GRAND CANYON ( RIM TO RIM ) HIKING TRIP
Departure
Location : San Diego, Ca.
Destination
: Grand Canyon Airport, South Rim
Date
: Leave Monday, 17 May , return Friday, 21 May, 1999
Trip
Leader
: Jim Kitsos
The
others
: Karl Cikste, Sherman Congdon, A.J. Mason and Sigfried Mikuteit
PLANNING
: The idea for this type of trip
came to me while having lunch at Gaetano’s in Tierrasanta, San Diego, with
the usual “Friday Lunch Bunch” group.
I had been to both South and North rims of the Grand Canyon ( GC ) back
in 1986, but I had not hiked down the canyon from either rim.
Most of the others had hiked down and up the same side, but not down
one rim and up the other rim. So
one Friday lunch in late December, 1997 I posed the question to several in the
group, to see if there was any interest in doing the hike from rim to rim; I
was surprised that five showed a genuine interest.
I
volunteered to make the plans for the trip.
I came up with a preliminary schedule to go in May, 1998 ( best weather
) for four or five days with overnight stay at Phantom Ranch, at the bottom of
the Canyon by the Colorado river. Several
options were discussed, but we ended up with the following
itinerary:
Monday
( May 18 ) - Fly to South Rim ( Sherman would be our pilot ); take the shuttle
van ( no
helicopter shuttle to NR allowed anymore ) for a five hour ride to the
NM.
Have dinner at the main restaurant there and stay at the GC Lodge.
Tuesday
( May 19 ) - Hike down to Phantom Ranch via the North Kaibab Trail; have
dinner there
and stay overnight.
Wednesday
( May 20 ) - Have breakfast, explore the area around the Ranch, have dinner
and stay
one more night at the Ranch.
Thursday
( May 21 ) - Hike out and up the Bright Angel trail to the SR.
Once at the top we would
take the shuttle bus to Tusayan ( town about seven miles outside the GC
village ) for an overnight stay.
Friday
( 22 ) - Fly back to San Diego at our leisure.
In
early January I started making phone calls for reservations at the Ranch and
at the GC Lodge ( critical requirements ); it turned out they were all booked
solid through the summer at the Phantom Ranch.
We discussed it, and decided to make plans for May 17 through 21, 1999
instead.
In
early January 1998 I was able to get reservations at Phantom Ranch and the GC
Lodge at the North Rim, and also reserved our meals while at Phantom Ranch.
I also reserved the shuttle van for our ride to NR.
The
rest of the planning involved transportation to and from San Diego; Sherman
volunteered to fly the group to the SR and back in an airplane from the flying
club to which he belongs; we were all
delighted about that, especially A.J., an ex pilot himself.
The final item was to make reservations for lodging at Tusayan for the
last night ( Friday ) , which A.J. volunteered to do, since he had stayed in
that town before. I put
everything on paper using my computer, and distributed copies to everyone, and
started the long wait ( 1 1/2 years ) before we could go on this trip.
About
one week before departure I called everyone to a meeting, following lunch at
Gaetano’s of course, to discuss what clothes and food to take with us, and
get instructions from Sherman as to weight limitations for the flight.
He calculated that we could carry a total of 20 pounds each, and still
make the trip non stop. This trip did not include any back packing, so it was thought
that a “day pack” would be sufficient to carry what we needed.
A.J. was assigned to be the photographer for prints, and he was to make
copies for the rest of us, while Karl was going to use his camera for slides;
he is an expert at making slide presentations, I’m sure he will do one after
the trip.
We
decided to meet at Montgomery airport in Kearny Mesa ( Gibbs Flying Service
parking lot, the airplane was there ) at seven a.m. on the departure day.
I
have a day pack, but I needed a bigger & better one, so I started looking;
I found one at REI, with a volume of approximately 2,100 cubic inches, and
side pockets large enough to hold my two one quart plastic water containers.
I made a list of the things that I wanted and needed to bring on the
trip; I stuffed the day pack as I checked the items off the list.
I was amazed how much I could put in that pack.
DAY
1 ( MONDAY ) -
It was a glorious day, sunny, mild, and no wind, perfect flying
conditions. Everyone was at the
designated area when I arrived at the airport, while Sherman was checking out
the plane. 
I inquired about our
weights, as we were waiting, and each gave his total weight : A.J.-218 lbs;
Karl - 222 lbs; Sig - 210 lbs; Jim - 188 lbs; Sherman - 197 lbs for a total of
1,035 lbs; Sherman said that it was OK, and that we would make it non stop,
barring any strong head winds, in which case we would have to stop ( somewhere
) and refuel.
We
loaded the plane with our gear, went for a last pit stop ( three hour flight
and no bathroom onboard, although I brought a plastic bottle just in case ),
got instructions how to open and close the door on my side ( I sat in the back
), climbed in hooked up the extra set of ear phones that A.J. had brought
along; that way I could hear the conversations between the pilot, co-pilot and
the tower, Karl and Sig sat in the middle row of seats.
It got a little warm inside ( Sherman warned us about that ), while
taxiing and before take off. Otherwise the airplane was comfortable enough, but it got a
little noisy after Sherman started the engine ( Cherokee 6, single 300 hp ).
At
about 8:08 a.m. we took off smoothly, I thought I was in a 727, as a big part
of San Diego started unfolding below us.
We headed for Julian ( 8:15 a.m. ) as I am trying to understand Sherman’s
requests and the Tower’s replies and instructions; this is a different
language these people speak, and they talk very fast.
We
passed over Julian and headed for Palm Springs as the plane slowly continued
to climb toward 11,500 ft.. The
climb was so slow that Sherman decided to cruise at 9,500 ft. so we could gain
more speed. In the distance on
our left we could see the snow covered peak of San Jacinto mountain. 
We fly over vast terrain of desert as we approach Twenty Nine Palms and
headed for Needles. Sherman and A.J. pour over the maps and the instruments,
constantly changing frequencies on the communications transceiver heeding the
voice from the control towers below. We
can see lake Havasu on our right, and the Colorado river snaking through its
way through the arid land. Sprinkled
here and there one can see dwellings, connected with a maze of dirt roads
criss crossing the sandy landscape. It
is beyond me why anyone would want to live in such barren land, maybe the
taxes are low. The skies so far
have been free of traffic, which is good.
Kingman
Arizona is ahead ( approx. 125 miles from GC ) as is Peach Springs ( gateway
to Havasupai canyon ). Vegetation
begins to appear as we enter the most southern part of GC, with a little
turbulence being felt ( about 10:15 a.m. ).
By this time I was quite a bit cold, the rest of the people were
comfortable, however; I put on my sweater and I investigated around
the door on my side and found that it was leaking air!
The GC is in full view now, and what a view it is indeed!
The GC airport and the runway are not far away, we follow a couple of
other planes landing in front of us as we
descend; the touchdown at 10:51 a.m. is very smooth ( good job Sherman
). 
Sherman parks the plane, we unload our stuff, Sherman had the
plane refueled for the return trip, and headed for the terminal ( and the
bathrooms ), where the Trans Canyon ( TC ) people would meet us between noon
and 12:30 p.m. for the ride to the NR ( as it was pre-arranged ).
The weather was wonderful, nice little terminal with lots of
helicopters and small planes as well as tour buses outside. We had more than
an hour, so I called the TC office, to arrange for them to pick us up earlier
especially if we were the only ones they were taking to the NR.
They said they would stick to the agreed time, since they had more
people to shuttle; so we looked for something to eat ( A.J. and Karl went
looking for an eatery nearby ), but the rest stuck around and munched on what
we had brought with us or snacks/drinks from the vending machine.
The
van man ( Tom Jones, no kidding that is his name, I had talked to him several
times during the planning phase ) eventually showed up; he told us he would
drop us off at the Bright Angel Lodge at the SR, where another driver (
Raymond ) would pick us up and seven others and drive us to the NR.
We unloaded our stuff ( how many times has it been already ? ) and we
had 15 minutes to meet the other driver.
I went to the transportation desk inside the lodge to reconfirm our
reservations at the Phantom Ranch ( it was a requirement ), and the NR.
A.J. and I stayed together but the others scattered around.
We headed outside ( the south rim side ) and looked at the view and
took a couple of pictures, and hurried back at the meeting place as people
were already loading their packs and bags in and on the van ( 12 passengers ).
Raymond, the driver, took off driving through the park for quite a
while before we entered highway 64. He
told us that he would have to drive south to Cameron about 50 miles before he
could turn North and drive through Marble Canyon and on to NR 220 miles from
the SR. The passengers in the van
seemed to interact well exchanging experiences during the ride; Raymond was
the talkative type and seemed to be very knowledgeable about the area.
The scenery was pretty along the roads into the park and hwy. 64, which
was lined up with many Indian kiosks selling from jewelry to pottery.
We
stopped at Cameron for gas, a pit stop, ice cream, whatever.
As we were entering the gas station at Cameron, there were two or three
trucks pulling giant residential trailers, and Raymond commented that he hoped
we didn’t get stuck behind them.
We got on our way and turned into hwy. 89A North.
Well we did get stuck behind them as we pulled into hwy. 89A, but a
short while later they turned to a side road, and soon we were traveling at
normal speed again. Our next pit
stop was at Marble Canyon ( MC ) at about 4:10 p.m. Just past MC we saw some
rocks with very interesting shapes ( Rock Canyon ).
The valleys all around us were unusually green.
At Jacob Lake ( elev. 7691
ft. ) we turned into hwy. 67 where we were greeted with thick beautiful pine
forests ( about 5:00 p.m. ), wide open green meadows where cattle were
grazing, and an occasional deer made an appearance.
The road is smooth, clear and only sporadic snow patches could be seen
on the ground. We also saw a
Kaibab squirrel which has a very distinct white bushy tail and can be found
only in these parts ( the reason later ).
We
saw a sign informing us that we were entering the NR; the van pulled into the
Kaibab campground to let off two hikers, who had done what we were about to do
in the next few days. One of them
had a bandaged thigh ( ominous sign? ). We
got out for a stretch, we were only minutes from the GC lodge.
At
about 6:30 p.m. the van pulls in front of the GC, we unloaded our stuff,; it
is mild, clear and very pleasant.
At
the front desk we find out that the prices for our reserved cabins had gone up
since 18 months ago, so we had to pay an extra four dollars per cabin per
night. We ended up with cabin #71
( two double beds ) and #72 ( two adjoining cabins with two twins, and two
doubles ) and they were located one row back from the edge of the canyon (
steep terrain ). On the way to
our cabins I played a little game with the group to decide who would end up in
which cabin. Karl was the lucky
one, because he had a cabin to himself thanks to the generosity of Sherman and
Sig, who got the other half of #72; A.J. and I shared #71.
The log cabins are rustic but comfortable with their own bathroom and
shower. We left our stuff in the
cabin and went back to the main lodge where all the neat things take place;
elegant dining room with all around glass windows to enjoy the panoramic
views, beautiful sitting/observation room with giant fire place and wooden
floors. 
Outside chairs were lined
up along the three foot barrier stone wall facing the canyon and the SR; a
giant fire place against the back wall would be going later in the evening.
This was a perfect place for pictures and we certainly took the
opportunity. We walked a short
distance to the edge of the canyon ( I forget the name of the point ) for a
spectacular vista, and to watch the sun disappear in the horizon ( colorful
sunset ) at 6:27 p.m..
It
was time to think about dinner and we inquired getting in the dining room;
they have two seatings one at 5:30 p.m. and the other at 9:30 p.m.
The first one was sold out and the other one was too late as we needed
to get up early the next day to start the hike down to Phantom Ranch.
We opted for the snack bar next to the restaurant ( they served pizza
too, and that is what we had, but no beer and no wine, bummer ).
Leaving the lodge my eye caught a bulletin board advertising the
nightly program was going to be at the auditorium at 8 p.m.; I suggested we
attend it after our pizza dinner. The
pizza was ok, but nothing to write home about.
After
dinner we rolled into the auditorium ( rather large area with a stage where
the forest ranger was getting her equipment ready ). Tonight’s program was about her favorite animals, she said,
bats and it was titled “ wings in the night”.
It was a good presentation, but a tad too long ( a lot of facts ); she
also told about the Kaibab squirrel ( remember? ), and why this area is the
only place it can be found; it seems that a long time ago when the canyons
were formed all around it, the squirrel was isolated in the area, adapted to
the environment and stayed there. The slide program lasted about 45 minutes,
by then we were ready for bed, returned to our cabin; I showered, and then A.J.
and I decided to go back outside for one last time to see if the Milky Way was
visible; unfortunately too much light pollution around the area prevented us
from seeing it, but we did go back to the vista point for one more look across
the canyon and the SR with its lights glimmering 10 miles away as the crow
flies. We returned to the cabin,
packed and retired at 10 p.m..
DAY
2 ( TUESDAY ) : We got up around 6:45 a.m. ( I have slept better before ).
Very mild weather greeted us this morning ( 45 degrees ), dressed ( I
in shorts ), walked to the Saloon Cafe ( the only place open at this time )
for coffee and sweet rolls, then carried our stuff to the van and Raymond ( it
was prearranged the day before ), who would take us to the North Kaibab trail
head about a mile down the paved road from the lodge.
After the short ride we tipped the driver
( $5 per person ), took some pictures, and started our long descent of
14 miles at 6:42 a.m.. It was
very cold here, I was anxious to get moving in order to warm a little.
The trail plunged almost straight down, lush in all directions; it
followed the deep gorge, flowers in vivid colors, especially a type tree that
was in full bloom violet or dark lavender; since no one knew its name, we
named it the “hmmm” tree.
The
trail itself was comfortably wide, mostly free of rocks, and occasionally
hugged the red sandstone walls some rising hundreds of feet high and some
falling hundreds of feet down forming the canyon walls.
It was simply awesome to see, scary yet beautiful! After about three hours of hiking we could hear the roar of
what turned out to be the “Roaring Springs” on the left side of the gorge
( more like cascades ). On our
way down we crossed several bridges over the gorge, which were good photo
opportunities, and we certainly took them.
A
little further down from Roaring Springs we stopped for a rest, a bite to eat
and something to drink at the National Park Service compound ( residence with
a helicopter pad ); it was a flat area with grass, tall cottonwood trees
providing a cool shade with the Bright Angel Creek flowing next to it; picnic
tables and flat top tree stumps provided the sitting. After a 15 minute rest we continued downhill until we reached
“Cottonwood” campground, midway to our destination. This is a favorite place with hikers and back packers alike.
Several groups made their stop here, and so did we.
I gave my feet a break by removing the boots and the socks.
We
pressed on, by this time the trail had flattened out a bit, and it was a
little easier on the joints. We
came at a Y; the main trail continued on the left, a bridge over the creek led
to the right, and a sign directing the visitor to the “Ribbon Falls”.
Karl took a right toward the falls, some of the rest of us not knowing
how far it would lead us, we stopped and asked a couple, who had been there,
and they told us it is worth the extra 1/4 mile hike ( the falls were behind a
hill and they could not be seen or heard ) and that the side trail joined the
main trail downstream. We crossed the bridge and we soon saw the falls, a pretty
sight. A great spot for photos,
Sig and I hiked underneath the falls, and drank some of the water, which
tasted like bottled ( filtered ) water. 
On
the way back we followed the creek hoping to find an easy crossing, but we
didn’t, so all of us except Sherman removed our boots and socks ( I had
brought with me my water shoes, very handy ) in order to get across. The trail is gentler now and goes in and out of the sun, and
it was becoming warmer. I had
talked to every body that we should stop every 45 minutes to an hour for rest,
eating, and replenishing our lost fluids ( more on this later ).
Whenever I was not leading on the hike, it seemed that my hikemates
forgot to look at their watch, so I would shout at them to stop. At one of our stops Sherman did not feel so good ( he looked
a little pale to me ); as he told us about his symptoms ( apparently he was
going through the initial stages of heat exhaustion, more on this later ), he
asked if any of us had any sport drinks with us ( they contain electrolytes,
primarily salt, potassium,... ). I
had brought enough with me in powder form to make one quart; I mixed half of
it with 1/4 of water; he drank most of it, and he started feeling better
almost right away. Once Sherman
felt he could go on, we continued on the trail, which by now was almost flat (
a sign that we were not far from Phantom Ranch ).
Sig and Karl increased the pace to the point where we couldn’t see
them, as the trail snaked its way along the creek making many turns.
A
sign informed us that we had arrived at Phantom Ranch; plenty of cottonwood
trees, cabins, and other people. Sig
and Karl greeted the rest of us in front of the dormitory type cabin where we
would spend the next two nights; it was about 4:05 p.m..( 9 hours and 23
minutes since we started this morning, and we were tired ). We entered dorm cabin #13, with 10 bunks; all the lower ones
were already taken. Suddenly the
thought came to me why just maybe Sig and Karl had raced towards the end of
the hike in order to arrive first and claim lower bunks; I kidded them about
it, of course they denied it. Karl,
however, must have felt some guilt about
it, because he offered his lower bunk to Sherman our pilot ( I guess he
redeemed himself ). The cabin was
air conditioned ( a pleasant surprise as it was 96 degrees outside but dry and
it did not feel that warm ), with one bathroom and shower.
It felt good to unload, undress, and lie down while people started
lining up to take a shower. I
ended up taking a shower last because I was busy making notes for this
journal. We had reserved dinner for the 6:30 seating at the dining
room.
At
around 6:20 we strolled to the outside of the dining room, the hostess came
out and gave us instructions as to what group would sit at which table, ours
was under my name and we ended up at the last table from the entrance, which
did not mean it was the worst. The
tables were set with bright blue table cloth, silverware, and the food was
prepared ahead of time ( tonight’s dinner was hiker’s stew ), and it was
already at the table as was the salad and the corn bread ( I love corn bread
); there was also pitchers of water and ice tea, no alcohol ( shocks! ).
I liked the stew, but it had a little too many cloves in it ( the aroma
was overpowering ). The desert was chocolate cake, somehow we found room for it!
All in all it was very good. They
served the whole room full of people in 30 minutes, absolutely the most
efficient operation I have ever seen.
At
7:15 p.m. we assembled at the amphitheater ( it sounds fancy but it was just
an open area with benches ), to hear Pam Cox, one of the rangers, talk about
tonight’s program. I arrived a
little later than the others; I was getting ready to seat myself, when I heard
her talk about bats; before I
sat, I asked her if the program was about bats, because if it were, I was not
going to sit through another lecture about bats.
She assured me that she wasn’t, she merely was answering one of Karl’s
questions about bats. What a
relief!. Tonight’s program was
about the geology of the Grand Canyon. It
was very informative, and she was quite animated in telling the story of the
GC ( she called the Canyon an open book and each page reveals a stage of its
history ), as she did not have any visual aids.
She summarized the GC story by humorously saying “ the land caved in,
the water came in, the land lifted, the river cut through, the walls fell in”,
and every one laughed.
She
volunteered to present a “ Hiking Safety Strategy” after the main program,
which she promised that, if we practiced it, we would reach the top safe and
with a smile in our face ( see pictures later ). We had to attend! She
stressed three very important things one can do while hiking are : a) eat a
lot, because the body burns up many calories ( she said about 600 per hour,
albeit it sounds high to me ); b) drink a lot; she quipped, don’t just carry
water, drink it ( more later! ); c) rest often and prop up the feet, so they
are higher than the heart. They
all make a lot of sense to me. She
mentioned that the most common medical problems hikers develop are heat
related, i.e., a) HYPOTHERMIA which is a life threatening emergency where the
body cannot keep itself warm, due to exhaustion and exposure to cold, wet,
windy weather; SYMPTOMS : uncontrolled shivering, poor muscle control, and
careless attitude; TREATMENT : Put on dry clothing, drink warm liquids, warm
victim by body contact ( forget it Sherman ) with another person, protect from
wind, rain, and cold. b) HEAT
EXHAUSTION is the result of dehydration due to intense sweating; hikers can
loose one to two liters of water per hour; rangers at both Phantom Ranch and
Indian Garden treat as many as 20 cases of heat exhaustion a day; SYMPTOMS :
Pale face, nausea, cool and moist skin, headache, and cramps; TREATMENT :
Drink water, eat high-energy foods, rest in the shade, cool the body.
c) HEAT STROKE is a life threatening emergency where the body’s heat
regulating mechanisms become overwhelmed by a combination of internal heat
production and environmental demands. Grand
Canyon has two to three cases of heat stroke a year.
SYMPTOMS : Flushed face, dry skin, weak and rapid pulse, high body
temperature, poor judgment or inability to cope, unconsciousness, Victim is in
danger! TREATMENT : Find shade,
cool victim with water, send for help. d)
HYPONATREMIA ( water intoxication, I had never heard of this one
before) is an illness that mimics the early symptoms of heat exhaustion.
It is the result of low sodium in the blood which is caused by drinking
too much water and loosing body salt through sweating.
SYMPTOMS : Nausea, vomiting, altered mental states, and frequent
urination. TREATMENT : Have the
victim eat salty foods. If mental alertness decreases, seek immediate help.
REMEMBER THE FOUR H’s!!! I
certainly will.
After
the program we turned in, as we needed to catch up on our rest.
THIRD
DAY ( Wednesday ) : We had reserved breakfast for the 6:30 a.m. seating at the
dining room. The weather was very
nice again this morning. Once at
the dining room we took our reserved seats, and the breakfast makings were
already at the table waiting for us, which
were still warm ( how do they do it? ).
Pancakes, bacon ( sinful but I succumbed ), scrambled eggs, halved
peaches, orange juice, and coffee, all you could eat.
It was very good. 
After we
stuffed ourselves we needed to work off some of it and decided to explore the
area; we took a two mile day hike along the Clear Creek Trail; it was quite
steep going up, and it led us to a fantastic vista point ( see pictures ). One could look up the Colorado river for at least a couple of
miles, see the Black bridge below, which carries the mule trains primarily
to/from the south Kaibob trail; many people were coming down as well as mule
trains going up to South Rim. I
don’t think I want to take that trail going up, perhaps coming down, I got
tired just looking at it. We
could also see the trail splitting up where it enters the black bridge to the
right ( from our vantage ), following the river wall leading to the silver
bridge ( pedestrian traffic ) about 1/4 of a mile down.
We could also see a helicopter pad below with a helicopter parked there
( used primarily for evacuations ), several buildings belonging to the NPS,
and more of the river downstream around a wide bend..
One could see the muddy brown water rush past us at a very fast rate;
the river is about 300 feet wide in this area;
there is also a beach front almost below where the raft boats beach
themselves. 
It was truly a
beautiful panorama. I wish I
could remember the names of the different rock formations ( A.J. is the
geologist in the group ). We saw
a couple of paddle boats, one docking below, the other floating past us.
Karl
and Sig continued up the trail while the rest of us back traced our steps to
the Ranch and our cabin. Sherman
snored during his nap, I washed my shirt and socks, and A.J. went for some
more exploring. A little later we
three hiked about a mile to see the Indian Ruins along the river bank; on the
way there we came across an impressive looking grave on the left side of the
trail ( it was really a tall mound of rocks ) with a cross and some faded
artificial flowers on one end and a plaque on a wall nearby identifying the
person as Reese B. Griffiths ( a trail foreman ) who was born in 1873 and died
in 1922 ( pretty young, but the hard work was probably too much for him ).
We found the Indian Pueblo some distance from the grave; only the
foundation of four rooms and a central room ( where they performed ceremonies
) called KIVA remain today, and they were built by the Anasazi Indians many
hundreds of years ago. The Anasazis were the ancestors of the Hopi Indians.
We
walked to the beach where a raft boat with about 12 people had stopped for
lunch; they were on a several day, 200 mile journey down the river, and they
were enjoying the shade under some small trees. We thought it would be fun to have our picture taken while
dipping in the ice cold water; With
the help of one of the boat people all three of us dunked in the water
simultaneously while he took our picture; we made our exit as fast we could.
The warm and dry air dried us very quickly.
The boaters were getting ready to leave, we helped them push the boat
from the beach, and off they went. We
walked to the Black Bridge ( is it true that the flooring of the bridge is
solid, because if it has holes in it, the mules get spooked, when they see the
rushing water below? ) crossed it, and went through a tunnel and once out of
it we stared at the steep ascent of the trail up the canyon, NO WAY JOSE!
We turned around and retraced our footsteps to the Cantina ( part of
the dining room ) where we met Karl and Sig and had a beer.
It was late in the afternoon when we left the cantina for the cabin;
everyone cleaned up and it was time for our reserved steak dinner ( 5 p.m.
seating ). Again the food was
ready for us as soon as we sat down, New York steak, corn & other
vegetables, salad, corn bred ( did I say I love corn bread? ), ice tea,
coffee, and believe it or not one could order wine ( we did not however), and
the usual chocolate cake for desert. The
steak was tasty, but a little fatty ( good to build up energy reserves ).
There
was plenty of time until tonight’s ranger program ( 7:30 p.m. ) so Karl,
Sherman, Sig and me hiked to the grave sight that was described earlier; you
see we had forgotten the name of the person buried there, and we just had to
go back and look at it again, so I could enter it in this journal! 
It was then that we also took a picture with Karl & Sig at the end
of the grave.
We
returned to the Cantina for a cool one, and then we strolled to the
amphitheater where Pam, the ranger, was scheduled to talk about John Wesley
Powel; he was the guy who first mapped and photographed the GC along the
Colorado ( Red ) river. She
narrated the trials and tribulations, the bad luck he and his team went
through ( I don’t think I could do it ) during their 7 - month journey.
He had the boats constructed ( he named his boat which was different
from the rest after his wife, Madeline ).
Anyway she was very entertaining and very informative, and as she did
the other night, she offered to stay around to talk about “Hiking Strategies”
( see earlier discussion ). Time had come to go pack and call it the night
There was some discussion on the time we should get up in the morning.
Some suggested we get up at 4:30 a.m. some even earlier; I expressed my
concern that hiking in the dark is not safe, so I suggested we leave not later
than five. There were some
grumbles about that; the other concern was that they felt the trail would be
in the sun later in the day, and the earlier we left the better it would be.
I don’t like sprained ankles, but I offered a compromise that
whatever time it gets light outside , that is when we should leave.
A.J. intervened and suggested we leave by 4:45 a.m., which was fine
with everyone, I think. In the
meantime Sig had gone and picked up our reserved sack lunches for tomorrow
from the dining room, and we then retired for the evening.
FOURTH
DAY ( Thursday ) : People were up
and milling around the room when I got up at about 4:36 a.m.. It took me a few
minutes to get everything ready, and by 4:50 a.m. A.J. and I headed for the
trail, while the others were not far behind; there was plenty of light, and
very pleasant. 
We crossed the
silver bridge over the river to get to the south side, as the water split
around a long sand bar down stream. The
trail followed the river closely for about 1 1/2 miles, and at Pipe Creek it
turned inland gently and steadily up at first before it steepened.
It wasn’t long before we started sweating.
After an hour or so, we had our first stop, and remembered to apply the
Safe Hiking Strategy we learned from Pam, the park ranger.
The sun was up by now but, so far the trail has been in the shade, and
it was nice and cool. We could
hear the gentle roar of a stream that ran along side the trail at spots, and
there were several locations with trees and bushes concentrated where the
water was. We crossed the creek
several times as we ascended the steeper slopes now, with the trail going in
and out of the sun, as the switch backs zigged and zagged upward.
At one of the stops Sig crossed the creek, disappeared behind tall
bushes; he said he had located deer hoof marks, and pretty soon we came across
face to face with a couple of them on the trail. Occasionally we would stop and look back in awe at the
spectacular rock walls and formations, and in the distance, we could see the
canyon and the north rim. At the
half way point ( approx. 5 miles up to the south rim ) we came across what
looked like paradise, green, lush tropical setting, “Indian Garden”.
Picnic tables, tall trees, several portable toilets, drinking water, a
campground, and a lot more people than we encountered on the trail so far.
It was the perfect spot to rest, raise our feet,
have lunch, explore, fill up our water containers, and maybe catch a
few Z’s. The easier part of the
hike was behind us. The tougher
part of the whole trip was waiting for us.
Rejuvenated somewhat, and refreshed, we began the 4 1/2 miles upward; a
sign informed us that there is drinking water at 1 1/2 mile intervals, which
was also a warning that we should drink a lot. 
The trail was much steeper, the switch backs were dizzying, very
crowded mostly with day hikers from the south rim ( people that just hike to
the Indian Garden and back up ). We met at least three mule trains on their
way down, as we scrambled to find a safe spot on the hill side of the trail
and be quite ( established rules ), while they passed by us.
The constant digging by the mules into the loose dirt made the trail
extremely dusty; a couple of times I thought I was going to choke.
The dust, the smell of the mule poop and urine, and the ever present
flies, made these moments of the trip very unpleasant, actually disgusting.
At one point as I’m waiting patiently for the mule train to pass me,
not being able to breathe, and obviously in distress, the leader of the pack
train smiling asked “how are you doing?”
He surely must be joking I thought; I covered my mouth and nose and
replied “I’ve had better days” with a mumble.
I saw several of the people on the mules covering their mouths and
noses with handkerchiefs, not a sign that they were enjoying themselves.
It reminded me of an article I had read sometime ago where hikers had
complained about this situation, and recommended to abolish pack trains on the
Bright Angel Trail. I am
definitely for it, but I doubt if it will happen!
It was getting warmer, sweatier and more tiring.
We
arrived at the first water stop; the covered stone building with benches and a
water fountain was a welcome sight. Many
people had stopped for the same reason we had; this was also a photo op.
We took advantage of it. We
dusted off our clothes, I wetted a handkerchief, threw water over me ( keeping
cool was one of the safe hiking tips we learned ), replenished the water
supply, and we pressed on hoping that we will not see another mule train ( fat
chance ). The trail was getting tougher by the minute, as we were more
in the sun. Soon we came across
the second area with drinking water, and we all thought the end was near ( 1
1/2 miles )! We saw all kinds of
people on the trail and some that should not be on it, e.g., women with
babies, old folks that could barely walk and keep their balance ( you have to
admire them for trying, but not very smart ).
The trail, it seemed got easier, saw more vegetation and pine trees
appeared, a sign that we were close to the top.
We went under an arch and soon it was level ground; Sig was first up,
followed by A.J., then me, then Sherman and last but not least Karl.
It was 12:40 p.m., seven hours and fifty minutes after we had left the
Phantom Ranch. Amazingly everyone
arrived at the top with a smile on their face, as the photos show.
We had followed the park ranger’s “Safe Hiking Strategy”, and it
worked just like she had told us it would!
I’m going to try to send her a note to thank her for that ( if I can
locate her ).
Once
at the top we had talked about the first thing we were going to do was to go
for a cool beer. It did not work
out that way though, because the local shuttle bus was ready to leave, and so
we boarded the bus, imagining how good the beer would have tasted.
After a very short ride we transferred to the shuttle for the village
of Tasayan ( perfect timing, but no beer here either ).
The bus was full, but everyone got a seat to rest during the seven mile
ride to town ( cost $4/person ). We
arrived at our hotel, Roadway Inn shortly after 1p.m.,
but they wouldn’t let us check in until 4p.m.
They let us store our gear in the storage area, and Sherman wanted to
have ice cream a la mode, so we walked to the restaurant next door; some of us were so hungry we ate a hearty meal, and that beer
that alluded us earlier. At
around 3p.m. Sherman and A.J. decided to walk to the GC airport ( they thought
it was 1/2 mile down the road ) to check up on our airplane, and whatever else
Sherman needed to do before tomorrow’s flight back to San Diego.
Karl, Sig and I went back to the hotel to try to talk them into letting
us check in. They only had one
room ready then, and they would let us have it, but all the paperwork had to
be changed ( all three rooms were under A.J.’s credit card ).
I said it was OK to put the room for A.J. and me under my card, I let
Karl and Sig know, and headed for the room.
A little later Sig and Karl were able to check into their room.
I cleaned up ( it felt wonderful ), and while I was waiting I updated
my journal. A.J. and Sherman came
back from the airport, and A.J. reported they had some difficulties at the
hotel desk with all the changes that had taken place, but in the end Sherman
got his room ( a perk for our pilot ). A.J.
also discovered that he had left his camera in the bus.
Neither of us remembered the company’s name, but while in our room we
searched through the white pages and the yellow pages looking for a company
that had anything to do with shuttling, bussing, transportation, etc. (
actually I let my fingers do the walking, because A.J.’s glasses were broken
in half; it was hilarious to see A.J. trying to balance one half of his
glasses on his nose in order to read things ).
A.J. called an outfit ( I attempted to fix his glasse using medical
tape ) that sounded like the one that brought us to the hotel, and lo and
behold they said they had it. He arranged for them to bring it between 5:15 and 5:20; it
was 4:50, A.J. took a quick shower ( it was really quick ), and dashed to the
front of the hotel to meet the van, while I stayed back. He came back empty handed.
No one showed. He called
the company but there was no answer, A.J. thought that they had gone home, and
that he may never see his camera again. I
decided to try again, this time someone came on the line; I handed the phone
to him, and he arranged for the van and the driver ( female ) that brought us
to the hotel to meet him at the front. We
both walked out of the room, staked both entrances of the parking lot, and
kept an eye for the van. Soon we
saw the van driving down the road toward the hotel, but it never turned in the
parking lot, it kept on going for about a 1/4 mile and entered a shopping
mall. We were confused to say the
least. A.J. had this brilliant
idea and started running toward the mall hoping to catch up with it, except he
had run for about 100 yards when the van came out of the mall, and drove off
away from us ( I was observing all this, as I was guarding one of the
driveways ); he was on his way back, when a minivan pulled up from behind me,
and a male driver shouted at me “Are you Mr. Mason”?
( I knew then that he was there to drop off the camera ). I explained
to him the situation, I pointed out A.J. and told him to wait; he handed the
camera to me. At that time A.J.
arrived, flushed face, huffing and frustrated about what had transpired, but
happy, I guess, that he had his camera back, and he tried to find out about
the mix up. As it turned out, we
were looking for the same bus and driver that brought us to the hotel, and
they had another one bring it in a different vehicle, thus confusing the heck
out of us. After hiking 10 miles all day A.J. must have hiked at least another
two miles to the airport and back, and going after the van.
If you think this is a long story, you are right, but you had to be
there to appreciate it ( classic example of breakdown in communication ).
After
everyone cleaned up and rested a bit, we went for a light dinner; there was
talk about going to the I-MAX show ( Everest ) close by, but we opted for
returning to the rooms and retired for the evening; the plan was to meet at
6:30 a.m. and go for breakfast at McDonald’s across the street ( the only
place open that early ). Sherman
had declared that he would like to have a big breakfast!
FIFTH
DAY ( FRIDAY ) - We checked out at around 7:00 a.m. and walked to the Grand
Canyon Airport, approx. 1 mile away, and to our plane.
There was taxi service available at $5/person, but that would have
delayed us. Sherman checked out
the plane, filed the flight plan, and the rest loaded our stuff.
We boarded ( I took the other seat in the back to avoid the cold air
leaking in side the cabin from around the door ).
We took off at 8:20 a.m. It
was a model day, we climbed steadily, and soon the GC came into full view
again to our right. It is really
wide and deep!
While
Sherman and A.J. handled the controls and the communications and had their
eyes peeled in all directions, the rest of us enjoyed the ride, the views, and
a little snooze here and there.
Before
we realized it we were entering the San Diego area, which was cloudy with the
ceiling at four thousand feet; we
headed straight into the clouds ( no open spaces ) and for a short time we
could only see as far as the tips of the wings, but that did not worry our
pilot any, at least he did not admit anything.
We made the approach to land at Montgomery airport, lined up with the
runway, and descended. There were
strong cross winds at the time, the touchdown was more like a bounce ( I
thought we would continue going up ) but Sherman brought the aircraft under
control, and taxied to the refueling station, and then to the parking area,
where Eileen ( Sherman’s better half ) greeted us. It was 11:20a.m. and some of us were ready for lunch.
After
parking the plane, and unloading our stuff, Karl and I drove to Gaetano’s
( after all it was Friday, and the Friday Lunch Bunch would be there ), A.J.
and Sig decided not to go, but Sherman and Eileen would join us later.
We weren’t in the restaurant for 15 minutes, when A.J. walked in; I
said to him “you changed your mind”; he said no, he came looking for
Sherman to tell him that he had left his camera in the plane!!!
De ja vous all over again. Was
this another “senior moment” A.J.? Sherman
showed up with the camera ( rescued for the second time on this trip ); A.J.
left, and we went on to have lunch and relate our trip to the group ( or
whoever was interested in listening ).
We
talked about and agreed that we should have a post trip party with pictures,
slide show ( Karl ), and our experiences; A.J. volunteered to host it, and the
format would be pot luck ( luck in a pot? ).
THE
END ( What is the next adventure? ).