Backpacking

Resumption/Fill In/Conclusion – missing details from the Colorado River up to the Bright Angel Trail Head.

When you first hit the tunnel and emerge onto the black suspension bridge there is a swirl of emotion and sensation. Your body is thrilled because you are walking ON LEVEL GROUND!! And you know about the water spigot in 200 yards or so. You have accomplished ½ of your goal. And the views are really something. Not that they were not special on the way down. But these are views you don’t get anywhere else. You have to earn them – and it feels nice.

There are some placards with information about the bridges and some ruins and a few other things. We did not spend time on these on this trip because we have a 3 night 4 day hike planned in September that gives us two nights at the Bright Angel Campground (close to these signs) and there will be plenty of time to explore more then.

We were both pleased with our planning, water/food consumption, and general handling of the descent. By the time we hit the spigot, we had both finished our Camelbak supply, and one of our gatorades. I had an untouched liter of gatorade, and Jake would have also had he not shared with those in need. I had one cliff bar on the descent. I am not sure, but I think Jake had one 7-layer burrito and one cookie.

After drinking a few liters each, wetting heads, washing hands and faces, wetting hats, and re-supplying to carry to 2 liters each, we decided to move on down a ways to a better spot to take a real break and eat some food.

The silver suspension bridge has a lot more sway and give than the black, and not all the panels seemed to be firmly attached, which made for a more thrilling crossing! The remaining 2 miles or so to River Resthouse were smooth sailing. There was some rise and fall, but all very gentle and at several points, the trail turned to sand and it was like walking on the beach for 50 yards at a stretch. I cannot over stress the degree of gratitude and joy our muscles shared with us for doing something other than walking straight downhill.

Near River Resthouse, we did a short rock hop to the Colorado River and I touched that sucker for the first time. We took off our shoes and socks and plunged our feet into the ice-cold water. While enjoying that sensation we each had a 7-layer burrito and a chocolate chip cookie from the Bell that Jake humped in for us to have this exact moment. The Bell has never tasted so good.

After drinking a liter each and having a rest, we got back into hike mode and ascended. This ascent trail was also lovely, and different from other sites I had seen so far. Different color rocks, different formations and a different kind of path followed by the trail. About a mile or so in, the trail got steep quickly. The trail was still nice – even from side to side, not many obstacles on the trail itself – but it was much steeper than we had been prepared for. I learned later that this is called “The Devil’s Corkscrew” – both for the look of the switchbacks and because this area traps heat better than other areas and can often reach 130 in the summer. We both felt a huge change in temperature and started to feel adverse effects. My head was throbbing in a way that I know is related to the initial signs of heat exhaustion and dehydration. We were going as slowly as we could, stopping often and sipping on our meager 1 liter each.

It is only 3.2 miles from the River Resthouse to the spigot at Indian Garden – but it was a tough there for a while. We could both tell when we cleared the corkscrew (not that we knew that name at the time). We probably had at least 1.5 miles left, but the heat broke, the trail smoothed out a bit and we both felt better and stronger.

Looking back, we both had the same three thoughts. 1) Had we decided to eat at Indian Garden instead of at the River, we would have filled up to at least 3 liters each if not more, and with how awesome our bodies felt, had we not stopped at the river, we would have plowed through that ascent and been at Indian Garden in no time at all and feeling fine probably with extra water. 2) Had we filled to max water capacity (me 5, Jake 4-5 liters) at the spigot between the bridges and still had our break at the river, we would have had ample water for that ascent and felt fine the whole way. 3) Option 1 is no good unless there is some overarching reason for such behavior. We are not marathoners, we are there to enjoy the moments and soak it in. From all we have both learned about the Canyon, wherever it is physically possible without overburdening to do so, one should probably fill to max capacity for one’s own safety and to be able to help the multitudes of underprepared folks one meets out there.

We hit Indian Garden and made it to the benches at the spigot at the absolute last possible moment one could do that without turning on a headlamp. I stayed there for 15-20 minutes. In that time I drank three liters of water and filled my Camelbak to 2 liters for the next section. I ate my second of 4 Cliff Bars. I was not really hungry, but it had been a long day and there were about 5 miles of ascent ahead of me and I was looking at someone temporarily crippled by lack of intake – I wasn’t taking chances.

I drank almost a liter over the next 1.5 or so miles to Three Mile Resthouse and drank a half liter there, filled back up to 2 liters, and repeated that pattern over the next two legs of the ascent. At the 1.5 Mile Resthouse, I ate one more Cliff bar.

When we reached the top, my legs were sore, but overall I felt good. Jake drank less at Indian Garden, and less on the ascent. I don’t know if he ate anything from the River to the Rim. It is a grueling day – no question. But I think that maintaining fluids and some body fuel makes a big difference on that final ascent, and in how you feel later.

Bottom line – this was a fantastic trip! I am so thrilled to have done it for so many reasons. I got to see things I had only imagined. I conquered a few internal fears and added to the well of good experiences to draw upon in hard times. I re-learned how much hiking (like any other pursuit) is at least 90% a mental game. And I gained some good mental fodder for the upcoming backpacking trip into the Canyon. Having done the 17 mile trip that we did, I know I can hump my full pack the 7 or 8 miles from the Rim to the campground.

Exercise is good. Getting back out into nature is good. And who would have known – talking to strangers ain’t that bad either.

Hope y’all enjoyed it. I may or may not have time to write anything else between now and departing for California and the John Muir Trail. But I will get back to you when I can.

Be well.

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Interlude 2 – Bipeds

It seems to us both that we can’t go anywhere in AZ without meeting folks from PA. Jake is from York and while I am kinda from nowhere, my permanent address since October of 2003 has been Millersville. I stopped to encourage two gals having a difficult ascent, and we chatted for about 5 minutes. They were from Juniata College in PA, and said the rest of their group was still below. I did see more of that group as I descended. There were several strings of 2-3 folks and two larger groups. The first large group was 10 kids taking a break in the shade of an outcropping talking loudly about which kind of television set was the best and who could or could not tell the difference. The second group was larger and I could hear them from at least a half mile out talking loudly about degree paths and other programs at their school.

That is what I am saying about the first 1.5. I love tech and degree programs and talk about that stuff often. I have even become heated in discussion and/or debate and raised my decibel levels. I am fine with people enjoying their own passions and interests. However, I don’t come to the GRAND CANYON to hear you talk about this stuff. It gets a lot better below Cedar Ridge.

We met a few hikers climbing out after longer day hikes. (I don’t know why anyone would plan an ascent of South Kaibab, especially a daytime ascent.) Jake and I met up at least once an hour if not more, but we did our descents on our own. This turned out to be unfortunate for one group of travelers. They were ascending and came upon Jake first as I was about a ¼ mile uphill yet. One of them made a joke about buying some water and Jake stopped them and filled up their bottles from one of his gatorades. I saw the same group a bit later and they just said, “Hello Sir” and jumped of the trail to give me room before I could do anything else, so I simply said hello and walked on. If they had said anything, I also had at least 1 liter to spare and would have gladly. It wasn’t upsetting or anything, but their behavior was just kinda weird so I moved on quicker without attempting to engage in the same way I had with other groups.

Next there was a string of about 14 Japanese youngsters, maybe teenagers, maybe twenty-somethings, spread out over 300 yards. I talked with the 4 in the Vanguard for 2 minutes, then saw the string of folks behind them approaching. Lots of hellos as these folks passed. The guy in the rear looked beat and like he was about to shout to his friends but didn’t. I noticed he had stopped in the meager shade of a tiny tree. I told him that where their lead walker was now, just 150 yards or so up the path there was a very wide cool section of trail in full shade. He thanked me and said in about ¼ mile, turn around and I would see a big turtle. I took no chances and stopped every 50-100 feet, but I never saw that turtle. It was still an awesome piece of advice that I bet I would not have been given if I had simply passed him by, even with a friendly wave.

At the privies at the Tipoff, I met a group of three hikers, one of whom seemed to be in bad shape. They were setting up a sparse rest zone in the shade of the privy station and getting that dude resting on a sleeping pad. I checked on them and offered of my gear, but they had plenty of water and food, just needed a break from the sun. As I was leaving I heard them say that they would wait there until around 6 PM before moving on, which sounded like a wise plan.

While Jake and I were resting and hydrating at the spigot by the river in between the two suspension bridges, one hiker approached. We asked if he needed water and he said he was fine and started to move off. Something clicked in my brain and I said, “There is a spigot. We would gladly give you ours, but this is piped in.” And he came back and filled up. I realized it was one of the guys from the Tipoff rest-house group.

We learned that his friend was more tired from lack of sleep the night before than anything sun or hiking related. After a few minutes of chit-chat, turns out that this guy is from State College, PA. Not but a moment from the hunting camp J. Piper and I lived on in Lewistown during the summer of 93. The guy knew the CVS where we worked on the demo/remodeling crew. The guy’s good friend was from York – actually Dallastown, which is of course exactly where Jake is from. And the guy’s friend went to the same high school. He was 10 years younger, but still – there is some kind of weird AZ/PA thing happening.

We met Rosy and her companion at Indian Garden. Rosy was the one suffering from bad dehydration and muscle fatigue. They had 9 total in their group but friend X had stayed behind with Rosy while everyone else went ahead. We were sitting on the benches right at the water spigot, so offering water was no good. We had no Gatorade or other source of electrolytes. We offered her what we did have left, Cliff bars or a 7-layer burrito from the Bell. But it was all a no go. If this had been anywhere else on the trail, if Rosy had been alone instead of with a friend, if Rosy had been with a friend who was also hurting, or who did not know about backcountry hiking, I would have stayed longer – maybe even all night. But, this is Indian Garden on a pleasant night in May. The lowest expected overnight temp at that elevation was 50-60. There is good endless treated water, a privy, 15-30 hikers camped within 50-100 yards, and a manned Ranger Station 200 yards up the trail. I told her she was going to be OK, listen to her friend, drink up – slowly, and that if she needed to stay right there all night, that would be just fine and she would be ok. Then I headed out. Jake stayed a while longer. Another guy came up the moment I left who was some sort of adventure tour guide fella and gave more advice about damp cloths and getting electrolytes and talked more about the Ranger Station and gave firmer advice about “stay here for the night”. Jake felt better about leaving after that and headed up also.

About 1.5 miles from the Bright Angel Trailhead, we stopped and talked with one Rim-to-Rim dude who was just getting started then, about 11 PM. Granted, we just finished talking about Dehydration Girl, but this is what I am saying about the danger levels of the corridor trails at night. You will still not be alone, and in many ways, you are in less danger than during the day (as long as you have a good headlamp!) After dark, you are more likely to meet the runners, marathoners, and rim-to-rim, or rim-to-rim-to-rim crowd, who are less likely to be carrying much in the way of extra supplies, but will help you out and at a minimum be able to send backup to your location. The reason these folks carry so little is that on Bright Angel there is water and a privy roughly every 1.5 miles!

I was still feeling good and rocking well in the last mile. I did have sore muscles, but it was nowhere near the 08 levels of pain. Suddenly, I saw a person about 10 yards ahead of me and stopped to also catch my breath and take in the stars. When they moved on I noted what should have been obvious before, they had no light – which is why I came upon them so suddenly. I started up after them trying to keep my light aimed at their feet and when I got within 10 yards I yelled out, “Is this helping or hurting you?”

The person turned and I saw that it was a man, he looked tired and a little scared, and he had little to no english. He let me catch up and I pantomimed to ask if he needed food or water and he waved those off. He stood aside for me to go ahead. At first I think he thought I just wanted to go on past, but quickly we found a decent enough pace and method for light sharing. I wanted to ask him if we were going too fast or too slow or if he needed to stop and rest, but I think that just everyone being tired and it being some time between 11 and midnight, it came across that we both just wanted to get up out of the Canyon.

Jake had been trailing on the ascent both from getting a later start than I did and from being tired and feeling run down. I waited for him at both of the rest houses and at several other locations, and we did a good job of having almost constant contact with one another via headlamp. I knew that he would be able to figure out what was happening with me and the new guy and he did and kicked it into another gear to first catch us and then keep the guy pinned between us in cones of light.

When we did get to the top I pantomimed again about the food and water and obviously feeling much better now that he was safe, he said, “I have hotel” and he pointed. He thanked us both many times and said, “No power. Electric go out.” So he had been prepared, sorta, just ran out of batteries for his light. And he proved the universal rule: whatever other country you are from – your English is much better than our XXXXXX (your native language).

He started off down this kinda dangerous rocky hill towards the road that I was not super comfortable with when we did it at 11:30 AM, and Jake and I jumped into action and followed him so he would not fall here in the home stretch. Once he made it to the sidewalk, he thanked us again and we went back to our car.

Next Up: Resumption/Fill In/Conclusion – missing details from the Colorado River up the Bright Angel Trail Head.

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