Day 21 - Grand Canyon Rim to River

All the signs at Grand Canyon warn you not to hike down to the river and back in one day , and I wasn't going to attempt it, in fact I was going to leave GC early and not hike down into the canyon at all. Then I read Bills suggestion of the South Kaibab trail and decided I should just go for it. The weather was ideal, this is the perfect time of year, 60s on the rim and 70s in the canyon and fewer tourists to degrade the beauty.

Starting down the trail later than hoped at 8am, I basically ran down the canyon, passing folks left and right. Halfway down I slowed up as my knees began to cry. My hiking poles helped lessen the beating but the banging of knees on the way down was the hardest part of the hike for me-- the up was easier as I've been training and hiking for a while now. But Bill did not lie about the beauty of the South Kaibab. The views were expansive and the trail easy to hike despite being down down down.

If I wasn't feeing strong and my progress slow I was going to hike along the flat Tonto trail (about 2/3 way down) and then go back up the south Kaibab. But I was feeling great and making super time so I went with plan B, hike all the way down to the river, along the river trail for 1.5 miles and then back up the bright angel trail. Bright angel had a water source and ranger station 1/3 the way up so this was the safest full route. I'm glad I made this decision as the south Kaibab trail from the Tonto plateau to the river was magnificent. This picture of me at the river shows some of the ancient dark rock that dominates the last 1500 feet to the water. This rock is far more dense than the upper 3000 feet so the canyon is steeper and sterner.

I started going up at 12 noon and made good time up to the Ranger station 1/3 of the way up and then made the final steep push to the top along switchback after switchback. I stopped every 30 minutes for water and a one minute break and every two hours for food and a ten minute break. I finished the journey in 16 miles in 8.5 hours and felt tired in the knees but fine. This photo captures some of the trail up on Bright Angel.

I now head south back to the Phoenix and Tucson area for preparation for my next canyon experience: the world class and not well known Aravaipa Canyon. 50 people are allowed in every day and I have a permit for Monday Tuesday and Wednesday! Yay.

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Days 89 and 90 - Waterton

I started my journey north to Canada today. My plan was to head to Waterton Lakes, just north of Glacier, then to Calgary, then the Canadian Rockies parks of Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Glacier and a few others, then to Vancouver and finally to Seattle, all over the next several weeks. But first I needed the Internet! I drove south out of Many Glacier to a place I remembered having cell reception. I did some emailing and calling back home, did some research for my Canada trip and watched the final three episodes of Game of Thrones--wow, the final two episodes were sensational. This rainy, dreary day was perfect for such activities. I then drove into Canada late in the evening and to a campground set in the cloudy mountains at Waterton. The weather cleared a bit the next day and I was able to do some hiking around this scenic alpine lakes district. Waterton Lakes district from a high hill called Bear's Hump: The chipmunks at Bear's Bump were very interested in the conten...

Day 106 - Seattle

My July 4th started with a drive from Vancover to Seattle, arriving at the Museum of Flight by 11. The museum tour began with a display of the 27 U.S. Flags, made interesting by announcing the history of the states entry into the union. This B-17 is similar to the bomber my grandfather flew in WW2. A former Air Force One plane that Kennedy road on was another highlight. I stayed all day at the museum enjoying the history of aviation exhibits and finally space! I drove into downtown Seattle to checkout the city parks reserved for fireworks watching. These neighborhoods were crawling with people and would make horrible stealth street camping sites. I called several hostels and all were full... but then I found one with one bed left. I reserved the spot and drove to the hostel to find it in walking distance to the fireworks. I joined a group waking down to see the fireworks. We were joined by a few others. Two skydivers with fire flaming behind their path were followed by...

Day 93 - Calgary to Banff

After a very pleasant morning at Dave's house spent photocopying trail and scramble guide routes, enjoying a great breakfast and coffee, meeting some of Dave's extremely kind family members and chatting more about adventures, I set out for downtown Calgary. I thought a walk around a museum would be a nice change of pace, so I toured the Glenbow Museum. Two highlights were a Blackfoot Indian describing the meaning of their Tipi decorations and the Gun Scupture. The history of Alberta section was also quite interesting: fur trappers then cowboys then railroad builders then oil drillers. I then walked down to a nearby waterfront park, along a pedestrian only shopping street where a Christian pride rally was taking place, and then down quiet side streets to the park. Seeing people out jogging and playing on this Sunday afternoon reminded me of the real life I must one day return to. But not yet! Hungry and ready for mountains, I walked back to my van and left Calgary heading wes...

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