Now 4:30 am, Tuesday morning... Time to get up! It's The Big Day. I stared down at my clothes laying on my tupperware box (aka closet), I was nice and warm in my sleeping bag (thanks to potatoes and foil), and I couldn't find the motivation to put on ice cold clothing. I managed to grab them up in a quick stretch and snuggle them into the bag with me.
By 5:20 I was at the trail head of the North Kaibab, the trail that would take me 26 miles through the contours of a massive desert, across the Grand Canyon. I pulled up next to the zebra truck belonging to my new friend Norman. As I finished the potato that I used to heat my sleeping bag that night, I threw my backpack up over my shoulders, ready to go. Norman handed me a boiled egg... which I just threw in the pack, and we were off on our adventure.
It was so exciting, having no idea what I was getting myself into. This must have been one of the biggest, and maybe stupidest challenges that I jumped into... having no game plan whatsoever. We headed down the trail in the chilly morning, as the canyon began to reveal itself behind cliffs and conifer. The sun began to rise, warming the red cliff faces and bringing their character to life. There is simply so much to take in, you can do nothing but stare into it's vastness. The walk down was pleasently cool and shady. Norman began talking about the layers and history of the canyon, and we shared our excitement about the unknown. Luckily for him, he had been there before. It was 20 years ago, but he had been on the hike. Being from montana, the land of snow, I knew a few tricks about the desert, but I was certainly grateful to have someone who did know what they were getting into.
We met a large group of marathon runners, off on a ladies day out. We kind of leap frogged them for most of the way. And there were two young "cowboys", who also didn't seem to know what they would be up against. We marched along the trail enjoying the wonders of the canyon... everything seemed to be having sex. The agave plants had shoots two inches thick that stood maybe 9 feet above the plants, which may have been only 2 feet tall to begin with. Norman told me that sometimes they store up energy in their roots for 10 years before they are able to produce that flower structure. The blossoms were buzzing with insects, my mistake for shaking it.. whoops... We found a baby rattle snake curled up on a rock along the trail, he looked too cold to move. But that wouldn't last for long.
I had already begun to tell this very story, about how I met this guy with a zebra truck and just decided to hike the grand canyon with him. I would re-iterate the silly things we had done, but always ending with "little did I know...." I had a feeling that this would certainly be an epic adventure, with the fun part being that I didn't know how it would go.
The day grew hotter and I began stripping of my thermal layers and jacket. The hike down was seemingly easy, but I knew it wouldn't be like that for long. We steadily walked down the path as we found ourselves leaving the enormous slot canyon. The sun stretched its rays a crossed us, and by 10:00 am it was nearly 80 degrees. The trail wound around the red rock layers in a smooth curvy fashion, down and down it went. Closer to 11:00, we found ourselves falling to a cooler gully, one in which large trees still grew. So it was no surprise that we had reached our first campground, Cottonwood.
I instantly threw off my pack, plopped down, and tossed my feet into the air. Put The Blood Back into my Body! The cool shade of the cottonwood trees cooled the heat of the day from my body, and I gulped in water like a camel in the desert. No surprise there. I think during this whole trip I would consume over 6 liters of water... and still be thirsty.
After a nice break, we were soon on our way again, back in the desert heat. It wasn't long before we came upon spring creek, a temptation that was simply irresistible. I slapped on my tevas, oh how nice it was to get off those tennies, and plunged into the refreshingly cool water. At first I was thinking i would just wet my feet, but that didn't last long. I doused my bandana, then my hair, and then just plunged in! WHOOOEEE!! Chilly water, but ooo so nice. I floated up in bliss, and lay there for a while.
Back on with the dusty shoes, and the pack. Made me feel like a mule. The day was growing hotter, getting towards 107 degrese, and my soaked clothing wouldn't stay that way for long. Down the path we went, in near solitude the entire way. The lizards of the desert scattered across the desert floor, coming in every color you could imagine. A bright yellow tail caught my eye, which belonged to a multi colored reptile with a red and blue body. There were short black midget ones, who must have just hatched, fat headed horny ones, green, blue, black, striped and spotted. They are so funny to watch too and the squirm around in a frazzle. Like they don't know what they are doing. Especially when you try to catch them. I caught one in my towel once, and it was so squirmish it kinda freaked me out and I let it go. Survival of the fittest I guess.
By 5:20 I was at the trail head of the North Kaibab, the trail that would take me 26 miles through the contours of a massive desert, across the Grand Canyon. I pulled up next to the zebra truck belonging to my new friend Norman. As I finished the potato that I used to heat my sleeping bag that night, I threw my backpack up over my shoulders, ready to go. Norman handed me a boiled egg... which I just threw in the pack, and we were off on our adventure.
It was so exciting, having no idea what I was getting myself into. This must have been one of the biggest, and maybe stupidest challenges that I jumped into... having no game plan whatsoever. We headed down the trail in the chilly morning, as the canyon began to reveal itself behind cliffs and conifer. The sun began to rise, warming the red cliff faces and bringing their character to life. There is simply so much to take in, you can do nothing but stare into it's vastness. The walk down was pleasently cool and shady. Norman began talking about the layers and history of the canyon, and we shared our excitement about the unknown. Luckily for him, he had been there before. It was 20 years ago, but he had been on the hike. Being from montana, the land of snow, I knew a few tricks about the desert, but I was certainly grateful to have someone who did know what they were getting into.
We met a large group of marathon runners, off on a ladies day out. We kind of leap frogged them for most of the way. And there were two young "cowboys", who also didn't seem to know what they would be up against. We marched along the trail enjoying the wonders of the canyon... everything seemed to be having sex. The agave plants had shoots two inches thick that stood maybe 9 feet above the plants, which may have been only 2 feet tall to begin with. Norman told me that sometimes they store up energy in their roots for 10 years before they are able to produce that flower structure. The blossoms were buzzing with insects, my mistake for shaking it.. whoops... We found a baby rattle snake curled up on a rock along the trail, he looked too cold to move. But that wouldn't last for long.
I had already begun to tell this very story, about how I met this guy with a zebra truck and just decided to hike the grand canyon with him. I would re-iterate the silly things we had done, but always ending with "little did I know...." I had a feeling that this would certainly be an epic adventure, with the fun part being that I didn't know how it would go.
The day grew hotter and I began stripping of my thermal layers and jacket. The hike down was seemingly easy, but I knew it wouldn't be like that for long. We steadily walked down the path as we found ourselves leaving the enormous slot canyon. The sun stretched its rays a crossed us, and by 10:00 am it was nearly 80 degrees. The trail wound around the red rock layers in a smooth curvy fashion, down and down it went. Closer to 11:00, we found ourselves falling to a cooler gully, one in which large trees still grew. So it was no surprise that we had reached our first campground, Cottonwood.
I instantly threw off my pack, plopped down, and tossed my feet into the air. Put The Blood Back into my Body! The cool shade of the cottonwood trees cooled the heat of the day from my body, and I gulped in water like a camel in the desert. No surprise there. I think during this whole trip I would consume over 6 liters of water... and still be thirsty.
After a nice break, we were soon on our way again, back in the desert heat. It wasn't long before we came upon spring creek, a temptation that was simply irresistible. I slapped on my tevas, oh how nice it was to get off those tennies, and plunged into the refreshingly cool water. At first I was thinking i would just wet my feet, but that didn't last long. I doused my bandana, then my hair, and then just plunged in! WHOOOEEE!! Chilly water, but ooo so nice. I floated up in bliss, and lay there for a while.
Back on with the dusty shoes, and the pack. Made me feel like a mule. The day was growing hotter, getting towards 107 degrese, and my soaked clothing wouldn't stay that way for long. Down the path we went, in near solitude the entire way. The lizards of the desert scattered across the desert floor, coming in every color you could imagine. A bright yellow tail caught my eye, which belonged to a multi colored reptile with a red and blue body. There were short black midget ones, who must have just hatched, fat headed horny ones, green, blue, black, striped and spotted. They are so funny to watch too and the squirm around in a frazzle. Like they don't know what they are doing. Especially when you try to catch them. I caught one in my towel once, and it was so squirmish it kinda freaked me out and I let it go. Survival of the fittest I guess.
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