AVOID HIKING BETWEEN 10AM AND 4PM!

Visiting the Grand Canyon in the middle of August is one word: hot. I guess its more than one word as it's also grand, breathtaking, a wonder of the world and so much more. But in August, the defining feature it that it's hot. Not only do you feel it, but the warnings all around the park in regards to the heat and taking care of yourself never let you forget it. And lucky for us, we were to arrive at Grand Canyon National Park smack dab in the middle of August.

Two of the main South Rim hiking trails that dip into the canyon are the Bright Angel Trail and the South Kaibab Trail. There's also the rim trail which is a few miles long and has numerous viewpoints of the canyon. As I'm all about doing as much as possible, we did just that, portions of all three trails.

Our first day we opted for the more modest South Kaibab Trail which was listed as less difficult trail for the best views. And it would be a good warm up for the harder hike the next day. Our turn around point was to be Cedar Ridge.

As the guide had said, it ended up offering better views than the Bright Angel Trail. The hike was really nice and not too hot. Shade was always preferable to sun but we started early enough in the morning that the midday sun was never a huge problem. I really liked Cedar Ridge and sitting on either side of it offered a spectacular view. You really feel like you're a part of the canyon and not just an observer from the edge.

After lunch we headed out to walk along the Rim Trail. I think we hiked 2-3 miles before deciding we were tired enough to hop on the bus back to our car. The Rim Trail is certainly an excellent option for those who aren't able to handle the strenuous hiking of the canyon trails. You get to see multiple areas of the canyon, you can see the Colorado River at a couple points and the camera opportunities are infinite.

On day 2 we headed for the Bright Angel Trailhead. This is the main trail down to Phantom Ranch, the National Park's lodge in the center of the canyon. It is not advised to hike down to the river and back in one day, and we weren't equipped to backpack down there, spend the night and return so we opted to hike to the Indian Garden stopping point and then return.

The hike down wasn't so bad. It's steep and a little harsh on the knees but not super stressful. The worst part was having to step to the side to let the donkey groups down, and then having to walk over the donkey poop in the middle of the trail. It's hard to hike when you smell donkey poop for at least one or two switchbacks.

Indian Garden was quite nice but for an ending point it offered no views of the canyon itself, because it's IN the canyon. The walls rise up around you and it's tempting to keep going down rather than turn around. We rested in a grove of trees amongst multiple groups of donkeys and people resting up before continuing on their journey either into or out of the canyon.

In terms of the heat, it lived up to the hype that's for sure. We left early as advised by the park so you avoid hiking in the high suns of the afternoon, but apparently we didn't go early enough because it was scorching by the time we were ascending back up. It took us 3x as long to get out as it did to get down which is torturous enough before you add the beating sun to the equation. But we took it in stride, one step at a time, one switchback at a time. There was little shade to hike in so we took our rests in whatever shade could be found. 

The Three Mile Resthouse was a godsend since we could sit on benches in the shade, recuperate and refill our water bottles. The only thing bad about it was that it reminded us we still had 3 miles to go before reaching the rim again. Given the heat, and the difficulty of the trail, this hike was all about our endurance and accomplishment of making it out alive.

In total, I think it took us 6 hours to get to Indian Garden and climb back out. We got back to camp around 2pm, ate food and sat down. We read books, soaking in the gorgeous weather and the elk wandering through the campground and didn't move again until sunset. I was sore to say the least!

miscellaneous #1

Looking at the list I made awhile back of what I wanted to share about Molly and I's road trip, I just can't pick one item to venture into. Do I jump to the last few days when we were in Virginia, or the time spent in the southeast? Hmmm...at this very moment, I just want to talk about it all. Don't have time, or space, to do that now but I will make this post about a few "little stories" that don't really have a home any place else.

Roaming Wyoming
As we spent the day venturing across Wyoming, the scenery was pretty spectacular. The landscape went from flat plain to forest and mountains back to plains. And finally back to forest and hills again in Yellowstone.

 

One of the really interesting places Rt. 14 led us through was Big Horn National Forest. At one point in particular there was a series of switchbacks leading us along the sides of mountains and past plenty of "watch for falling rock" signs. Speed limits of 25-30 mph, 15 around the bends and if the car veered even a little, there wasn't much edge to keep you on the road. It was hard to admire it all from the car, especially since I was driving, so we pulled over at one overlook to admire some of the hidden gems of America.

Down in the Valley
Looking at a list of state run campgrounds and finding their locations on Google maps (regular view) totally doesn't prepare you for what these campgrounds are. My assumption was that after we left Yosemite and began the drive down towards Death Valley that the numerous campgrounds along the way were all going to be in the woods/mountains and all cute. Well, I was wrong. Almost immediately upon exiting Yosemite the terrain on the East side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains is rough and barren. It's as if the plains and the desert had a baby. The first campground we came to was completely empty. We couldn't even find the real entrance, or we did and there just wasn't distinctive camp sites. Or people. It was creepy.

Alas the next one we arrived at had people at it but it was one of those things I have only imagined in books. The highway is completely surrounded by rough land with mountains running along the sides a mile or two away. The color palette here is tan, sand and sage. And as your driving through all this barren land you come across a patch of bright green about half a mile off the road. That's the campground. There's a little creek and about 15 trees, no running water...a permanent outhouse is affixed and the wind makes sure you know where it is. It was so strange being there. I'm not skilled enough at describing things to explain it, but it was like walking into a movie or something. It was primitive, yes, but there was something else about it.

Four Corners
When I went on vacation with my family back in 2001 to the Southwest United States, Four Corners was amongst the many sights we saw. But because it is so iconic, and its remote location wasn't out of our way at all, I felt it was important for Molly to "be in four places at once." The four states that make up Four Corners are Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. The monument is not very big but very American with state seals and flags marking each state's corner. It is about a quarter mile off the road, and besides getting your picture taken and browsing the souvenir stands run by the Navajo Nation, there isn't much else to do. So it was a quick stop for us and once again, we were on the road again.

but the sun rolling high through the sapphire sky keeps the great and small on the endless round

The inspiration for this first post of course comes courtesy of Molly, my wonderful travel companion and best friend. She sent me an image from a tumblr account earlier today and bang, I had the subject for my first post: sunset on the Grand Canyon.

The two days Molly and I spent at the canyon was the mid-point to our trip and on the evening of our last night there, we somehow motivated our stiff and sore bodies to get in the car (walking the mile or so was out of the question), drive over to one of the lots, walk to the Rim Trail and find a spot overlooking the canyon. Hopefully without many people around. It didn't take too long to find a great overlook; a jut out into the canyon with the nature-made rock-formed seats. There was one other family nearby and the view consisted of the vast canyon and surrounding jut outs. Sunset was still 20 or so minutes away so I pulled out a book I was enraptured in and Molly wandered the area a little.

All of a sudden, as we were sitting there amongst the peaceful serenity of one of the seven natural wonders of the world, came the most amazing thing either of us had ever heard. A young male belting out the opening to "The Circle of Life" from The Lion King out into the canyon. He and his group of friends were over on the neighboring jut, but we could hear his chanting clear as day. It was glorious and hilarious and amazing. The saddest part probably was that within the first "nahhh" I knew he was singing "Circle of Life," and not just yelling into the canyon.

Nothing more came from the group after that intitial singing, and no more was sung past the first few lines, but they became the highlight of the evening. Yes, the sunset was very nice...but I thought the canyon looked much prettier in the midday light rather than the harsh colors of sunset. The sun was also setting on "our" side of the canyon so maybe viewing sunset from the other side of the canyon, or sunrise from ours, would have been nicer. The light cast on where we were sitting was wonderful though; that beautiful orange glow from the setting sun illuminating the beginning of the end.

the green patch in the bottom center is Indian Garden, where we'd hiked to that afternoon