Miles Travelled: 5,290
Miles Hiked: 90.7
Current Location: Grand Canyon
NOTE: As I was writing this entry in the car Laura and I kept talking about how great this particular hike was. It ended up being one of the best things we have ever done so we wanted to capture it in as much detail as possible. The only thing harder than the hike itself would be reading this entire passage so bear in mind that we are aware how lengthy it is.
We woke up around 5:00 a.m. this morning in order to get most of our hiking in before the mid-day heat. Even this time of the year daytime temperatures get into the 100's. To this point most of the hiking we have done involved going up first and then coming down. In the Grand Canyon, you descend first and then have to climb back up. They advise you that it will take twice as long to climb up as it did to go down regardless of what trail you take. On our way to the trail we came across about a dozen elk by one of the lodges. They are surprisingly huge.
We decided to take a hike on the Bright Angel Trail. We picked this trail because there are checkpoints at 1.5 and 3 miles on the way to Indian Garden which is 4.5 miles from the rim. There is water at each one and we figured we could turn back at any checkpoint if we were too tired.
In addition to making it to Indian Garden, if we were feeling good we could go for Plateau Point which is another 1.5 miles out with no shade or cover. The park guide says going to Plateau Point and back in one day is rated extremely difficult. I put an X on the point in this picture to show how far off it was.
Like many of the hikes we have done, the difficulty with this one is not the distance but the incline. Right from the beginning the trail was one switchback after another. Here are a few pictures to try to illustrate just what they are like. This one shows one small set of switchbacks.
Here is LD just one level below me. As you can see in the picture, we are only about 10 feet apart. However, to get to that point she had to walk 40-50 seconds. So it gets mentally challenging after awhile because at certain points you walk for 10 minutes and then look up and see the spot you were just standing only 25 feet above you.
We made the first checkpoint in 37 minutes where we filled our water bottles and ate a quick breakfast. At this point on the trail the scenery started to change a little bit and we saw some new flowers that we had not seen to this point.
The path to the 3 mile check point was pretty steep but we continued to make good time, hitting the station at 1 hour and 24 minutes. As we left for Indian Garden I snapped this shot of a lizard sitting on a park sign.
One of the most amazing things about the Grand Canyon is that from the top it looks like it is a 100% desert environment. However, once you get down into the canyon you start to see things that you would never expect. A few examples are streams and groves of large cottonwood trees like those pictured here.
We covered the 4.5 miles to Indian Garden in a fast paced 2 hours and 13 minutes and felt great when we got there. There was no doubt that we were going to push on to Plateau Point (1.5 more miles) when we saw a sign indicating that the river itself was only 3 miles further. We began debating the merits of trying for the river with one of the main discussion points being this sign that we had seen at the trailhead.
For the most part, people who do this kind of hiking are extremely friendly and helpful. That was certainly the case during our decision making process. We talked over the idea of the river hike and decided that while we were physically up for it, we should pass because it would be 6 miles there and back without drinking water and we might not be carrying enough.
As Exhibit 2 of it being a small world, we then met a family, Christian, Stephanie and Alex from Richmond, Virginia that live in the same neighborhood where Laura grew up. They are avid hikers who spent several overnights in the bottom of the canyon and had just come from the river. They said the hike was manageable as they had just done it in 3 hours with full overnight packs. They had heard us mention that we were worried about our water supply so they offered us one of their empty bottles. We took that as a sign that we should go for the river. We talked for a little while longer but we wanted to beat the heat on the way down so we packed up and left shortly after that. The trail to the river was initially pretty flat so we were feeling great about the trip until we rounded a corner and saw this view of what we were in for.
We contemplated turning back but decided to push on. The trail was arduous and we now had the full sun on us. The three hardest parts of the hike were:
(1) The incline - Total elevation change was over 3,000 feet down and then up
(2) The desert heat - The air is very dry so you don't sweat as much as you normally would. Sweating normally tells you that your body is overheating and needs water. Without it, you don’t realize how hard you are working and you feel fine but the effects of the heat sneak up on you and hit you all at once
(3) The mules - Guides are allowed to take people down to the canyon floor on mules with as many as 10-12 in a team. When you pass on the trail you have to squeeze against the wall of the cliff as the entire dusty, smelly team passes by. Even worse, the trail is their bathroom so there are some major sick spots along the way. Awful for anyone but a particular sore spot for LD who commented at least 197 times during the hike.
The hike down from the last checkpoint was a tough 1 hour and 36 minutes, putting us at the river in 3 hours and 59 minutes including breaks. It was well worth it because the setting by the river was one of the most beautiful things we have seen yet.
We spent 45 minutes relaxing by the river. Getting our shoes off and dipping our feet into the ice cold water was about as refreshing as anything could ever be. We camped on a rock that stuck out into the river and ate lunch. Here is LD relaxing by the river.
By this time it was around 11:30 a.m. Using the park guideline that it takes twice as long to hike up as it does to hike down, we were looking at 8 hours back to the top which would put us in after dark. LD and I are always up for a challenge so we set out up the trail with the mindset of beating the 2x guideline. Despite hiking in the noon time heat, we not only beat 2x, we actually made it back to Indian Garden 12 minutes faster than we came down! As we reached the checkpoint the temp was hitting 101 degrees in the shade.
After a 25 minute rest we set out for the 3 mile checkpoint. By this point we were really hurting but still made great time. Again, we were faster going up, making it in 45 minutes vs. 48 on the way down. The mental challenge was really kicking in and trail conversation was at a minimum. I focused on counting the steps along the 1.5 mile section of the trail of which there were 3,650. An interesting note on hiking is that even when you hike the exact same trail on the way back you see totally different things based on your direction, perspective and probably your mental state. I took this photo on the way up.
We rested for 15 minutes at the 3M mark where we noted that if we had done Plateau Point instead of the river we would already be done. With 3 miles left to go I can say that the only other time in my life that I felt like this was after running the NYC marathon. This hike was a combination of the distance from Allegheny National Forest with the altitude and exertion of Upper Yosemite Falls. We made the 1.5M mark in 39 minutes, about the same as coming down. At each checkpoint the bathrooms are about 50 yards off the trail. At this point I specifically noted that I would rather piss my pants than add 100 extra yards to the hike.
With 1.5 miles to go we were both totally wrecked. Getting back on our feet after sitting down was pure agony. Other than passing the water bottles back and forth there was zero interaction or talking. We literally had to put every thought into getting one foot in front of the other. Our pace slowed drastically and we focused on getting back to that danger sign at the top of the trail.
We were about 15 minutes slower going up the last leg but we made it. Seeing the lodge at the top of the trail was like approaching the stage to receive your college diploma. You vaguely remember starting the process a long time ago, you put in a lot of hard work and had a lot of fun but most importantly you are glad as hell that you are done with it all. We hit the top in a grueling 9 hours and 7 minutes over 15 miles. We celebrated with a picture by the sign saying not to do what we had just accomplished.
It is incredible how your mind and body break down once you drop your guard. We had just finished the last 1.5 mile leg of a 15 mile hike in 49 minutes but once we reached the end we could barely function and it took us nearly that long to go 150 yards to the parking lot and get in the truck. It might seem like we are overstating the suffering of the hike so I wanted to include a picture of one of the many blisters that were already there by the time we hit the halfway point at the river.
The recovery process after the NYC Marathon was longer but this ranks as the hardest thing I have ever done. Laura is in total agreement. Our trip is winding down and this is probably our last hike so it is only fitting that it was the best, most challenging and most rewarding thing we have done and that we did it in the grandest of America's countless wonders. We will definitely be back to take on the 25 mile cross canyon hike.
Click here for the full Grand Canyon - Day 2 photo album
