Hiking the Grand Canyon

Winslow loved hiking the Grand Canyon last month and really wanted me to go with him the next time he went. I was hesitant to say the least. I have a very big and very real fear of heights and ledges and sharp drop offs. I wasn't anxious to go. I finally conceeded to go. Winslow was so excited. And as the day arrived for us to leave I got excited. Mostly for some time away from it all. I hadn't done a lot of physical prepping so I knew I wouldn't hike a ton, but it would be a fun experience with my Hubby anyway. We had a good friend Ruth ride with us and two other vehicles of friends came too. There were 10 of us in all. We went shopping in Flagstaff. Where Winslow bought me gorgeous snow boots. LOVE THEM!!! And we bought hiking gear, like socks and crampons and head lamps. Then we met the big group at a Resteraunt in a town right outside the GrandCanyon. We ate super yummy PIZZA and Pasta so we could carbo load for the big day. Then we checked into our hotel where we got a chance to watch the Olympics (since we don't have tv we hadn't watched any of it previously.)
We got up early the next morning to get ready and had breakfast. Winslow turned on the tv and we saw the news of the quake in Chile. I kept trying to remember who I knew that was on a mission there. Turns out it is my cousin TRAVIS! He was supposed to be flying home earlier this week. Guess he's had an extension on his mission!
We met the rest of the group and dropped the Crazies...I mean the really tough guys off at the South Kiabab trailhead. There were 5 of our group who hiked this trail. 17 miles. This trail is no joke. There are signs everywhere saying DO NOT ATTEMPT TO HIKE RIM TO RIVER TO RIM in one day. And that's exactly what they did! They hiked hard and fast and ended up beating our whole group out of the Canyon.
The rest of us...the sane ones!...hiked the Bright Angel Trail 12miles. (I actually only hiked 6 of the miles.) It was gorgeous. So many things to look at. We took tons and tons of pictures. And hiked at a leisurely pace. I loved spending time with my superman. It was much welcomed alone time. I think the poor rest of the group may have felt like we were newlyweds. LOL!
So, while the rest of my group was hiking the extra 6 miles I had 4 hours by myself to think and contemplate. It was a neat experience. I did wish I had brought a book! But I determined that next time I would be in shape to do the whole 12 miles. We hiked in snow and mud and ice. And I loved every minute of it. Crazy? Maybe. But the beauty of the Grand Canyon is so astonishing.
There were also some really funny parts. Like the school group who was hiking. They were ill prepared as far as gear. For instance...the boys had shoes that weren't tied and the girls who did wear boots were wearing Rain Boots! But the funniest part was the girl with the white fur lined coat and her PURSE! Some other hikers and I had a good chuckle as we imagined her Hiking back up the canyon. The hike down is very decieving. It goes fast and you don't expend a ton of energy. However the hike back up is just that. UP the whole way. You spend twice the amount of time AND ENERGY hiking back up. Another thing. On the way down the ground was frozen...on the way up it was muddy! and the Mules had since gone down the trail. So there was a lot of GREEN MUD@!!! I laugh everytime I think of the purse girl and the way she pranced. I would have loved to see her try and avoid all the mud and green mud as she carried her purse on her arm!
It was an amazing day. I am excited to go again. We are already making plans for an April Trip. I plan to be ready for the 12 miler.
Thanks Winslow for dragging me along...you knew I would get hooked!