Supai Tunnel to the pumphouse residence.
Once we made it through the tunnel we started encountering people on their way up the north rim. Most of them were backpackers, though it was obvious some of them were doing R2R2R and were already nearing their second rim. They were all super friendly and some of them stopped to chat with us about our hike, give us words of encouragement, and congratulate us on setting out on an awesome adventure. Our group leaders were also scurrying about, making sure everyone was staying hydrated and remembering to eat continually. They were so caring throughout the whole hike, and always stopped to make sure everyone was feeling well and address any concerns we had. We were all very, very lucky to have such awesome, adventurous people leading our hike.
We wandered down through the red walls, happy as could be. The weather was perfect and the views were spectacular. We went down a series of switchbacks before reaching the Red Wall Bridge. At this point we were 3.1 miles into the hike, my knees felt great, and I hadn't a care in the world.
I thought of both you, Dear Friend, and my dad for literally, this entire hike. My dad, because as you know, he is awesome, and I wish I had done all this stuff with him years ago. And you, for all the obvious reasons. Mostly because you're the only person I know who matches my intensity on insane outings, and the only person I've ever met who would dive into these things with me without a second thought. I wish you had been here to to do it with me, but I pinky promise that you and I (and Phil!) will do this hike together some day.
From the bridge we continued on through the red rocks. I stopped to take pictures of things I know only you would appreciate. Like this tiny little spider on a thistle.
Someone on the way up stopped to giggle at me taking a picture of it, and then told me to take all the pictures I could now, because by the time I got to the end I'd be too focused on getting the heck up the Bright Angel to stop to take pictures of flowers. Oh how right they were. . .
By the time we could hear Roaring Springs, it was officially hot. It was probably only in the low 80s, and still early in the morning, but between the sun beating down on me and the energy I was expending, I was definitely feeling the heat. I was also grateful for all the hours I'd spent in bikram classes at this point. Incredibly grateful. Both because I knew exactly how much exertion I could handle in the heat, and because it made me very aware of how I was feeling at any given moment and allowed me to notice potential problems (not enough calories, not enough water, etc.) before they became an issue for me.
We had already decided against making the side trip to Roaring Springs, so we passed the junction with little fanfare. At this point we were 4.7 miles in, down to 5,220 ft. elevation, and had the distinct feeling of being inside the canyon. (As opposed to just starting to make our way down the rim). I was BEYOND elated at this point. Antoline was a fantastic hiking partner and we happily ticked off the miles we had walked and cheered ourselves onto the next check point. We came to the pumphouse residence not long after, but since the water was shut off, we didn't stay long. We were now clearly behind the 12 hour pace the card had set for us, but I expected we would be. We also were somewhere around the middle of the pack. I was still on track for my 16 hour finish.
I tried to post (from the phone) on two other posts now, and it's doing that thing where it has no interest in letting me continue to type if I accidentally exit the box...: whatever. It's infuriating, but lets move on.
ReplyDeleteYour photos are stunning. Not that I thought they wouldn't be, bc a) you took them, and b) it is the Grand Canyon, after all. I love your spider picture! Look at him--he's so spoiled, traipsing all over flowers in the grand canyon. Your plague squirrel literally got an audible, "Squirrel!" out of me, all alone, by myself. He is darling. And also spoiled. It's so kind of you to commend hike leaders and fellow hikers, not bc they don't deserve it, bc I'm sure they do, but bc if it were me, I'd have to have picked one person to adore and one person to hate on the hike, and a hike leader sounds like a likely candidate for an arch nemesis...and the Grand Canyon is no place to make enemies. Unrelated note: why isn't there a fight game with the Grand Canyon as a backdrop? Example: that fight game with Harley Quinn and batman and shit, it has this cool feature where you can knock your opponent to a new upper or lower battle stage by hitting a series of commands at a certain point, and I just don't know why the Grand Canyon isn't a more widely used backdrop. Sigh. Your canyon walls--which sounds absolutely lewd--are stunning--I don't recall the canyon looking so vibrantly clay-red, and the water is so so blue, like paradise blue. Beautiful.
I have to ready myself for work, so I'll check back later, mon amor!
Ha! It was hard to dislike anyone on this trip, especially our hiking guides. While we all made the journey together, we all hiked at our own pace, so it wasn't like they were in front of us pointing stuff out or anything. Most of the time it was just Antoline and I, marching along. Every now and then we'd leap frog someone or run into one of the leaders who would check that we were still feeling okay, didn't need any more food/water/medical attention. That sort of stuff. I'm sure I would have found someone to dislike if we had to all hike together in a pack or something.
ReplyDeleteThe South Rim is where most people go when they 'go' to the Grand Canyon, and it is much less clay-red than the north rim, which is where all these pictures are from. Also, everything was sort of glowing a really intense red because the sun was rising and reflecting off the red walls. It may be less dramatic mid-day, but I can't say for sure.