| |
|
| | |
|
| Hiking | 26.62 Miles |
6,156 AEG |
| | Hiking | 26.62 Miles | | | |
| 6,156 ft AEG | | | | |
|
|
| |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | Another rim-to-rim adventure in the books with a group of family and friends. Stayed at the North Rim lodge on Friday night, after an obligatory stop at Jacob Lake Inn for some cookies. Saw some bison out in the meadows on the approach to the park. Beautiful evening and perfect weather on the North Rim. I've never cared much for the food at the lodge on the North Rim, so we were happy to try out a new option--the Grand Canyon Cookout Experience. They took us by "train" (i.e., dressed up shuttle) to a large canvas tent structure a mile or so back from the lodge, where we had a buffet style western dinner with a little entertainment (western music, jokes, and magic trick or two). Food was at least as good as at the lodge (but obviously w/o the ambiance of looking over the canyon), and the entertainment was decent.
Went back to the lodge after dinner and enjoyed hanging around the fire on the patio and overlooking the canyon under the nearly full moon.
Hit the hay around 9:30. Slept like crap. (Note to self: don't volunteer to sleep on the futon bed again ....).
Alarm went off at 4:30. Filled my camelback bladder with ice. Temps were surprisingly warm.
Hit the North Kaibab trail at 5:36 a.m. with my two youngest kids (13 and 12). My son (13) did it with us last year and was wanting to push the pace. I didn't see him again till I got out on the other side. He crossed with my sister and they had a great and exhausting time.
I was planning to hike with my 12 y.o. daughter, Lindsay. She told me that was her plan as well, but then she promptly began hustling down the trail in the dark with my son and sister. I figured she'd run out of steam and I catch her at Supai tunnel. Wrong. Maybe at the Redwall Bridge? Nope. Finally, I decided I'd better affirmatively pick up the pace to cover the gap, and set out at a 12 min. mile pace over the next mile and half or so. Finally, caught up to her about 4.3 miles in, just before Roaring Springs. She had wisely let my son and sister pull away at their aggressive pace.
Lindsay and I hiked the remaining 21+ miles together, and she did AWESOME! We slowed to a much more leisurely pace, and took the side trip to Ribbon Falls. Being her first time, she was duly impressed, and I still find it an incredibly beautiful sight every time. I decided to "take a shower" this time, and climbed in the little alcove for a look around. The water was cold and refreshing.
On the way back to the trail, we decided to take our chances crossing the creek, rather than going back up and over the hill. We found a good place to rock hop across, though the rocks were a bit slippery. Long story short, I ended up slipping and taking a little spill in the creek. No damage other than some pride and soggy shoes/socks. My daughter made it across just fine, LOL!
We continued on to Phantom Ranch without incident and managed to get through the Box in the shade, before the sun made it down the western canyon wall. It wasn't too hot at Phantom yet (forecast high was 104), but the canyon walls were no longer providing any shade and we ate some lunch and changed our socks, before getting hit with the double-whammy: exposure to the heat and the 5,500 aeg that awaited on the other side of the Colorado. FYI: At Phantom, and down to the Silver Bridge, they are doing construction on the water line and have re-routed the trail a bit in several places.
Saw several rafts as we crossed the Colorado and hiked along the river trail. Several were docked at the mouth of Pipe Creek. We ran into a couple of hikers on the way out, who said they had rafted from Lee's Ferry over several days and were then dropped off at Pipe Creek to hike out to the top on Bright Angel. Kind of a cool "duathlon" of sorts.
We hit the bottom of Devil's Corkscrew, where the real fun usually begins. Lindsay marched up it like a champ. As we rounded the "corner" at the top and began the final ascent into Indian Garden, she remarked that she thought it was going to be harder.
We took a nice break at Indian Garden, where we had done an overnight backpack trip earlier this summer. So, she knew what she was in for from that point forward. I told her it's just like climbing Flat Iron, except not as steep! We marched off at a steady pace, and kept plugging away towards the rim. We had done about 24 miles by the time we reached 1.5 mi. resthouse. She decided to put down the hammer at that point and knocked off that next mile in 27 min. As we went through the final tunnel, she picked up the pace and jogged the final stretch out of the canyon. Several from our group were at the top and cheered her on, as we arrived in a little under 10 hours and 45 minutes total for the hike.
I could not have been prouder. Meanwhile, my son had finished in 7 hours and 23 minutes; had been to the Mather campground showers and back and was relaxing with other early arrivers from our group, and cheering folks on as they exited the canyon. I was impressed, and he felt good about his effort.
After more showers and dinner at Maswick lodge, the last of our group came out after nightfall and we headed back to Phoenix, arriving around 1:30 a.m.
It was a long, but very satisfying day. As we were driving home, Lindsay said she loves going to the National Parks because "everyone is so nice." By and large, I think she's right. Sure love the GC, and sharing it with family and friends makes it extra special. |
| _____________________
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
