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| Hiking | 28.00 Miles |
5,800 AEG |
| | Hiking | 28.00 Miles | 12 Hrs 38 Mns | | 2.41 mph |
| 5,800 ft AEG | 1 Hour Break | | | |
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[ show ]
| partners | | My Walk in the Big Ditch
Phrases from the day:
"That's not recommended" From the shuttle Driver at 5:25am, when he asked what we were hiking today.
"You must have gotten an Early Start" From numerous Hikers along the trail
"How many days are you doing it in" When asked on the trail by hikers from Virginia who were used to hiking the Appalachian Trail.
We got to the Camp site about 9:30ish and got set up. Denny built a fire to warm up the bones. I was a little concerned because I brought a 40 degree bag, and the lows were supposed to be 23 degrees.  . The extra cloths I brought kept me warm for the night.
Breaking camp at 3:30 in the morning was real pumpkin cold. I just got the feeling back in my hands today. Wally got us over to the shuttle, and we only waited about 10 minutes. It was nice to warm up in the bus on the way to the Hermit Trailhead.
As we started to hike on the Hermit Trail, the sun came up allowing us to warm up, and start shedding layers. It was just about perfect the rest of the day with temps in the low 60's.
I will not soon forget this trip. The views were just friggin awesome. We were a little unsure as to what to expect on the Monument trail, or how hard it would be to find it, but it was no problem. My one request was that I wanted to see the Colorado River. It did not disappoint. The flow at Granite Rapids was way more than I expected.
Here's a video of Granite Rapids
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n814JehIw-8
The next stop was lunch at Salt Creek and then off to Plateau Point.
The view from Plateau Point
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhZtEt6kgLw
We were amazed at the amount of switchbacks and routing around canyons to get from Hermit/Tonto to Tonto/Bright Angel.
Note to Wally and Denny it took us 14.5 miles to go 4.5 "Crow Flys" miles on the Tonto.
After a short break at Indian Gardens, we started the final march up Bright Angel to the top. Denny and Wally went ahead to make sure the trail was clear. I was sucking air. I thought maybe I was going slow, but not a single person passed me on the way up. Those two are just beasts. Man did it start getting cold as we/I neared the top. I didn't warm up until we reached Flag on the way back.
in addition to spring report, water was available in Monument Creek, Salt Creek, Plateau Point faucet, Indian Garden faucet.
A big thanks to Wally for driving. I won't soon forget this trip. Thanks guys |
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Wildflowers Observation Moderate
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Santa Maria Spring |
Gallon + per minute |
Gallon + per minute |
| | | Tray was full of clean clear water | | _____________________
There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Dave Barry  |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
