|
|||
|
|
|||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||
|
What I didn't mention about the Havasupai trip ("On the Trail With the Canon SD500") was that a major goal was to obtain a permit, while in the vicinity, for camping in the Grand Canyon in September. Because we failed to get a "large-group" permit last year by mail, we thought we'd try showing up in person the very moment they were let, on May 1st. After waiting in line at the Backcountry Office for 3 hours with at least 49 other people who were thinking the same thing, I felt lucky to emerge with a permit for six people. And so, the tight scheduling of our fall trip began.
We planned a trip from the North rim to the South rim, with 4 nights camping along the way. Cars were to be left on the South rim, waiting for our emergence. A shuttle would take us the 212 mile, 5 hour journey to the North Rim, where a fine dinner awaited us at the Grand Canyon Lodge, much to the envy of those who failed to anticipate their hunger weeks in advance. Ultimately, this geographical juggling involved a night's lodging at each rim, even before we could begin the hike. It's an understatement to say that the participants were looking forward to the trip. We had been waiting over 18 months, and frankly, we had become obsessed. We thought about the shape we were in. We even had "training hikes" (and Colorado's hills are a great place to train). We thought about gear, we thought about weight, we thought about food and what books to bring. This trip was an excuse to pull out the stops: REI made a small fortune (and Xanterra, the Park Service's concessionaire, did nearly as well). |
|||||||||||||||||
|
Move your cursor over the images to view!
Must have javascript enabled |
|||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||
| The North rim has more "wild west" character than the South rim. Fewer foreigners go there (compared to the South rim). There's a saloon, coming and going with folks and their expectant itineraries. And if you're suffering two day's worth of caffeine withdrawl like I was, there's a maniacal barista who prefers not to talk to himself. He shouts, "How's that double espresso? Alright!" With his Elvis-like "Thaank you verrry much", we soon hit the trail. | |||||||||||||||||
| A Knee-killing descent | |||||||||||||||||
|
Cottonwood campground is about 7 miles from the North rim, 4,000 feet down a series of switchbacks. Some people used poles to take the punishing descent, others didn't use poles, and some sacrifice their bodies: We saw at least one person get a helocopter ride out after hyperextending their knee. In many sections, the trail takes hikers along some pretty serious cliffs, inevitably forcing a zen-like meditation on your fragile existence when the muletrains come alongside.
Photographic subjects abound just a day's hike from Cottonwood campground. Ribbon Falls is spectacular, having a huge travertine dome deposit, likely indicating a water chemistry similar to that of Havasupai. If you are into topographic maps, you can plot a route and then find the trail to Upper Ribbon Falls, which resides in it's own spectacular valley. It was here that we "discovered" small Anasazi granaries along the valley's edge. I was still packing the SD500, which is great to day-hike with, but no replacement for an SLR. You can't easily take great pictures with this camera. I experienced blown reds in dawn light, out-of-focus shots, and no low-light shooting ability at all. Indeed, out of the 200+ shots I took, the handful shown here are really only good enough for this web page; actually producing a print looks to be a frightening prospect. |
 |
||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||
| Phantom Ranch has beer | |||||||||||||||||
| Xanterra's even running the concessions at Phantom Ranch. It is your little bit of civilization at the bottom of the canyon: They have lodging. They have electricity. And not only do they have beer, rumor is that they even have internet access. Here, temperatures approached 100°F, even in late September.
Bright Angel Campground is just a short walk away. We had our campsite, of course, and within hours we found ourselves in violation of some of the campground policies. So much so, in fact, that the permit holder (me) was asked visit the ranger station. I did so, and promptly discovered that I needn't bother to identify myself - my notoriety preceeded me. Apparently ours was the only group in the campground who didn't heed the gospel that was written on the food container covers (I kind of thought it was advertising). I pointed this out to our group, much to their amusement: They promptly began calling me "Moses". |
|||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||
| A 4,300' ascent | |||||||||||||||||
| I confess that I really enjoyed walking the up the switchbacks, through Indian Gardens, to the South Rim complex of the Grand Canyon. The air becomes noticeably cooler as you ascend, and the desert gradually gives way to pine. The hikers that you encounter as you get closer to the top also change, as does their reaction to you: I was sporting a 7-day growth of beard and was wearing the same shirt for a second day, walking slowly, and sweating buckets. Foreigners would carefully begin down the winding trail in clean, cowboy-esqe fashion apparel, looking for the classic wild-west experience that they had dreampt about back home, mostly unaware of the wonder awaiting them thousands of feet below. | |||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||