every time we have the chance. Bliss. After lunch, we clean up and head back. Once again, Nancy and I are in the lead. Halfway back, Chris and Jenn join us and thus is formed the A Team – we are compatible hikers in terms of speed and humor. Jenn is a young mother of three small children and Chris is a software engineer, the more introverted of the two. Jenn is outgoing and optimistic, full of fun and energy. We like them immediately and trade the lead from then on.
We reach the trailhead at 3:30 pm and rue the fact that we had not asked for the van keys since inside the trailer sits a cooler full of cold drinks. We wait for maybe 35 minutes before the group finally joins us. The trailer is opened and cold drinks passed around – Diet Pepsi for me and a diet peach Snapple iced tea for Nancy. Bliss. Someone then notices 4 Mule deer at the other end of the parking lot – they are so unafraid, munching on the grass, allowing us to get close and take pictures. They look similar to our White Tailed Deer, only they have a small tail, not very white, and big mule-like ears. All four are does. So beautiful. Eventually the novelty wears off and we pack ourselves into the van for the short trip back to our cabins. We shower and walk to the Lodge to make a phone call home, check out the gift shop, and sit on the deck in a rare vacant chair.
At 6:30 pm we meet at the van and drive down the road to a picnic area where Mark is busy preparing our BBQ dinner. Chicken in teriyaki marinade, salmon, fresh asparagus, and Portobello mushrooms. I’m feeling a little standoffish, unwilling to mingle with the group, tired and feeling like I don’t fit in. That’s such a tiresome place to be emotionally – that not fitting in place – but I stick it out and no one but Nancy notices anything untoward. Relief to get back to the cabin, pack up and go to bed.
North Kaibab Trail
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Stats
Miles: 14.44
Time: 9.5 hours
We’re up by 4:30 am and meet the guides at the van for breakfast at 5:00 am. Not really my kind of breakfast – yogurt – blech – and fruit and bagels. I eat a bagel with peanut butter and drink some orange juice. We make our lunches – turkey, cheese, and lettuce – chips and pretzels and carrots. We pack the trailer with our suitcases, load our packs on top and head for the trailhead. The temperature where we eat breakfast is probably in the mid 50s – when we get out of the van at the trailhead, maybe three miles down the road, the temperature is in the 40s. Incredible difference. Nancy is freezing and we stand around for a while before hitting the trail at 6:35 am.
The trail is dusty and very dry – the dirt so fine it’s almost like talcum powder. It changes color as we move through the different layers of rocks – tan, charcoal, red. My knee is still bothering me, but like the day before, once I warm up, the discomfort is manageable and I am relieved. Unlike the trails we’ve been climbing in the White Mountains (which are rocky, full of roots and straight up), these trails are all switch backs, with smooth trail and the descent is much less steep. The trail smells of mule piss and mule dung – par for the course since mule trains travel up and down these trails every day. We start out walking with Bill, Jenn and Chris close behind us. We stop at the Coconino Overlook for a group picture and an hour later reach the Supai Tunnel rest area where there is a composting toilet. We wait for everyone to catch up, then decide that the A Team has to set its own pace so we move on as a group of 5 – Mark our personal guide. It’s great because he knows a lot of the plant names – especially interesting is the Century plant. These plants bloom only once in their life. The blooming spike is so large and grows so fast that it saps all the resources of the plant, which then dies, leaving a tall wooden seed stalk. The plant is called the “century plant” because of this “once a century” bloom (actually the plant lives an average of 25 years).
The steepest part of the North Kaibab Trail is the first 4.5 miles. We pass Roaring Springs, the source of water for Phantom Ranch, the Grand Canyon Lodge and most of the South Rim village, and is pumped out via a pipe that was laid under the trail we walked back in the 1930s, during the Depression, by the CCC. As we near the Ranger’s Station, the sound of cicadas becomes so loud that we can hardly hear each other. Their wails are our constant companions for the next 36 hours. We arrive at 9:45 am – take off our boots, put on water sandals, and walk down to the creek to dunk feet and bandanas. Cold, cold water – while the three women are at the creek, the ranger comes out and speaks to Mark and Chris – warning them that the extreme temperatures will make walking through what they call the “box” a dangerous endeavor. The ranger recommends waiting until 4 o’clock when there will be more shade before continuing. We wait until the rest of the group arrives – about 45 minutes – and ask Bill, the lead guide, if we can go on. We feel great, are hydrated, have plenty of water, and our next stop is Ribbon Falls.
Bill acquiesces and says he’ll be the sweep (last person on the trail). We put on our boots and take off. We arrive at Cottonwood Campground around 11:00 am. It’s hot, really hot – we’re in the desert with very little shade – just soaring cliffs framing the trail. We fill our camelbacks and water bottles, wet bandanas and soak our heads before continuing on. Both Nancy and I do well with the heat – we remind each other to sip water every 5-10 minutes and we feel fine. Although our sweat evaporates almost immediately, I don’t feel any ill effects from the sun or the heat. I do put on a hat though, despite the fact that I hate hats. It helps. We reach the spur trail to Ribbon Falls and hike in – Chris isn’t feeling well – he needs to eat, so they stay back and climb up to an alcove that is in the shade. Nancy, Mark and I walk up to the falls. It’s incredibly beautiful. At the base of the falls there is a mound of minerals called travertine which is covered by a thick spongy layer of some kind of moss-like plant. Other hikers are resting near there. After we drink our fill we walk back to the alcove and join Jenn and Chris for lunch. My knee is bothering me so I chew three Advil’s and eat my lunch.
Chris’ nose is so dry from the heat and the lack of humidity that when he tries to blow it he ends up with a bloody nose. Poor guy – and the steep pitch of the alcove and the lack of food has him feeling pretty yucky. Mark tries to encourage us to stay out of the sun for a while, waiting a while so that there will be more shade, but all of us want to press on. Our concession is waiting an extra 15 minutes. We come down from the alcove and meet Lisa, Ann and Buzz. The two women sit on rocks in the creek under a rock overhang. They’re hot and not interested in seeing the falls. We leave them there and head out. We take a shortcut and cross over the creek before getting back on the main trail. It’s hot, yes indeedy – but we were OK and continue our pace for the next hour. Nancy mentions that she loves leading and seeing the trail stretch out before her, seeing it curve and wind into the distance. I know what she is talking about.
I’m leading when the trail ends in the creek and it doesn’t look like it’s passable. I turn around because I had seen some surveyor’s tape marking an alternate trail through some tall grass and mud – it stank of rot – and we gingerly step through it. Unfortunately, Nancy has a misstep and ends up in the muck up to her knee. Her feet are wet, not a good combination in this kind of heat, but she gamely hikes on. Jenn is on a mission – dinner at Phantom Ranch by 5 o’clock.
We start into the “box” at 2:00 pm. The box is basically a slot canyon carved out of one of the oldest layers of rock – a black rock called Vishnu Schist. I can see how walking through this convection oven at noon when the sun is directly overhead can be very dangerous. The sides of the walls are about 75 feet wide and the trail was carved into the rock on one side. An hour into the box, Nancy step wrong and stops immediately, saying she has something going on with her boot. We tell the others to go on and she sits to inspect her situation. What we find is a nasty blister – the misstep has caused the skin to peal away from her heel. She is in pain. We put on a bandage, but don’t really think through what we’re doing since we have so rarely had to dress blisters in the field. I suggest she change into dry socks, but she’s feeling anxious about holding up the others and declines. She gets up and continues walking until we catch up to them. By then she’s in obvious pain and we stop again to ask Mark to dress her foot properly and change into dry socks. Good idea.
Once her blister is dressed, we make short work of the rest of the trail, reaching Phantom Ranch at 4:13 pm. We’re dusty and tired and hungry when we finally hit the ranch – at 4:00 pm it’s still very very hot. Mark checks us in and we walk into our bunkhouse. The cool air that greets us is like something out of another world. It isn’t cold air – it’s cool, perfect air. The A/C in the room is what’s called a swamp cooler. I have never seen one before. One room in the bunkhouse has three sets of bunk beds and the smaller back room has two sets. We decide the snorers should stay in the back room and the rest of us in the front room. I’m on top and Nancy takes the bottom bunk. It feels so good to take off our boots and lie down for 5 minutes before dinner is announced.
Dinner is served family style in the Phantom Ranch canteen. There are four long tables seating 10 each and the most uncomfortable chairs I have ever sat in. Dinner is steak, baked potato, corn, peas & carrots, corn bread, salad, iced tea and chocolate cake. The next group of hikers arrives at 5:20 pm – Ann, Buzz and Lisa are ushered in straight off the trail and fed. We give them a standing ovation. The rest of the group arrives when we’re sitting outside after the meal – they are asked to wait until 8:00 pm to be served – after the 6:30 pm diners are finished. We shower in the women’s shower room – three showers, sinks and toilets – very warm – no ventilation. The shower feels so good. When the canteen opens at 8:00 pm, we buy some lemonade (Lemmy’s) and sit on a bench by the creek, rehydrating.
Shortly thereafter we decide to go to bed – I’m ready. Jenn and Chris are already in their bunks reading when we come in. We leave the lights on for Bonnie and Tracee and things finally settle down about 45 minutes later. With all the water we have drunk after and during dinner, the mass exodus to the toilet starts around 2:00 am. My first experience getting down off the bunk bed in pitch dark borders on hysterical – I run into the door, then can’t find the light and because I can’t find the light I can’t find the toilet paper. I finally find the toilet paper and then wonder if I should flush or not. What a production. Don’t get any good, deep sleep, but get enough to feel okay the next day.