The Grand Canyon, one of the seven wonders of the world, beautiful, awe inspiring, take your breath away magnificent… blah, blah, blah. Now, take that same canyon, put on a backpack and hike from the rim to the Colorado River, decending along a narrow path that drops almost a vertical mile to the canyon floor – then you’ve got something. That’s Daryl’s and my plan for Sunday. Mondays plan is to hike back out. If I can’t make it, it wil one heck of an expensive helicoptor ride to the top.
While visiting the park last week, I stopped by the backcountry permit office for some information. Amazingly, they still had a couple of spots avaliable for canyon hikes this weekend. It has always been something I wanted to do and the time seemed right. I was a little apprehensive to go down by myself so I called Daryl to see if he could fit it into his schedule. Everything looks good for our attemp.
I have been hanging around Flagstaff for the last few days, exploring the sights and staying at camps in the National Forest. Today I saw Meteor Crator and Walnut Grove National Monument. I enjoyed both places. Tonight I will drive back to GCNP and reserve a campsite for the next part of my adventure. Stay tuned.
We’ve always wanted to make that trip too, but if we do it sometime it will be on the back of a burro!
While in Flagstaff you could visit the observatory there. It is quite interesting.
Now I can get a first hand answer. Who gets the wall hugging side on the trail when you meet another individual or group–those going down or those climbing up? I want to go only in that direction.
I know that when mules pass, hikers are supposed to hug the wall.
I don’t know the rules for hiker vs. hiker, though people have told me there is a convention that ascenders have the right of way over descenders. I usually just use common sense. It’s hardly a busy city street that needs traffic control!
That’s great!! Next time we run into someone in the backcountry and start swapping adventure stories, you’ll now have your own version of the “I stepped over 3 people, one of them unconscious, as I hiked out of the canyon” tale. Have a wonderfun time. (That was a typo but I’m keeping it. I like it. It’s a combination of wonerful and fun.) Take lots of pictures.
We did have a wonderfun time.