Grand Canyon- Part 5- The Journey Home

Day 4: Our Journey Home!


Taking a cracker break after crossing over (through for some of us) a swampy mess. This is about 8 in the morning. We'd been hiking since 4 am and the sun is starting to come up over the canyon walls. Any chance we have to hide in the shade, we took.



Looking back from where we came from.

Ok.. I BELIEVE the total weight loss I had from Monday through to the day we got back home.... at least 8 pounds! I only wish it stayed off. ; )

How often do you get to hike on a trail through cactus patches? Up ahead.... NO MORE SHADE until we get to Ribbon Falls.

Crossing a stream off the beaten path to cut over to Ribbon Falls. A little break from the sun until we get enough energy to make it back to Cottonwood.

Hiding out laying on the cold rocks. The sun is slowly creeping up on us and taking it's toll.

View from behind the falls back at the general area where we came from.

Side view from behind the falls

AND Ribbon Falls! It's really a LOT bigger than what this picture lets on.

And THIS folks is the last picture I took on our way back home. We stopped at our Cottonwood campsite where we would have stayed and slept Thurs night and instead took a lunch break, cooled off in the stream during the hot part of the day before we got back on the trail. We hiked through the heat to the Ranger's Station to rest in much cooler shade and tried to rest up for the BIG uphill fight out of the canyon. Got to the Ranger's Station at 4pm, so at this point we'd been awake and hiking or resting for 12 hours and we were only halfway home. We hiked as fast as we could along the scariest of the trail along the cliffs so that we could beat the sunsetting. Crossed the first bridge we came to and collapsed in a pile to take a break. I can't even tell you what time it was at that point, but it was already pitch dark. We TRIED to sleep there, but we were basically on top of each other pushed as far from the edge of the trail into a tiny steep ditch. VERY uncomfortable. The next step was The Switchbacks from Hell.... yes.... we pushed on, cussing, fussing, breaking, and napping in piles of mule terds. Made it to the tunnel and napped in more mule terds and then FINALLY, Chris and I made it back to the car around 3 am Friday morning. Steve and Megan were shortly behind us and made it back at 4 am ( he HAD to take a nap for a while or he was going to topple over into the Canyon). So... we officially hiked and were awake for 24 hours! And after all that, we were too tired and sore to even sleep. We napped at a gas station and then made our 5 hour trip back to Vegas!!!!

WE MADE IT!!!! And after eating snacks, Ramen noodles, and freeze dried food for a week, the only thing we could eat was a salad. And even then.... hardly touched them.

Watching the show... WOW!!!! That was really cool!

Saturday. Mine and Chris's last day in Vegas. Megan and Steve stayed an extra day for the Snap On Convention.

Megan performs with The Blue Man Group. ; )

Boat drinks before we fly out.

Refreshing!!!!!

Grand Canyon- Part 4- R & R

Day 3- Rest and Relaxation....



Chris and I woke up early and took another trip back to The Colorado to check out the two bridges that crosses it. I'm not sure what the official names of these bridges are, but I call this one the black bridge. The beach that we are standing on is where the white water rafters pull off to unload and head over to Phantom Ranch to the Cantina and camp.


So calm and peaceful.



The black bridge is pretty cool in that it connects into a tunnel. This is kind of the Mule Highway. Mule Trains cross this bridge early in the mornings to bring fresh supplies to Phantom Ranch. Wouldn't want to be trapped on this bridge when those guys come shuffling through.

The Cantina! While the boys explored Phantom Canyon, Megan and I hung out in the stream and the Cantina drinking cold drinks and enjoying the cool air. Then we all took a special trip to the Ranger's Station for some blister popping fun! hehehee! Poor Megan!

Boy are we looking pretty tired here. OH and the Cantina... has COLD BEER! Only took half a beer to get to us, but it sure helped us get to sleep at night.

120 Degrees! Yes, you read that right! This is the temp at the bottom of the Canyon where we pretty much are baking in the sun and boiling in the streams. We didn't realize on the trip back out of the Canyon the temperature would drop as low as it did. I don't remember what it was, but thank goodness we had long sleeved shirts with us to keep us KIND OF warm.

Human Stew. Here we sit as long as we can stand being in the water trying to cool off. Notice the rock "wall". Another example of the "pools" built up by campers to have nice cool calm places to soak.

Ah... the Silver Bridge. This bridge is back down where the black bridge is. It crosses over rapids and you can see through the bottom... and it scared the crap out of me! hehehe! I crossed this bridge pretty much to prove that I could. Chris was there as my moral support, while Megan and Steve hid to see if I'd actually do it. So... HA! hehee!

And here's the view from the other side! Yippee! I will tell you that I did scream once when I tripped on the grated bottom... they weren't attached as well as I thought and if you didn't step on the center of the square, the corners would lift up.

Couldn't miss Megan watching us though.... I mean, look at all that pink! ; )

Here we are hanging out to watch the sunset and see if any more Mule Deer will show up for Megan and Steve to see. This is our last night in Bright Angel/ Phantom Ranch. We decided since it took us forever to get down to the bottom of the Canyon, that we'd get up at 4 am Thursday morning and hike out instead of stopping to camp Thurs night at Cottonwood. Honestly, it was the hardest hike I've ever experienced and if we didn't do it that way, then I don't think we would have gotten out anytime early on Friday.

Grand Canyon- Part 3... Phantom Ranch- Our Oasis

Day 2: Heading to Campsite 2 and the Bottom of the Canyon



From Cottonwood, we head to Bright Angel Campsites/ Phantom Ranch our little Oasis in the middle of nowhere. Luckily, most of this part of the trail wasn't as steep as the first day's hike. There were SOME steep places but it pretty much evened out. We were in the sun up until this picture.


We decided to take a little break here in the shade and take the packs off. By this time the pain of the Canyon Knees and Toes have set in and any chance we had to stop and take the packs off, we did. Took forever for us to get to Phantom Ranch doing that.

We finally made it and here is the view from our tent. It was pretty peaceful. We were just about 15 feet away from the drinking water and another 10 feet to the bathroom... WITH flushing toilets! Oh... sooooo nice! We camped here for two nights, so that gave us a chance to take a load off and recover while the boys hiked up Phantom Canyon to check out the falls there.

Here's a Rainbow that we saw as we were eating dinner at the picnic table.

Chris and I decided we'd explore the area a little bit. Just a short easy 1 mile walk from the campsite (over this bridge), we find ourselves at the Mighty Colorado River! It felt a whole 10 to 15 degrees cooler standing next to it too.

You can't really tell, but we were taking pictures of the Mule Deer. About 7 of them were hanging out by the white water rafting boat launch area. Didn't even care how close we got to them to take the pictures either.

The sunset on our first night at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. This picture just doesn't give it any justice!

Grand Canyon- Part 2...Propel Energy Drink... My Hero

Ah yes... Part 2 of the Grand Canyon Adventure. Not all of the trip was filled with pain and frustration....it was also filled with beautiful scenery and stories that we'll be able to tell our children and grandchildren about for years to come.

On your way there, make sure you stop by Hoover Dam. What an amazing site!

We asked.... the didn't have any dam bait.

View of the South Rim the night we arrived.

Replanning the trip.... just a little snag, but we made it work.

View of the North Rim Sunday Night towards the South Rim. It stormed pretty bad over that way but we hardly got any rain.

Taking the North Rim overlook trail for a quick preview of what we are going to be up against.

We thought we'd grab a beer or two the night before at the little bar at the North Rim.



Such a great location for a bar and lodge.

DAY 1 : On the Trail

Not even a mile down and we get our first great view... it's a long way down from here!

This tunnel didn't mean much on our way down. Only that we had gone 1.8 miles and the bathrooms and water were right there. On the way back up.... we were PRAYING for that tunnel to be around the next turn. Then found ourselves having to stop and take a nap in the Mule Pen area amongst mule poo, pee, and rats. Needless to say, it was freezing cold and we didn't rest there too long before we got back on the trail. But, on the bright side (no pun intended) the stars were AMAZING to look at.

THESE, my friends, are the Switch Backs from Hell. Again, a little rough going down. At that point, I had already gotten sick to my stomach, so the only thing getting me down that canyon was Propel.... My Hero!!! On the way back up.... these switch backs had morphed into something completely sinister! You could only see as far as your headlamp and that wasn't far. Of course, the fact that we were hiking along them between midnight and 4 in the morning, didn't help out any... AND Steve was sleep-hiking. Never thought I'd ever see THAT happen, but it was like watching a blind drunk man stumbling around nearly toppling over the edge into a big black hole on numerous occations.



This is generally about how wide the trail is. During the day, they are just a little scary in some parts, but at night.... WHEW...you KIND OF know where the edge of the trail is but that's about it. The winding trail has a pretty steady grade to it, so having the right kind of shoes or being able to take breaks in the rare amounts of shade you find is very important here.

The Ranger Station is about 1.5 miles away from Cottonwood Campground, our first stop. They had cold COLD water and Lemonade set out for the hikers as they made it down the hill. Lots of shade, so we parked it for an hour or so on the way in and out. It was a good thing too because that was about the last bit of shade we had until the campsite. We wet our dry hats, rewatered all of our bottles and headed out.

FINALLY!!! Cottonwood. Out of all the campsites there, only a handful had any form of shade. We pretty much spent our time there hiding out in the brushy tree shade or we made our way to the nearby creek to cool off our aching knees and throbbing toes. But you have to admit... where are you going to find scenery like this? Once the sun started to go down, it was REALLY nice to sit there and look around at our suroundings.



Hehehehee!!! They look hot here, but trust me... it sucked having anything touching your skin at that point. VERY HOT!!!

Luckily each campsite had a stream to cool off in. You walk out to these creeks to cool off and campers from trips before have gone and built up rock pool areas where you can sit in the water with your backs up against a smooth rock "wall". It was nice!

Tune in for Day 2.....

Grand Canyon- Part One... Oh the things you DON'T know....

Our Grand Canyon adventure was a trip of a lifetime. The scenery was amazing and I can't imagine ever being in a place like that again.... the heat was unbelievable... and pain from hiking was unimaginable, hehehee, to say the least. I will say that for about 6 months after this trip, it was still hard to get the guts up to actually view some of the pictures. But now that our toenails have mostly healed and our bad "canyon" knees have fully recovered, we can't help but talk about where we'd go on our next trip out there.... whether we go white water rafting down the Mighty Colorado or visit a near by canyon in Zion. I will say that we will be more prepared before we go. There are some things we were not prepared for when we made our plans, but the rangers were very accomidating and helped us rearrange our plans once we got there. Some of these fact we would have known had we actually read the information they mailed us, but others we had NO clue about. So.... here's a short list of the facts we'll keep in mind the NEXT time we head out west.....

Overlook at the South Rim

1. The campsites have running drinking water and Phantom Canyon/ Bright Angel Campsite

actually have bathrooms with running water AND flushing toilets! Now, we only came down from the North Rim to the bottom and then back up, so I'm not sure how often there were "watering holes" up that way, but 1.8 miles in, there's a pit stop with water and outhouses... then several more miles when you are about 1.5 miles away from the Cottonwood Campsite, there is another water pit stop. So... there REALLY is no need to carry water filter bottles or pumps with you. That will drop the weight down in your bag a bit. Just a platipus and an extra water bottle and a bottle for a sports drink will do you just fine. By the time you need water.... you are just about to arrive at your next "watering hole".

2. If you plan on hiking to the bottom of the Canyon and then back up in a week, one HUGE thing they DON'T tell you when you reserve your campsites, is that yes... they have a shuttle that will take you from the North Rim to the South or the South Rim to the North..... what they DON'T tell you is that it takes 5 hours to drive from one rim to the other, that it costs $70 a person to ride the van, AND to the van leaves at 7am to get to one rim and then leaves that rim at 1pm (I think) to go back. Anyway.... We originally planned to hike the South Rim straight through to the North Rim. Had a hotel room on the South rim the first night we were there, but when we found out the shuttle business, we decided that we'd rearrange our sites so that we would hike in and out from the North Rim. I'd say after seeing both rims.... the North Rim is my favorite!!! It's a tougher hike in and out (from what we've been told), but the scenery from there is amazing and it's less crowded as opposed to the South Rim. That place looks more like a tourist trap.

View from South Rim

View from the North Rim. It's A LOT cooler because the elevation is higher and more wooded.

3. Mule Trains leave at 8 am on the dot. You REALLY need to get going in the morning BEFORE the sun rises. Pack headlamps or flash lights (the bugs do tend to fly at your eyes) AND an alarm clock. Or do what we did Thurs at 4 and get our camping neighbors to wake us up when they get up. Leaving early will not only allow you to hike most of your trip in the "cooler' part of the day when there's more shade, BUT you don't have to walk behind stinky pooping mules. There will be mounds of poop and rivers of mule pee all through the trails, so you quickly get used to the fact that there's no avoiding it. Just aim for the shallower of the piles. By the end of the trip, you'll be smelling so funky that mule smell is the least of your worries.

Following the Mule Terd Road... hehehe!

4. Food.... One of those things that I WISHED I didn't take so literally when I read the information online. Yes... bring salty food, but don't go and buy a pound of peanuts and cashews to take with you just because they are your favorites. That's one pound of food that you don't need to carry on your back. Stick with salty snacks that are lighter to carry... like chex mix or crackers. Also.... ramen noodles are great, but for a week.... they start wearing down on you. AND you have to eat EVERYTHING you cook.... no throwing it out in the woods or burying it. Hurts the ecosystem and gets the critters used to coming to camp. So make sure you bring food that you like and in portions that you can finish. ; ) I will say that the first 1.8 miles on the trail, I drank TOO much water and made myself sick. The rest of the trip made it hard for me to eat the meals I brought. I think between the 4 of us, we lost an average of about 4 to 5 pounds if not more through the week.

5. Blisters.... you'll get them no matter how great your shoes are, so be sure you have PLENTY of first aid supplies on hand to treat them and know that the rangers down there are excellent blister poppers. ; ) Don't be surprised if you lose toenails too.... now, I don't believe Chris or Steve lost any, but I lost several and Megan, believe it or not, is STILL trying to lose toenails. BLA!!!!

hehehee! Funny how we have the same black toes.

6. So... pack light... have plenty of light salty snacks... good shoes... water bottles.... and a first aid kit.... and let's not forget the one thing I'm the HAPPIEST I bought when I got there.... my WALKING POLES! Yes, I looked like an old grandma trying to walk up a hill with my walker, but I seriously don't think I could have made it down and especially up that trail without them. I was lucky and happened to find the children's sized poles for 30 bucks! The best $30 I've ever spent!!!

Ok, so they needed to be a LITTLE bit longer, but by the end of the trip, I think I FELT like this.