One Grand Canyon - March 8, 2023

 Aaron is recovering from foot surgery, gets around on a knee scooter, and so obviously could not accompany me on the epic hike I took into the Grand Canyon today.  Viewing the canyon from lookouts on top of the rim is spectacular enough, but hiking over the rim and down into the canyon itself is something quite surreal.  It had been on my bucket list for some time, and with Aaron as my support, I succeeded at making the trip.  It took me 9 hours to complete the 16.5-mile trip from rim to river to rim.  I began at the South Kaibab Trailhead at sunrise where I met with 25 icy degrees (certainly much lower when adjusted for the horrific winds) and thick ice and snow to begin a seriously steep descent.  The elevation at the rim was 7260 and was 2200 feet at the bottom where I crossed the Colorado River twice.  Several grueling hours later and I was back up to the rim along the Bright Angel Trail.  This hike was the most challenging of all the hikes I've ever taken; my knees are swollen and painful, my body completely exhausted.  The South Kaibab Trail is one of the most spectacular I've ever hiked and is beyond my limited capacity to adequately describe.  The pictures hardly do justice to the magnificence of the canyon which changes with each plunging mile.  Today has been truly rewarding, a once-in-my lifetime opportunity that overwhelmed my senses and totally kicked my tush. 

Would I do it again?  You betcha!  Just not til I recover, please. 

A million thanks to my sweet Aaron for making this incredibly challenging adventure possible, from ferrying me to the bus depot before dawn for my ride to the trailhead, for collecting what was left of me at the end, and for giving me the moral support to see it through.  He is such a love.  




































Comments

  1. BJJune 11, 2023 at 3:30 PM

    I did the exact route into the Grand Canyon many years ago. The Colorado River was a beautiful emerald green when I did that hike. Bright Angel was the most grueling eleven mile hike ever. It was a beautiful, magical hike, but I would never want to do it again. I still have nightmares about all those switchbacks. I can't believe you did that hike by yourself and in NINE hours. That is some kind of amazing endurance, No wonder your knees ached. Mine are aching just thinking about it.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lassen Volcanic Nat’l Park, Northern California, Sept 12-14, 2023

Image
Fall has most decidedly arrived at this, the last national park of our 2-yr USA Tour here in the high elevations of Lassen Volcanic National Park. It’s rather quite nice to have arrived after the summer crush has gone. It’s cool and quiet and pretty as can be, and I was quite a bit more pleased with this park that I had imagined. My only regret is that I have only a handful of nights left on what has been one epic 2-yr adventure. I am saddened to see it come to an end; I will truly miss traveling and living in my adorable Bambi. Lassen boasts 10,500 ft Lassen Peak which represents one of four distinct types of volcanoes present in the world, and all four of them are on display within this one park.  We camped at the north end near Manzanita Lake where the nights are chilly at 42 degrees and the night sky is unspeakably full of billions of stars alongside a brilliant Milky Way. We hiked the Bumbpass Hell Trail to a 16-acre area of steam vents (fumeroles), colorful boiling ...
Read more

The Enchantments, the mother of all day hikes - Aug 13, 2023

Image
 When Elder Ben Jensen, a junior missionary from Vachon Island, WA, whom we met in Thailand, told me of  "the best hike ever" through The Enchantments, it immediately went onto my bucket list.  We'd have done this hike last year while in the Chelan area, but alas our truck died and we spent 3 weeks getting another one.  Finally however the timing worked out and we hiked The Enchantments yesterday.  It was a doozy of a hike.  Never have I been more beat up and broken by a hike than by this one. Distance:  19.5 miles Difficulty:  Extremely strenuous Total elevation gain:  5500 feet Total elevation loss:  7000 feet Length of time:  14 grueling hours 0430:  Out of bed 0515:  Leave truck at trail end, catch shuttle to trail head.                                                    0545:  Beg...
Read more

Olympics Nat’l Park, Hurricane Ridge MOUNTAINS, Aug 18, 2023

Image
 Aaron is saving his mush toes hoping they heal in time for next weeks 4-day backpack. He couldn’t have been less interested in the 2 short but challenging hikes I’d planned for today, so he graciously and selflessly waiting for me all morning.  Todays ecosystem adventure was up to and along the  dry popular Hurricane Ridge area high in the core mountain range of The Olympics.  The Day Lodge built in the 1950’s along Hurricane Ridge was undergoing extensive renovations when it burned to the ground this May. The road up to Hurricane has been closed to traffic for the past 3 days while debris was brought down. When the road reopened this morning at 0700, I was in the front of a long line of approx 200 cars heading to this popular area. Short and extremely steep, the trail up Hurricane Ridge to Hurricane Hill rewarded me with 360-degree views of the Olympic Range, Mt Angeles, and stellar Mt Olympus. The other direction far below at sea level one can see the Straits of J...
Read more