Location:                     Grand Canyon

Date:                      March 23-30, 2007

Party Members:        Matt, Travis, Derek

 

 

 

 

 After three weeks of torturous anticipation, we finally had Boise in the rearview and somewhere beyond the horizon the Grand Canyon patiently awaited our arrival. 

Somehow the boys were under the impression that we were camping out that night as we zipped past SLC.  And of course I said nothing to correct their amusing assumption.  They were happily surprised and a bit relieved when the phone rang and they realized I was talking to their ole buddy Scott the iPod guy.   We rolled into Scott's place  around 9:30pm, but not before making a couple of wrong turns and two loops around the circle drive just for fun. 

In the morning, we grouped around the island counter eating breakfast cereal and plotting out a day plan. The boys complained several times about making the mistake of brushing their teeth before eating breakfast and we all joked about how Scott buys milk by the half gallon while we buy it five gallons at a time. Meanwhile Alyson was bumping around and finally popped into the kitchen. She took one look at the group of chomping hikers and asked "is that milk still good?". The chomping ceased while she inspected the milk jug. The news came like a surprisingly bad stock report and suddenly we were all at the sink selling our shares. No harm done though, and it got the day off in an hilarious way.

We were on the freeway for less than ten minutes, before hopping back off again for our first detour. The North American Museum of Ancient Life seemed like a fitting distraction since ancient Earth was more or less the theme for our entire adventure. One of the largest dinosaur museums in the world, the place had plenty to see and and a nice gift shop too. Worth the stop.

It was here too that we had our first taste of digital picture wows. Derek's XD memory chip went belly up while downloading pictures to the laptop. A quick stop at Wall Mart, and another for lunch and we were finally back in drive mode.



We didn't stop again until we rolled into Zion National Park. This canyon alone, with all it's side trails and mesas could have consumed our entire week, but we set our sites on Angel's Landing and headed off for a warm-up hike.


The trail is short (2.5 miles) but climbs nicely and rewards the hiker with an impressive view of the canyon. This would be Derek's first exposure to "exposure" and he was plenty nervous as we reached the top of the twenty-one switchbacks and passed the signs warning of the hazards to come. By the time we reached the fifth chain, he'd had enough. Travis and I let him squirm just a little more as he watched us climbed to the edge of the knife only a few feet above and listened us describe the view from the top of a 1000 foot sheer cliff. We helped him back down and had to laugh as he continued to crawl long after we reached (nearly) flag ground. I explained that fear is good and helps keep us alive, but he was still bummed that he had to turn back. Not to worry though Derek. If you're like me, you're sure to return many times in your lifetime and will have plenty of chances to finish that hike.
Back in the car, we continued our drive through the park stopping to view Checkerboard Mesa and other eye candy before heading to Kanab for dinner. We had planned on making it all the way to the South Rim that night, but somewhere between ordering dinner and tasting those delicious cheese-filled pizza crust poppers, we decided to see if the Red Rocks Country Inn had space. It did. We even got a pretty good deal as our room had a connecting room with an extra bed for the same price as two. The extra room was dubbed the "retard" room since it was more like a closet and just big enough to fit the bed. Of course, I was immediately elected to stay in the retard room. The isolation wasn't quite complete enough though and I could clearly hear the them as they practiced their water drop sound effects for a good half hour. Something like blowing a smoke ring along with a slight whistle and a flick to the cheek and the effect was quite effective. I could close my eyes and imagine that we were sleeping in a large empty cavern during a stalagmite building phase. The illusion was only interrupted after extremely realistic drips by giggles of pride.
 
 

 
In the morning, we continued east in search of Toadstools. I missed the turnoff and we were many miles past before we realized the mistake so we put that on the list for next time. The Glen Canyon dam on the other hand, is hard to miss. The movie in the visitor's center is educational and entertaining along with all the old photos of the cliff-o-batics it took to prepare the canyon walls. Standing on the bridge when a fully loaded semi drives over can give you the willies too.

Our next stop was just a few miles up the road at Horseshoe Bend. This is was one of the best views of the trip. Hint: NEVER drive past this spot without taking a few minutes to walk to the rim. We took some fantastic pictures here, only to learn that it was the laptop that fried Derek's memory chip earlier, as it toasted our Horseshoe shots too. Even so, we still have the images in our heads and it was well worth the stop.

We didn't stop again until we reached Grand Canyon National Park. The Watchtower was where we got our first glimpse at the big ditch. It's funny, I think, how people seem under-impressed the first time they see the canyon in person. I think the brain simply doesn't know what to do with it. It's too big and there's nothing at first glance to give it perspective. It's not until you hike to the bottom and collect it piece by piece that you can then stand at the top and really appreciate the magnitude of the landscape.

We were all glad to be there, but we were still uncertain over the prospects of getting in a good hike. An earlier attempt to get inner-canyon camp sites had failed and without at least one night in the canyon, we were a little uneasy about doing a day hike to the river. So our very next stop was at the Back Country office. This was spring break and all the reserve-able inner-canyon sites had been spoken for clear back in January, but they leave several camp sites open for walk-ins and that's what we were after. Everything below the rim was full for that night, so we took a number and headed off to Mather to setup our camp there. This would be our home as we waited for our number to come up.

In the morning we were at the Back Country office and waiting when they opened their doors at 8:00 sharp. There was a group of twenty or so hopeful hikers who flooded into the lobby and waited to learn their trail fate. They explained that there were no spots left for that night but there were a few sites left for the following night. We had hope. It was unfortunate for about half the group that they weren't aware of the numbers drill and thought their place in line mattered.

One!  The rangers begins calling out numbers.  A man steps forward and begins processing at one of the counters. Two! Another small group moves forward. Three!... Going once... twice... three times. We're feeling more luck creep in. Four! Going once... Wow! Didn't even go twice... they don't mess around. Five! The man next to us moves forward. Reminds me a bit of Mr. Lyon my science teacher.  I give him credit for down this path (literally) over 25 years ago. I'm a little glad that he gets a spot. Six! That's us. Now the only question... are there any sites left. It helps I think that there are only three of us, not sure offering to sleep on the trail makes a difference, but either way, we get a site in Bright Angel Campground. We would have to spend one more night on the rim but that's not a problem and we're thrilled. We leave the office holding our permit like it was a golden ticket from the Idol or Charlie Wonka which ever you prefer and head out for breakfast.

 
We decide to take advantage of the extra day and explore the area south of the park and headed for Flagstaff. We follow the signs to Lowell Observatory and get there just in time for the next tour. There's a lot of history at this location and the tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and passionate as he told many stories about the telescopes and the people who used them to make great discoveries. Beginning with Percival Lowell himself as he used his families great wealth to build the worlds largest telescope in his race to be first to prove the existence of Martians. After that didn't pan out, he moved on to searching for the elusive Planet-X. He was a mathematician and after studying the perturbed orbit of Uranus, was convinced that another planet must exist in a distant orbit.  He calculated it's position and spent his last years searching for it. Sixteen years after his death, a young farmer kid found his planet with the very telescope that Travis is touching (to the left), and only a few degrees from where Percival had predicted (although they don't give him much credit for his predictions for some reason).

Neil Armstrong and the other Apollo astronauts also visited the observatory prior to their missions as it offered some of the best opportunities for viewing features on the moon. You can find his signature in the guest book that's on display.


 

 
After another pizza stop in historic downtown Flagstaff, we headed west on the back road so we could stop at the Museum of Northern Arizona.  Surprisingly roomy, the museum included the expected ancient people's artifacts, as well as an art gallery of photos taken in and around the canyon.  We also saw one of the California Condors that were reintroduced to the canyon within the last decade.  This particular individual decided he'd get more attention hanging from fishing line in a museum than he would flying around free, so one day shortly after arriving at the canyon, he turned his sights on a bullet and flew into it. 

Condor's would become a theme for this trip as we saw many more and they were the topic of many conversations, stories and presentations. 

Before heading home to camp, we stopped at the I-Max just outside of the south entrance and watched some amazing footage of the canyon by helicopter and got a little history lesson about John Wesley Powel and his expedition. 
Finally, it was time to hit the trail.  We parked at the Back Country office since we would be coming back up Bright Angels highway, and took a couple of busses over to the South Kaibab trailhead.

Arginteenians