City to Canyon


Monday, April 2 - Trail Mix

This afternoon, I am in Bryce Canyon and finally getting around to catching up on my posting.  I hope to write more frequently but perhaps shorter (make that pithier) notes.

Phoenix-Flagstaff

I spent four days in Phoenix, hoping to do some more hiking and catch a couple of spring training games.  I did just that plus a bike ride that took me all the way from Scottsdale to the home of ASU in Tempe.

Spring training in Arizona (a/k/a the "Cactus League" vs. the "Grapefruit League" in Florida) is a big deal here in March and for good reason.  The tickets are cheap, the players, umps and coaches interact with fans and the stadiums are intimate and friendly (although the two I saw had very unfriendly deep center fields).  Frankly, I don't know why anyone would bother with Florida anymore.  The Arizona weather is far better and more reliable with no humidity.  Fans show up early to grab some food in the concourse - all open air - and a local draft beer or lemonade.  Lemon ice, of course, is also big.  I saw San Francisco play the Texas Rangers and the White Sox.  At the Ranger game, I sat directly behind Peter Magawan (SF GM) and his two sons and a few seats away from Bill Neukom, principal owner and former general counsel of Microsoft.

I wish I had a lot more good things to say about Phoenix but, in contrast to Tucson (and, later, Flagstaff), it seemed like an LA wannabe with lots of strivers who don't realize how they seem to those who clean their houses, service their fancy cars and prepare their food at the many identical malls.  The Phoenix area includes upscale Scottsdale and more working class areas like most of central Phoenix itself and towns like Chandler.

The BBQ and beer festival I attended in Chandler was a lot of fun.  I did not take a lot of photos but these show the sort of typical scenes.  I liked the Memphis pulled pork and the Texas spareribs.  Local brews were also quite tasty, including Fat Tire and Devil ales.  Chandler showed a different side of Arizona, maybe what could be called "alt-zona" with lots of bikers, street kids, goth types and people who seemed to only engage in outdoor activities (and why not).  At least half of those in attendance were tatooed, some elaborately.  A pleasant Saturday following a tough hike first around and then up Squaw Peak, a terrific hiking place right inside the Phoenix city limits.  It was hot and by the end, I knew I'd messed up my electrolyte balance (mostly underhydrating) when my hands swelled like so many sausages.

I spent another day biking around just to mix up the training and because I'm really enjoying biking.  Phoenix, like most cities in the West, has an elaborate bike lane and trail system and i could get everywhere.  One long park through Scottsdale and Tempe displayed golf, beach volleyball (oh yeah), soccer, baseball and the hot new thing here - disc golf.  Apparently, only old people and tourists play traditional golf in Phoenix; all the young guys play disc golf, which involves a small frisbee-like disc and a metal net that is the target (hole).  Looked hard but these guys took it seriously and were out in foursomes just like "old golf."

Leaving Phoenix on Tuesday, I was excited to get to Flagstaff because the next morning would mark the start of my Grand Canyon adventure.  I did not expect the change in elevation but found that Flagstaff was at 7,000 feet and much cooler as a result.  It is a town with a lot of charm and an active counterculture/eco-centric community that probably arose because of the presence of Northern Arizona University (which I confess I had not heard of).  NAU seemed like a pretty nice school with a great campus and a very outdoorsy, laid back student population.  It has both a contemporary, slightly hip feel and a good measure of the old West; freight trains hold up traffic in the middle of town at many grade crossings.  The food in town was quite good; over two nights I had some excellent Thai food and a bbq chicken pizza that I may dream about for a while.  It's a town I could see spending a lot of time in because its close to so many great outdoor areas north and south, has great food and good (if often cool) weather.  I finally also boxed up a large carton of clothes that were surplus and sent them home; still have much too much, especially considering I pick up the odd souvenir.  (Did I tell you about the two paintings I bought in New Orleans? At least those got shipped home!)

Grand Canyon

Wednesday morning early I was picked up by our guide Jon, who had already picked up the others in Phoenix (at 4:30 a.m.)  Needless to say, I was the geezer of the group, which included two brothers from Michigan, an enthusiastic candy-maker from Atlantic and her younger friend, an executive chef from KC.  They were a good bunch to be with, all upbeat about our trip and always willing to help.

We got to the canyon after a 90 minute white knuckle-speed drive from Flagstaff and got our gear sorted.  My pack weighed 45 pounds due in part to my overly-literal reading of the suggested packing list.  But part of the reason for the trip was to learn about backpacking and camping, so my pain at dragging this stuff will keep me focused on what's important for the next overnighter.

The South Rim of the Grand Canyon sits at about 7,000 feet and our destination, the Bright Angel campground at the bottom, is at about 2,600 feet.  We shouldered our packs and, for about 5 hours, trudged down the South Kaibab Trail, using our poles to try - futilely - to avoid the strain to our quads and our knees.  The Canyon is an extraordinary sight from the top, immense beyond anything I had seen before.  But the walk down, and the next few days, gave me a much matter feel for how special this place is.  Apparently, only one in 400 visitors actually go down to the bottom and most never even walk down even part way.

These two shots show you the view from the top and a sense of the switchbacks in the trail leading down.  Even with the switchbacks, the trail is quite steep in places and for much of it, there are steep drops just beyond the trail's border - not a place for vertigo or, for that matter, casual traipsing.  Our weather was ideal - cool, bright and low humidity.  In fact, it remained perfect throughout the four days of the hike.  Many stretches were open or steeply uphill -- they would be very tough going with weather in the 80's or 90's, which will be here in a month or two.  A few times we were passed by mule trains.  Mules carry all of the supplies used at the bottom and also some passengers who are unable or unwilling to walk down or up.  Needless to say, the trail was littered with "evidence" of their passing.

After about two and a half hours, we were rewarded with our first sighting of the Colorado, then green in hue (it became reddish later due to increased flow and turbidity).

By mid-afternoon, with trembling legs and aching shoulders, we reached the lovely Bright Angel campground, an oasis nestled in Bright Angel Canyon, next to the epynomous tributary that feeds the Colorado.  Sorry the picture is dark.  Our campsite was at the foot of this looming cliffside; part of me wondered if we would be crushed by a large falling boulder, many of which litter the entire area.

As the only one travelling by myself, I had a single tent to myself.  While this afforded a modest amount of privacy (modest because you can hear, smell and pretty much see everything in the tents next to you), the tent was quite small.  One of the brothers immediately dubbed it the "coffin," an apt description because it was very difficult to do much inside of it besides lie there.  I spent some time exploring the area, which was adjacent to the famous Phantom Ranch, a grouping of buildings that include a bunkhouse, small cabins, a store and restaurant,  After setting up our tents and having a not-bad repast of stirfry, we collapsed in our tents and were sound asleep by 8:30.

The next day, after a bit of discussion, we all agreed to do a 13 mile hike up the Bright Angel box canyon to Ribbon Falls.  This proved to be a good if exhausting decision.  The canyon was quite narrow, as you can see below, passing even narrower box canyons, and winding to and fro for a few miles before broadening a bit.  Up one of these side canyons, we found Ribbon Falls, a gorgeous, two-tiered falls made lush by the spray and hanging moss.  And you can see me in all my glorious selfness, pretty much wrecking the view of the falls in one shot.

Worn out by this several hour hike, we returned to camp and repaired to the lodge at Phantom Ranch for some rescusitory beers, lemonade and board games.  Another early night for all.

The next day, we began the two-day process of hiking back out of the Canyon and said goodbye to our home at Bright Angel, which is the group of green trees in the distance in this photo.

Our destination was Indian Gardens, another green oasis about a third of the way up the trail back to the South Rim.  We arrived there after about 2 or so hours of chugging uphill with our packs.  Along the way, we spied two condors, an endangered species and an extraordinary bird whose wingspan can reach 10 feet.

After a leisurely afternoon, we headed for Plateau Point to view the sunset.  Nothing I have ever seen compares with the view from this point, which juts into the middle of the canyon about 2000 feet directly above the Colorado River.  Standing at the edge (of the world, it seems), you are surrounded by the Canyon with the North Rim ahead, the Bright Angel canyon and, behind us, the looming walls and outcroppings of the South Rim with many jutting peaks and the amazing layerings of rock, showing the deposition of different materials from the time that the entire area (and most of the U.S.) was underwater.  I may try to post a video later but here are just two of the many shots taken here (and of me, safely away from the edge).  Forgive the still blindingly white legs.

Saturday morning, we all got up early and packed quickly to get a good jump and the remaining 2/3 of the climb out.  After bolting down some oatmeal with dried cherries (not bad) and taping the blisters I'd gotten (using bandaids and duct tape - an old trick to avoid friction), off we set with our packs.

The hike up that day was tough - steep in parts and occasionally chilly.  Some stretches had ice underfoot but with sufficient gravel mixed in that we did not lose anyone over the side.  The "boys" (as we had begun to call them) went first.  I made my way up a bit behind and then the guide and Karen, who had lost (actually removed) an impacted and sore big toe nail.  I felt good, despite the weight and the steep climb and, in just three hours (including two breaks), I reached the rim.  After a spot of souvenir shopping at the lodge gift shop, we enjoyed a celebratory beer, sitting at the bar to avoid our rank odors from reaching the other paying guests.  We all felt a sense of great accomplishment and satisfaction, still reeling from the wondrous sights of the Canyon and the giddy exhaustion of having made it to the top.  Here is our little group.  Thanks guys!!

[Ed note: I may have more pix later to post from the Canyon but my hotel wi-fi is too slow to include now].