The morning after my dad's 50th birthday celebration, I headed out on my next adventure. My Aunt Sheila had invited me to hike the Grand Canyon with her, and I decided, "Why not?". It was once again a good excuse to get out of Logan and have an adventure. My cousins Alan and Jared joined us.
So, that Tuesday we drove down to Arizona. It was a loooong day. Road trips are that way, at least to me... tis why I usually drive, lol. It was complete with a stop to buy pants to replace a torn pair, a return to the house to get hiking boots, an hour stop for a conference call (and therefore some playing and climbing in some sandstone), Subway sandwiches, and ice cream in a dead little town. It was dark by the time we made it to the lodge on the Grand Canyon south rim. My Aunt's friend from LA joined us here, and we had a nice sit-down meal.
The next morning it was time to hit the trail. We caught a shuttle to the South Kaibab trailhead and headed out. It was pretty cold and windy at the beginning of the hike. But, in the lower parts of the canyon, the sun finally found us and it became an easy jaunt through the red rocks. It was seven miles to the bottom, and well worth the views along the way.
That night (a great BIG thanks to my Aunt Sheila!) we got to spend the night at Phantom Ranch, rather than in cold, hard grounded tents. Our stay there was complete with a huge, yummy steak dinner and chocolate cake. We even got pancakes in the morning before we headed out.
Thursday morning brought with it sunshine and the promise of a decent ten mile ascent back to the canyon rim. I'll admit, it was a long hike, but it was certainly not as bad as I was anticipating. I guess this was because the temperature ranged from 60F to 40F - perfect hiking temp for me. We did run into quite a lot of ice at the top of the trail, but thanks to Alan's crampon-things, I stayed on the trail and didn't slip to my doom. ;)
At first, I was apprehesive about this trip, but it turned out to be really fun. Me being out of shape didn't have too much of an effect. That is not going to help motivate myself to start working out, haha. :) Seventeen miles in two days and I was hardly sore. My knee didn't dislocate. It was sunny the whole trip. Good company. It was a pretty good trip.
On Friday we drove back to Utah. I was carsick with a nasty headache most of the trip... not really sure why. But some pills and some Sprite seemed to make it better. Of course, we had to make a stop at Bryce Canyon for a few pictures and a stop at Ruby's Inn for a yummy dinner.
3 comments:
Glad you had so much fun on your trip! I knew you could do it and that you'd have fun!!!!
Great pics Kandice! I'm really glad you were able to come, had a blast with you!
Sounds like a good trip- even if you were stuck with Alan and Jared. :) You are such a great sport and up for anything- so glad you had fun and got to spend some time with Sheila and enjoy some gorgeous scenery.
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