Grand Canyon...The North Rim

So we got super-lucky with our tent location and the sun didn't start beating down on it until like 10 or 11 am. Don't be fooled, though...we were ONLY lucky because we weren't roasting...but we all need chiropractors now from sleeping on a bed of rocks...especially me, as my back/side/stomach was literally on top of a pile of them. How crazy.

Oatmeal for breakfast, just like at home, and coffee for my comrades, except that it was strained through a handkerchief...twice...into orange plastic cups. I was so full I couldn't finish my banana anmd had to save it for later. By the time we finally got some ice for the cooler, some gas, and an ATM, it was nearing noon. We rolled through the Grand Canyon National Park entrance and onward to the Kaibab trail, where we hoped to get one of the shorter trails done so we wouldn't get stuck after sunset in the canyon.

Lathered with sunscreen, backpack full of trail mix and water we were ready to start down into the canyon through sand and mule manuer...whose grand idea was it to put mules and people on a trail 3 feet wide? They should reconsider that for the sake of the humans who are NOT 6 feet up off the ground...

We made it to our first checkpoint within 20 minutes or so and had a great lookout over the canyon before continuing downward. To our dismay, those people who had chosen the early AM hikes were on their way back up in the sweltering heat, sweating and panting and exhausted-looking...we could only hope that it was not a reflection of what was to come for us...

Within about an hour we made it to the ending point of our hiking goal at the Tunnel...and we were amazed at how quickly we'd arrived. After a bathroom and water break we decided that we were daring and headed downward still, in the direction of a bridge that crossed over a gully, where water would have been rushing were it not so hot and dry. As we descended winding back and forth, we discussed how the colors of the canyon were changing and how we may be in luck with the coming sunset. I found the woman whose shoes were leaving little heel prints in the sand...an asian woman about 5'3" with 3 inch platform wedges standing about 1" wide...hats off to her, because I was dreading the ascent to come in hiking sneakers let alone those suckers!

We made it to the bottom and decided not to continue on as there was no "next point" in sight and the shadows of the North Rim were beginning to settle into the canyon. We wandered down the path a short while to see if our view would improve, took a break at the bridge to watch a lone butterfly and a few jays, and just sat still...and listened.

On the way back up, we were sure to test the canyon echo...it still works, but feel free to test it to check my process :) Timekeeper Keith informs me that we made it back up faster than we got down...that must mean we're all-stars. He attributes it to our great conditioning in the mountains of Costa Rica...walking to school everyday...uphill...both ways...literally. Post-hike, we sat on the curb in the parking lot and lived out of our trunk, having chips & salsa, and celery with peanut butter...this is the life.

We figured if we timed it right, we could make it to a viewpoint further into the park for the sunset over the canyon, so we hopped in the car and headed onward making it there with plenty of time...even more than we expected, actually, because somewhere along the line we re-crossed a TZL and it was earlier than our re-set watches had led us to believe. Go figure. Sat around people-watching for quite some time before the sun began drifting ever-lower on the horizon of the north rim. I'm not going to lie...while the view of the canyon was striking...due to our ability to see the depth and breadth of it in a new way from our hike, I'm still not quite sure what the allure is of the sunset on the canyon...because we really missed the sunset altogether as it falls beyond the rim before the colors are visible, and the canyon colors have already deepened into their striping once the shadows have crept in.

Oh well...it's cool to say we were there for it, just the same :)

Into the car again, we went, stopping for gas just outside the National Park and with a stop to make sandwiches on the rear bumper of the Gulf...then into the night we drove toward Utah's Natural Bridges and Arches National Park...not a camping ground in site, by human eyes, nor the supposedly superior GPS...darn. I let Amber and Keith take over at some point and they woke me up...here...wherever that is, and now...whatever time it is...and I'm clearly not with it, so I'm just going to throw my pillow into the tent where they've been kind enough to set up my mat and sleeping bag so I can continue to be passed out...hmmmm.