2011 Spring Grand Canyon

Just got back home from 5 great days in Arizona. We made some new friends (Hello Bob, Julie, & Leslie) and just plain ordinary had a great time. Click the picture above to see the photos.


Day 0
Well, we had a disastrous start to the Grand Canyon Trip airport morning - perfect storm - we had the  boarding time wrong by 30 minutes,  it took Park and Fly 45 minutes instead of the normal 15 minutes to get us to the airport, and I was resisting being in airport mode (getting there too early), and had scheduled us very tight. So - we missed the flight. We thought it was going to cost us an extra $900 each to get there, but a guy with AC who new his stuff got us to LA on AC, then Delta to Phoenix. For a total extra charge of about $770 - ouch - but better than what we thought.

Luggage made the connection OK, picked up the convertible Mustang OK, and the drive up to Flagstaff in the dark went fine! Wow - we were at 2200' in Phoenix and 6500' in Phoenix - what a change!

• See the map http://www.nps.gov/grca/parknews/upload/FinSpGuide2011map.pdf  for an overview of the Canyon.
• Great info at http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/day-hiking.htm

Day 1

Grandview Trail - see the good info at http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=337436 - This was the most mentally and physically challenging day of the trip

Wow, what a great first day. We hiked down the Grand View canyon 3 miles to a place called Horseshoe Mesa. Got some great pictures - see the link above. The 3 miles and 2600' feet DOWN was a good days work. Unfortunately, in was only about 33% of work - the other 66% was the 3 miles and 2600' feet back to the top. By the time I got to the last mile, which is about 50% of the climb, it was just shear will power - pick a spot a 100 feet or so ahead, walk to that sport, take 10 deep breaths, and do it again. Man, I was exhausted at the top.

Kim found the toughest part up to be the middle third, and she had a hard time with that. Then, she got her second wind and topped out really well.

Even though we were both exhausted, we really enjoyed the day and were looking forward to day 2!

Ohh - did I mention how good Grand Canyon Ale is after a day like that? Yummy! Plus, Bob set up the propane stove and cooked us a genuine trail dinner! A perfect end for a perfect day.


Day 2

Hermit Trail to Dripping springs - see http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=533725 - This was I think the most rewarding day. Such beauty. We walked further than day 1, but we did less vertical, and were more confidence. So, even though my legs were more shot than at the end of day 1, I did not feel the same sense of total utter exhaustion.

When you see the pictures you will be amazed that we could walk around the edge of this canyon that looks so shear.


Day 3

Morning - South Kaibab trail to Ooh ah Point - see http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=337437 for map and info - If you had told me 3 days ago that i would be able to honestly refer to 1.8 miles and 880 vertical feet as a nice easy morning hike, I would not have believed you. But it was - nice wide trail - very smooth - none of the nearly knee-high steps and really rough ground of the first two days. Really pretty. I was stopping to puff for awhile several time on the way up, but was ready for more when we got back to the top.

Afternoon - Walk thru South Rim Village then do the top of Bright Angel  - see the info at http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=337435 - We turned before the 2nd tunnel because I do not remember a second tunnel. But, I think we must have been close - because I was guessing we hiked a mile. So, lets guess we did 0.6 or 0.7 for a round trip of 1.2 or so, and vertical in the area of 400-500'


Day 4

Spent the day doing a few different fun things:

• Went and saw the Meteor Crater and associated tourist trap
• Remember the Eagles Song "Take it Easy" - where they sing "I was standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona"? Well, we were there! See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPospvRqP_s
• Up to the Lowel Observatory for a really interesting tour of the two telescopes.
• Down to downtown Flagstaff for a wander around - a really neat town - they have created a downtown which preserved their history and still caters to tourists and the local students - a lot of fun!

After dark, back up to the observatory to have a look at Saturn through the 24" Clark Telescope - the original telescope placed there by Percival Lowell in 1895 - really cool!

Best meal of the day - great Mexican food at Bojo's Grill & Sports Club in Winslow!

Day 5


Spent the whole day walking the Rim Trail along the south Rim - took the shuttle from the parking lot to Hermits Rest, and then we walked about 8.5 miles back to the village. Has a good day. Had one nasty thing happen - my hands were starting to swell - I think because of the heat. So, I put my rings in my pocket. Must have accidentally dropped one = my family ring - when getting tissues or whatever out of my pocket. So, that is bad news - I need to arrange to get a new one made.

Day 6

The drive down  through Sedona and Jerome to Prescott Valley on Highway 89A was great - amazing pretty country. If you like to drive, you have to drive this road - really really nice!

Day 7


Home again! Boring trip - which is exactly the way air travel should be!