When Kendal graduated with his MBA we decided we needed to do something to celebrate. The opportunity presented itself when his brother's family invited us on a backpacking trip in the grand canyon. When we decided to go I couldn't decide if I was more excited or freaked out. The trip was a 10 mile hike into the Havasupi Indian reservation and 10 miles out. On the way in there was a 2,000 foot elevation drop, and 1,ooo of that was in the first mile. I was pretty sure I could plug out the first 19 miles, it was that last mile out that haunted me.
We flew in through Vegas (a first for me), which was surprisingly quiet at 8:00 in the morning (OK maybe not THAT surprising). We wandered around for a bit, but ended up retreating from the heat to a movie. We caught up with family in the afternoon, stuffed ourselves at a buffet, and headed down to the Grand Canyon. On the way we stopped at the Hoover Dam. Way cool... and the new bridge they built was incredible. I have no idea how they did it. The best part though was trying to spit over the side. "Gross!" you may say. "Hilarious!" I say. The concrete heats the air causing an updraft, so when you spit over the side expecting to watch it down to the water, it actually is blown up over your head and lands a few feet behind you. Great entertainment!
It was 10:00 at night when we got to the parking lot that marked the beginning of the trail. We found an open spot and pitched our tents. All I'm going to say is that was a rough night of sleep, and I've had kids, so that is saying something. In the morning I woke up and realized that the barrier marking the edge of the parking lot also marked the edge of a cliff. Yeah, you don't go wandering around in the dark when you're at the grand canyon.
We also woke to a bustling parking lot, and I realized that the other cars were full of sleeping hikers as well. We grabbed a sack breakfast, packed up our stuff, dropped most of it off for the burrows to bring down (yeah, I was too much of a wimp to carry a big backpack), and started our hike.
We flew in through Vegas (a first for me), which was surprisingly quiet at 8:00 in the morning (OK maybe not THAT surprising). We wandered around for a bit, but ended up retreating from the heat to a movie. We caught up with family in the afternoon, stuffed ourselves at a buffet, and headed down to the Grand Canyon. On the way we stopped at the Hoover Dam. Way cool... and the new bridge they built was incredible. I have no idea how they did it. The best part though was trying to spit over the side. "Gross!" you may say. "Hilarious!" I say. The concrete heats the air causing an updraft, so when you spit over the side expecting to watch it down to the water, it actually is blown up over your head and lands a few feet behind you. Great entertainment!
It was 10:00 at night when we got to the parking lot that marked the beginning of the trail. We found an open spot and pitched our tents. All I'm going to say is that was a rough night of sleep, and I've had kids, so that is saying something. In the morning I woke up and realized that the barrier marking the edge of the parking lot also marked the edge of a cliff. Yeah, you don't go wandering around in the dark when you're at the grand canyon.
We also woke to a bustling parking lot, and I realized that the other cars were full of sleeping hikers as well. We grabbed a sack breakfast, packed up our stuff, dropped most of it off for the burrows to bring down (yeah, I was too much of a wimp to carry a big backpack), and started our hike.
Here we are at the top, ready to conquer.
Nine miles to go.
These burrow trains would pass periodically, and you'd better get out of the way.
By the way, when your six miles into a 10 mile hike and you start getting blisters, forget about the moleskin, it's all about the duct tape.
I am telling you, that water felt so good!
The canyon wall.
The view from the top.
The view from the bottom.
Kendal was thinking about going up but decided against it. For me it wasn't about getting up as much as getting down.
The boys taking a bath in the waterfall. There were small pockets behind the falls were you could fit your head and watch the water fall around you. It was one of the coolest things I've ever done.
This is a cave under a waterfall. It was completely covered in moss.
When we got back I took a nap to get ready for the hike out the next day. Kendal did this:
Nine miles to go.
These burrow trains would pass periodically, and you'd better get out of the way.
By the way, when your six miles into a 10 mile hike and you start getting blisters, forget about the moleskin, it's all about the duct tape.
I am telling you, that water felt so good!
That's our tent-right next a huge cliff. I am a fan of hammocks, except when it's raining. By the way, any rain is scary when you are in a narrow canyon with history of flash floods. A few years back there had been a huge flash flood, and now there are a bunch of winding streams through the camp ground. This makes it really confusing when you have to walk a quarter of a mile in the middle of the night to make a bathroom run.
The canyon wall.
Day two we hiked down to Mooney falls. It was beautiful, but you had to scale down a cliff to get there. We were all pretty impressed with ourselves when we did it.
The view from the top.
The view from the bottom.
We continued down the canyon and saw some beautiful scenery and waterfalls. I was amazed how luscious everything was. We hit the trip just right; while were were there it was in the 80's. The next week it was above 100. Someone was looking out for me.
Kendal was thinking about going up but decided against it. For me it wasn't about getting up as much as getting down.
The boys taking a bath in the waterfall. There were small pockets behind the falls were you could fit your head and watch the water fall around you. It was one of the coolest things I've ever done.
This is a cave under a waterfall. It was completely covered in moss.
When we got back I took a nap to get ready for the hike out the next day. Kendal did this:
The next day we started out about 6:00 in the morning. I powered through the first 9 miles, but then the sun came out in full force for the last mile, and the hill was just so steep! Kendal was awesome and stayed with me. I took lots of breaks and finally made it to the top. I felt a huge sense of accomplishment. I would love to go back again when my kids are older. And this time I will be in shape!
