Beauty and the beast, the NTZ
The drive into the Grand Canyon took longer than expected, a common theme for the road trip so far. The check engine light that came on in the van thankfully turned off eventually. I checked it with my code reader later. As I expected the codes were from two different O2 sensors unhappy with the amount of oxygen available.
We turned onto AZ-64 which is the eastern access route for the South Rim. After I paid the 25 dollar park entrance fee we came upon an area where a lot of people were turning in. It was a visitor center for the area that includes the watch tower. The tower was really cool, even though it was built somewhat recently, it was built to look like it is much, much older. It is perched right on the edge of the canyon, offering awesome views, normally.
Unfortunately most of the normal view was obstructed by very dense fog. The weather was pretty awful with off and on rain and temps in the 50’s. Despite trying to act to the contrary, I was freezing my ass off walking around in simply shorts and a t-shirt.
The tower was really a great site to see, the detail that was put into it was very evident as you looked at the interior on your climb to the top. I was happy to stay inside as long as possible to take some of the chill off my body.
So we piled back in the van, the next stop was the hotel. We had a much longer than expected drive to the main visitor center of 25 miles, made longer by the slow driving in almost blinding fog at times. Along the way we saw several huge elk by the roadside. Cindy got a few great pictures of them.
Cindy and I got into a “discussion” about where our hotel was actually located. Based on the description she gave of the hotel location, being only one mile from the park entrance, I thought we were going the wrong direction. Cindy insisted we were going the right way. I stopped and walked to the guard shack and asked two women. They confirmed Cindy was correct. I begrudgingly told Cindy she was indeed correct although the confusion on my part came because we came in from the east instead of the south entrance that the directions were written for.
We unloaded the van with more stuff than our prior stops due to us staying two days and also needing the additional stuff we were going to use for our hike.
We were quite unhappy when we saw the forecast for Tuesday which seemed to worsen greatly from the last prediction we saw on our phones. The new forecast was a low in the mid 40’s, a high in the low 60’s and an 80% chance of rain and thunderstorms. Great.
So although I packed a lot of clothes for hiking, none of it was waterproof which now appeared to be a big problem. After a dinner which included good food but poor service we addressed the problem. We found a general store that had hiking supplies. In there I picked up a lightweight water proof jacket. I figured it was somewhat practical since I could certainly use it to protect myself from Florida downpours in the future as well.
We were both worried about the weather conditions we were going to be facing. The hike is brutal enough on it’s own without any additional help from mother nature.
I had hoped to catch the Eagles game Monday night. I did, well the last two minutes of the game at least. I did not know that they were doing a double header Monday night and that the Eagles were the first game. So I was happy to see they won Chip Kelly’s first game as Eagles coach. It looked like I would have been annoyed watching the Eagles defense allow the Redskins to score 21 unanswered points to make a game of it towards the end. Oh well, a win is a win.
Cindy and I tried to go to sleep quite early knowing that Tuesdays hike was probably going to be one of the most physically difficult feats either of us has attempted. We set the alarm for 5:15 am, hoping to arrive at the visitor center a little after 6AM, giving us plenty of time for the monster hike.
We hit the floor running Tuesday morning. I had some indecision about my wardrobe. I was originally planning to wear a t-shirt, my Under Armour long sleeve cold gear shirt, a hooded sweat shirt and the rain coat on top of it all. I decided to ditch the sweatshirt, feeling it would be unnecessary once my body temperature kicked in from hiking. I am quite glad I opted to leave it at the room.
On the way to the canyon I stopped at the gas station to grab breakfast, blueberry Pop Tarts and chocolate milk. I figured Pop Tarts have successfully fueled me for 5k’s, triathlons, half marathons and Tough Mudders, why mess with a good thing?
We parked at the visitor center and loaded up the back pack mounted water bladder as well as one of the two smaller water bottles with H2O. We didn’t top either of them to the brim as the advice we saw online was you will use much less water on the way down then on the way up.
We found the bus that takes you to the South Kaibab trail and hopped on board. We were the only two passengers. On the short drive to the trail head the bus driver gave us some Grand Canyon info on the over modulated PA system. It was hard to make out much he was saying but I did catch that the Kaibab trail was the only one that was designed and built by the national park service. All the others are old indian trails that have been upgraded over the years.
He also mentioned some info regarding the trail construction back in the 20’s, saying it took 4 years to complete. He said the suspension bridge at the bottom of the canyon was built mostly with materials that were carried down by mule/man. The steel cables were lugged down there on the backs of multiple men. It sounded incredibly difficult.
So our hiking plan was based off a page I found on the internet where some guy documented his down and up one day hike, something you will not see officially recommended by any official canyon web site due to it’s difficulty. The guy that wrote the guide was an experienced hiker. Cindy and I are just two fit people that have no real hiking experience. To add to the fun we both live at near sea level where the air is much thicker than the 7000+ feet elevation at the South Rim. Despite this, the guide gave us good guidance on what we would encounter and time goals to try to adhere to as best we could. We hit the trailhead a couple minutes after 7AM.
Of course early on there is a lot of just stopping to admire the raw beauty of the Grand Canyon. It was just 360 degrees of pure awesomeness. When I hiked the canyon as a 15 or 16 year old I don’t think I had nearly the same level of appreciation for nature.
The hiking early on was challenging but manageable. Going downhill sounds easy but that depends on the decline and terrain you are covering. You had to be aware of each and every foot placement, the trail gets very rugged at spots. Plus with all of the rain the trail was full of muddy puddles that you did your best to avoid as much as possible. Then there was the mule poop, which seemed to be scattered about every 6 or 7 steps.
When we got down to the first break spot there was a funny moment. Cindy had to take a leak. She found a spot to the side of some building and relived herself out of plain view. My job was to keep lookout to make sure no one saw her. Well the funny thing was just as she finished a woman went into the building up top, it was a bathroom (outhouse). It was quite funny.
As you go down the canyon you see a lot of people that you pass and that pass you. You also have those that are going about your pace and are around you most of the time. We saw a couple guys fly by us on the way down, both of them using hiking poles and both looking like they were borderline running at times. We later found out both of them are park workers whom were hiking to the bottom to get to work. Wow, what a commute.
There were two younger guys near us that seemed like they were not very prepared for the hike, they had backpacks but both were wearing just plain sneakers and shorts. I nicknamed one of them Adidas Kid, after the white sneakers he was wearing.
My eyes almost popped out of my head when I passed a young girl that was hiking upward. She was barefooted. I looked back at Cindy and asked her if she saw that. I have no clue how you could hike that trail barefooted. It was wall to wall sharp rocks that felt like they were cutting up the Vibram soles in my hiking shoes. I was dumbfounded by what I just saw. The weirder thing was as we descended through areas that were soft/muddy, I looked for bare footprints and saw none. How bizarre.
The horrible weather that was predicted had not materialized. In fact for a good period of time the sun was out. I had stripped off my rain coat and Under Armour shirt and was hiking in just my t-shirt. I was still warm. Cindy stripped off most of her layers as well.
The raincoat, although quite good at keeping water from penetrating it’s exterior, acted like one of those rubber suits people wear when trying to sweat off the pounds. My shirt underneath it was drenched with sweat.
During the last third of the downward descent my quads were really fatiguing. 8 miles of asking them to act like human air brakes takes their toll for sure. Finally the bottom of the canyon and the Colorado River were really close, diverting the attention away from my aching legs. It was a proud moment when we crossed the suspension bridge, leading to the other side of the river.
The river looked full, muddy and angry from the monsoon rains the area has been experiencing for the past month or so. We saw a number of rafts docked just past the bridge for the river rafting that was available.
We decided to not go the extra distance to the Phantom Ranch, the spot where people camp out that break their canyon hiking into multiple days as is advised. We instead took the left turn into Bright Angel campground where they have fresh spring water, bathrooms and picnic benches.
We arrived at the bottom right around 10:30. The three and a half hours we took to the bottom was about a half hour slower than the guide I printed out but still pretty good for two hiking noobs.
We fully loaded our water supplies at the bottom knowing we will be needing every drop on the way back up. In total we spent about a half hour at the bottom of the canyon where we dined on our various food items like power bars, cheese crackers and more.
As Cindy was in the bathroom I used a picnic bench as a makeshift bed, laying flat on my back while looking up at the sky and surrounding canyon walls. As I laid there, with all the magnificence of nature around me I thought that I could die at that moment in time and feel content. It was a weird thought to go through my head but it just felt peaceful.
Once Cindy returned I hit the bathroom before we loaded up for what promised to be a challenging upwards climb.
Early on the ascent actually kind of felt good. It was nice to be using my hamstrings and glutes instead of so much quads. The climbing angles early were not all that awful either, yea it was tough but nothing that I couldn’t deal with. There was definitely more water consumption going on as is expected.
The climb pace was much slower than the descent as you would also expect. Rule of thumb is you should expect the climb out to take roughly double what you spent getting down. We had some confusion/concern when it seemed to be taking us forever to get to Indian Gardens, a spot roughly half way up the Bright Angel trail. Our concern was amplified when we saw a confusing sign that seemed to indicate the Gardens were three more miles away when by my calculations they should have been much closer. Luckily my calculations were the more accurate of the two as we entered the gardens about a half hour later.
The Indian Gardens is a full camping area with lots of amenities. We stopped there to drink, eat some more and hit the bathrooms. We would have stayed longer but some annoying German guys were smoking near by. (and drinking beer)
The Indian Garden was the spot where our Grand Canyon hiking experience took a turn for the worse. It was “only” 4.5 miles from the South Rim but it turned out to feel more like 45 miles.
First of all our luck ran out with the weather. It started to rain, lightly at first. For awhile I just continued to hike in my t-shirt. The cool rain felt good on my skin as I was struggling more and more to keep going. Eventually the rain got harder and I had to put my rain coat back on.
For a period of 30-45 minutes hiking was basically pure misery. The rain had turned the trail to mush and many spots had transformed into temporary waterfalls as the water traveled down the “steps”. It also felt like the most steep portion of the trail was upon us. Every muscle from my waist down was begging for relief. My feet felt like raw meat from carrying me over the rugged surface for hours.
Cindy was struggling as well but less than I was. For a good portion of the hiking she would be in front, and pulling away which I also found annoying but of course at that point everything was annoying me.
We had a number of German hikers in our area. In my state of exhaustion induced delirium I found the sound of the German language annoying beyond belief. I felt like asking them to simply stop talking because it was aggravating me.
Cindy could tell how beat I was and tried to encourage me and talk as we trudged upward and upward. At one point I had to declare it a NTZ, (No Talk Zone) When a NTZ is declared, that means preferably no talking takes place but if there is any talking directed at me I will not be responding. When I get really, really exhausted I just don’t want to speak. I was that tired and then some.
In what seemed like a cruel joke, this segment also included us following a pack of horses up the trail that were very happy to fill the trail with ample manure to offend both our eyes and noses.
So we hit the 3 mile rest house and didn’t stop, wanting to just keep going to get this over with. It was sort of pointless since I stopped probably 100 yards past it anyway. Stopping was a very frequent occurrence towards the end. The combo of altitude, angle of ascent and fatigue from already hiking so far had just cut me off at the knees. Every 10-15 minutes I was finding some rock to sit on for a minute or two to gather the energy to push on.
At the 1.5 mile rest house I had to refill the backpack water supply, I had drank the 2 liters it held since we refilled it at the bottom. The last part of this climb was like hell on earth. There was no more looking around at the scenery, no appreciation for being inside one of the most beautiful places on Earth. It was all about keeping your head down and putting one foot in front of the other.
The amount of stopping increased for me during this home stretch which frustrated me more. A number of groups had converged at this point. Everytime I would stop that meant some of them would pass me, which of course bothered me. It was a back and forth game though as when they stopped for a breather we would pass them as well.
Finally the top of the canyon was in site. You could tell you were close by the casual “hikers” that were coming down with umbrellas and flip flops. After one last air gasping stop we pushed the last 15 minutes or so of the trail unbroken, passing Adidas Kid in the homestretch which was some sort of weird badge of honor for me.
We emerged from the trail exhausted beyond description but joyous at the same time. We did it.
The hike to the bottom and back was something I didn’t consider trying when I was a dumb 15 year old kid. I think back then I went down either 3 or 4.5 miles before turning around and thought I was going to die by the time I made it back to the top.
Now, some 30 years later I traversed the entire back and down hike. It is attributed much more to the development of the muscle between my ears than elsewhere. At some point you are moving forward/upward on pure willpower. Without a doubt it was the most difficult physical accomplishment of my life.
We arrived at the top of the Bright Angel trail at almost exactly 4 pm, meaning our round trip checked in at 9 hours minus the half hour we spent for lunch at the bottom. When compared to the experienced hiker guide I was carrying it took us 90 minutes longer than they did but all in all I think we did great.
The rain, which had stopped for maybe the last hour of the hike resumed with new vigor as we exited the trail. I was quite glad we beat round two of the deluge.
I was in a near comatose state as we sat at the bench waiting for the bus to take us back to the visitor center. I just felt zombie like. Cindy was much more functional than I was at this point. As we sat waiting for the bus we started getting cold. The rain seemed to bring lower temperatures with it.
When we got on the bus we were talking with a retired couple that was talking to us about their various adventures since they retired 9 years ago and bought a 5th wheel. They have been all over the place and seemed to just be loving life. It was nice to see a couple enjoying old age as most people only hope they could.
When we got back to the visitor center it was raining hard. The icy rain drops put the deep chill back on both of us quickly. Cindy’s teeth were literally chattering when we got back in the van. It seemed to take forever until the van could start throwing some serious heat from the vents.
When we got back to the hotel we dumped our muddy, wet clothes on the tile by the door. We both took showers to try to warm up. We had already agreed we were doing nothing last night besides eating pizza and vegging out. Unfortunately nobody delivered so Cindy went and picked some up while I showered.
When I got out of the shower I felt really bad. Despite standing in the hot water for a long time, I emerged from the shower still feeling chilled. I climbed under the bed covers and pulled them up to my neck, I was still cold. On top of that I felt somewhat nauseous. By the time Cindy got back I had actually fallen asleep for a bit.
Once I ate some food I felt a little better but I felt whacked all night. I couldn’t stop drinking fluids. I guess despite downing around a gallon of water during the hike I was still dehydrated.
I slept like a rock last night and awoke this morning feeling rested but extremely sore. The worst body part were my calf muscles that felt like they were about an inch too short. I have been walking with an 85 year olds gait all day.
After eating the free continental breakfast which was the best of the trip thus far, we hopped back in the van and went back to the Grand Canyon visitor center for souvenir shopping. On the way there I filled up the van at the only gas station in the immediate area and got raped with paying $4.20 a gallon for regular gas.
We hit the gift shop at the visitor center and the watch tower facility 25 miles east, figuring it was the direction we were going today anyway. For part of the time it was pouring rain and freezing. We were very lucky we got the hike in yesterday when we had good weather for the majority of the day.
After loading up on stuff we began the push eastward, seeing tons of scenery that was hidden by the rain and fog we drove in with. It’s so beautiful out here.
I readjusted our travel plan a bit. Today we are doing a long drive to Las Cruces, NM which will see us pulling in around 8-9pm local time. Tomorrow though we are making it a much easier driving day. A good portion of our Thursday will be spent at White Sands National Park, a place I have been to twice with Ali on road trips. It is such an awesome spot that I thought it would be nice to really spend some time there. After that we have a tiny 150 mile drive to El Paso.
From there we are hoping to cover the width of Texas on Friday, get to Pensacola on Saturday and then home late in the day Sunday, giving me two full days to recover, something I always like to do after these big trips.
It’s been a blast so far.