Sunset Saturday night was so amazing that even though it meant getting up at 4:10 am, Jay, Laurel and I were awake and on the trail for sunrise Sunday morning.
For our first hike in to the canyon we debated whether to venture down the famous and well-trodden Bright Angel or try out the slightly steeper South Kaibab. We decided on the South Kaibab for two reasons. One, we knew that a trek up or down Bright Angel would be part of our trip to Phantom Ranch, which is at the bottom of the canyon. Two, as South Kaibab is on the east side and Bright Angel on the west, we expected the sunrise views to be better with the light coming up over the east side and hitting the west side of the canyon perfectly in our view. I am sure either would have been amazing, but I definitely have no complaints about our sunrise hike along South Kaibab.
Like smart hikers and good National Park employees, we heeded the safety warnings at the trail head and brought along lots of water and snacks even though we had decided to only hike 1.5 miles in. For example, I carried a Nalgene bottle, Camelback bottle, and 100 oz. Camelback pouch full of water, along with a sandwich, nuts and Luna bars. Grand Canyon's Preventative Search and Rescue program with the story of a marathon runner who died of dehydration in the canyon really worked on these three hikers.
The hike in was beautiful, but also pretty nerve-racking for me. I love to be outside, hike, even indoor rock climb, but heights are a little problematic. My time on the South Kaibab trail gave me the opportunity to really understand what is going on with me mentally and I have decided that it is not so much about being high up, but about being out of control and feeling like I am on the cusp of floating in mid-air. I'm very happy indoor climbing, for example, because I have the comfort of a harness, rope and belayer I trust to get me back to the ground safely. If only trails into the Grand Canyon had railings like at Mather Point I'm pretty sure hiking would be much less scary for me. None the less, I was able to enjoy myself and even had the courage to take some photos along the way.
After a hike in that was well worth the scary moments, we arrived at recently named Ooh Aah Point.
We enjoyed the view, ate some snacks and watched hikers head down the trail towards Phantom Ranch. Most looked prepared for the journey, but some were wearing street sneakers or towels (not sure what was going on there...). For those less prepared, I hope they were smart and turned around soon. It was tough for our group to turn around so quickly, but it was good to stick to our plan and to know that we were all comfortable with the decision.
Flying in the face of reason and logic, it took us the same amount of time to get up as to get down - about an hour each way. The way up was just as steep as the way down, but it seemed easier to control rocks sliding under my feet and I was more used to the sometimes two or three foot wide portions of the trail that seem to be floating on the edge of the world. With our walk up, we were back at the trail head before most people at the canyon had eaten breakfast.
On the way back to the jeep we stopped by the mule barn for a quick look at the sturdy and beautiful animals. It may be tough to see it from this angle, but the mules look much more like horses than donkeys, which I did not expect. We learned from a colleague that mule's mothers are horses and fathers are donkeys. This way, they get horse smarts and donkey ability to walk down the trails without being scared. Apparently, this is the best combo for Grand Canyon trail riding and was learned the hard way after experimenting with horses that get spooked easily and donkeys that don't obey orders.
After our hike, I am pretty sure we ate some real breakfast, but the details are a little fuzzy two weeks later. I do, however, know for sure that Laurel and I went to a ranger talk on geology and that all three of us checked out the Yavapi Geology Museum and the Trail of Time, which covers the canyon's geological history in a fun walk along the South Rim. Below is photo evidence that we spent time with a real, live, suited-up Park Ranger and walked one million years.
As you can imagine, we were tired after getting only a few hours of sleep, hiking down the Kaibab and walking one million years. Laurel took a break to rest her feet, while Jay got in a last few moments with the canyon before we headed back to Flagstaff for some much-need rest.
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| Sunrise view from the South Rim trail leading to the South Kaibab trail head. |
For our first hike in to the canyon we debated whether to venture down the famous and well-trodden Bright Angel or try out the slightly steeper South Kaibab. We decided on the South Kaibab for two reasons. One, we knew that a trek up or down Bright Angel would be part of our trip to Phantom Ranch, which is at the bottom of the canyon. Two, as South Kaibab is on the east side and Bright Angel on the west, we expected the sunrise views to be better with the light coming up over the east side and hitting the west side of the canyon perfectly in our view. I am sure either would have been amazing, but I definitely have no complaints about our sunrise hike along South Kaibab.
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| South Kaibab trail head. |
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| Sun hitting the canyon, waking up the beautiful layers representing millions of years of uplift and erosion. |
The hike in was beautiful, but also pretty nerve-racking for me. I love to be outside, hike, even indoor rock climb, but heights are a little problematic. My time on the South Kaibab trail gave me the opportunity to really understand what is going on with me mentally and I have decided that it is not so much about being high up, but about being out of control and feeling like I am on the cusp of floating in mid-air. I'm very happy indoor climbing, for example, because I have the comfort of a harness, rope and belayer I trust to get me back to the ground safely. If only trails into the Grand Canyon had railings like at Mather Point I'm pretty sure hiking would be much less scary for me. None the less, I was able to enjoy myself and even had the courage to take some photos along the way.
 |
| Jay and Laurel preparing for the mule trains to join us on the trip down. Fortunately, we did not encounter any, but we saw plenty of evidence that mules had been on the trail if you know what I mean... |
After a hike in that was well worth the scary moments, we arrived at recently named Ooh Aah Point.
We enjoyed the view, ate some snacks and watched hikers head down the trail towards Phantom Ranch. Most looked prepared for the journey, but some were wearing street sneakers or towels (not sure what was going on there...). For those less prepared, I hope they were smart and turned around soon. It was tough for our group to turn around so quickly, but it was good to stick to our plan and to know that we were all comfortable with the decision.
Flying in the face of reason and logic, it took us the same amount of time to get up as to get down - about an hour each way. The way up was just as steep as the way down, but it seemed easier to control rocks sliding under my feet and I was more used to the sometimes two or three foot wide portions of the trail that seem to be floating on the edge of the world. With our walk up, we were back at the trail head before most people at the canyon had eaten breakfast.
On the way back to the jeep we stopped by the mule barn for a quick look at the sturdy and beautiful animals. It may be tough to see it from this angle, but the mules look much more like horses than donkeys, which I did not expect. We learned from a colleague that mule's mothers are horses and fathers are donkeys. This way, they get horse smarts and donkey ability to walk down the trails without being scared. Apparently, this is the best combo for Grand Canyon trail riding and was learned the hard way after experimenting with horses that get spooked easily and donkeys that don't obey orders.
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| Mule barn at the South Kaibab trail head. |
As you can imagine, we were tired after getting only a few hours of sleep, hiking down the Kaibab and walking one million years. Laurel took a break to rest her feet, while Jay got in a last few moments with the canyon before we headed back to Flagstaff for some much-need rest.
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