Years grow shorter, not longer.....

Arriving in Grand Canyon Village last Thursday it was clear Rhonda had not recovered enough to hike into the canyon any significant distance. I had also been unable to secure a reservation at Phantom Ranch (fully booked a year ago) so the daunting task of hiking down to the Colorado River and back up on the same day (highly discouraged by the National Park staff) had me re-thinking my original strategy even though I was feeling that I was in good shape to attempt it. With fewer and fewer opportunities (years) to accomplish this feat I was in a quandry but leaning towards needing an overnight stay at the bottom to break the hike into 2 days........we are suppposed to be getting wiser with age, aren't we? Our first stop was at Bright Angel Lodge on the South Rim where I asked to be added to the daily Wait List for last minute cancellations which are determined the following morning at 6:30 am. I also got up at 5 am on Friday morning to call the Lodge so that I could be the first person on the Wait List for the following day as a back-up plan. Then we drove from our Trailer Village campsite to the Lodge for the 6:30 am roll call, and lucky me, there was still a spot in the male dorm when they called my name. My backpack was already prepared so after taking care of the paperwork I was on my way to the base of the canyon, starting my trek at 7:30 am.

I chose the South Kaibab trail for my descent. It is steeper but a little shorter (7 miles to Phantom Ranch). Taking lots of pictures along the way to share with Rhonda, I still managed to make it to the bottom of the canyon by 11 am (3.5 hours), well ahead of my anticipated arrival. After a shower and some lunch I still had enough energy to hike another several miles along the the canyon bottom to Phantom Canyon, a narrow canyon along the north rim route. After a few beers at the Canteen, dinner and a Ranger program I was in bed before 9 pm and slept very well.

On Saturday morning we had a group breakfast at 6:30 am and I was on my way back up the trail shortly after 7 am. All of my bunk mates (10 beds in the dorm) had previously secured two night reservations so they were either relaxing or doing short hikes that day. My return route was on the Bright Angel trail, 10 miles long but the most popular trail with several water re-fill stops along the way, an important feature in the 20+C temperature. Fortunately, by leaving early in the morning almost 90% of my hike was in the canyon shade making it much easier. I made it back to the top shortly after noon (5 hours), again quicker than I expected, although I seemed to 'hit the wall' with two miles to go and had to stop numerous times to re-hydrate and gain some additonal energy. I was pleased with my accomplishment and hope to return some day with Rhonda, our children or friends for an encore event.

While the views from the rim are wonderful, the sights along the trail are spectacular. Once you have entered the canyon the 360 degree views make picture-taking seem fruitless. I met plenty of interesting hikers along the way including.......4 buddies from Phoenix (about 40 years old) who were doing their 6th consecutive one day (down and up) hike, a one armed man and his wife (our age) who had already spent 5 nights camping on the Tonto trail, parallel to the Colorado River and another 60-ish couple and their daughter who were doing a rim to rim hike (north to south) over several days but were now missing the wife who had to be airlifted out of the canyon by helicopter because she had badly twisted her knee and could no longer continue. At the bottom of the canyon I met two men (30's) who were attempting a one day rim to rim hike (24 miles) and told me they were passed early in the morning by another two men their age who were attempting to do a rim to rim to rim run (48 miles) in one day. We saw them at noon at the Ranch, already 3/4's through their task so I have no doubt they accomplished their goal. The bottom line is that everyone sets their own challenge, even if it is only part-way into the canyon, and there is a wonderful feeling (and memories) when you return to the rim.

On Sunday morning I awoke wondering who had taken a baseball bat to my legs, mostly my calf muscles. No problems at all during my hike but since then I have been looking like a very old man, moving more slowly and gingerly taking steps downwards. While I was in the canyon Rhonda had patiently waited for me and did some hiking along the east rim so I was glad that she wasn't anxious to get back out on some trails. We spent part of the day on a shuttle tour of the west rim, getting off many times for lovely views and a few short walks to the next viewpoint. The free shuttle service in the park is very well planned (every 10 minutes) and allowed us to leave the van in the campground almost all of the time. On the shuttle we met a nice Australian family from Adelaide and they gave us their contact information to get in touch with them next spring when we are there. We had a delicious dinner that night at the Bright Angel Lodge (Arizona Room) watching the sunset and hikers arriving back just before dark.Today we drove a few hours south to Sedona where we plan to spend several days doing some short hikes in Oak Creek Canyon and enjoying the picturesque city which is surounded by red rock formations. Rhonda has now finished her antibiotic prescriptions and is back to eating regular meals so that is a relief. She will be good-to-go for our party week in Las Vegas starting on Friday :-)