36.) My Decent....Goldilocks and the Lack of Solitude.....

     I'm up at 5:30 the next morning cooking more bacon and eggs to fuel up for my hike.  After breakfast I pack up and make my way to the trailhead. I set out on the South Kaibab trail by 10am with Goldilocks style weather. The sun is warn, the morning air still cool….it’s perfect and I've got 7 horizontal miles and 6,000 vertical feet between me and the canyon floor via the South Kaibab Trail. There's no water available anywhere along the way, so I have just over 2 liters of water and a 32 ounce powerade that should be more than enough to sustain me on my trek down.  I plan to hike back out via the Bright Angel Trail that has several water stops along its length and I can refill as needed.  I learned my lesson on my first hike and my pack weight is much more manageable this time around.  

The first mile of the South Kaibab trail offers 360 degree views of the canyon.  It's totally exposed and in some places it follows a ridge line that isn't much wider than the trail itself.  I’m grateful for the beautiful weather and I’m feeling good as I pass Ooh Aah Point at the 1 mile mark, Cedar Ridge at 1.5 miles, and I arrive at Skeleton Point, the 3 mile mark after about an hour of hiking.  I surprised by my progress. I thought I’d be moving much slower but I remind myself that it’s because it all downhill. The real test will be the hike out.

At Skeleton Point I sit, remove my pack, and take my first real break.  There's a group of port-a-potties here, and that draws a crowd.  Once again a quiet hike of self-reflection and deep thought is not possible at the Grand Canyon. I’m annoyed at first, then figure it’s probably for the best on a hike of this magnitude.  I subdue my agitation with a cliff bar and chat with a some of my fellow hikers.  There are a few families on vacation with younger kids, one or two pairs of what appear to be twenty-somethings, but what really surprises me is all the old people!  The majority of hikers are grey haired and well weathered.  One guy is going to turn 76 later this month!
I’m thrown for a second but after I think about it for a bit it makes sense. The Grand Canyon and other parks like it are things you do in your retirement.  After you’ve put in your time dealing with all the bullshit that comes with funding your existence, you seek tranquility….to slow down.  It’s a great place to be when you have no places to be, no obligations or pressing matters. These are the people who are looking AROUND, I realize. After 30 or 40 years of tunnel vision, they finally have the TIME to look around. "Good for them,” I think to my self, I’m glad I’m doing it sooner rather than later. Maybe a quiet hike of self-reflection isn’t in the cards for the Grand Canyon but a minor realization is better than nothing and with that I’m ready to hike on.

The next section of trail is colorfully named Cardiac Hill, a steep set of switchback that I'm grateful I don’t have to climb.  Trudging on, I eventually get my first good view of the Colorado River.  I could see a tiny piece of it from Skeleton Point but it's more real this time, and it’s BIG. You have no idea how big when gazing from the rim.  But from here, I can hear it…almost feel it.  A flame of excitement relights inside my chest as I descend further.  My body is holding up nicely thus far.  My back feels alright, my pack gets marginally lighter as I drink more water.  I don’t feel any blisters on my feet but my toes are beginning to complain. Hiking downhill for 4 straight hours has forced my feet into the toes of my boots causing some pinching discomfort and I get a bit antsy as I near the bottom.  

On the final stretch I reach a tunnel straight thru the solid rock outcropping and emerge on the silver suspension bridge that spans the Colorado River and ushers me to the canyon floor. I’ve made it.  

The opposite end of the bridge leads me to a beautiful arch of beach that follows the outside curve of the river.  I drop my pack and sit in the sun warmed sand to remove my boots and socks.  
    The water is freezing! So cold in fact that after roughly 30 seconds of wading my feet actually hurt and I’m forced back to the beach.  While stumbling around the sands I run into Ryan and Julie, a couple from Colorado.  It’s 80 degrees here on the canyon floor, and they were snowboarding earlier in the week.  Hell, it was in the mid 50’s on the rim this morning when I started my hike.  Elevation is a hell of a thing.  

 




 Bright Angel Campground is just passed the beach and a bit further into a side canyon.  I chose an empty campsite right on Bright Angel Creek. Once pitched, my tent is about 3 steps away from the creeks edge.  After camp is set I eat a brat while soaking my feet in it’s icy waters.  I was right about no blisters but I do feel a few hot spots that will need some attention before I hike out.  I was riding the high of making it to where I actually am right now, the floor of the Grand Canyon!  I was feeling great wandering the beach and setting up camp, but now that I've stopped, the day is catching up with me.  Once I finish my snack, I stand back up with a groan and explore the camp in the day's waning light on slow wobbly legs.  Phantom Ranch is a few hundred yards deeper into the canyon and that flame of excitement lights again when I see the beer advertised in the window of the lodge.  It’s quickly smothered when I realize I didn't bring my wallet or cash of any kind, and the indifference emerges when I tug on the front door and it’s locked up tight, the whole place is closed.  With a shrug and an about-face, I head back towards the beach.  

I pack up my one hitter a few times and run into a group of kids laying on the beach.  Turns out they made it all the way down here but don’t have a permit to camp.  It’s getting dark and they don't know what to do.  They eventually decide to try and hide in the bushes the best they can until morning. I wish them luck and that’s the last I see of them.  I wonder if they make it out alright.

     I crawl into my tent and turn onto my back with the intention of reading for a bit but I don’t make it.  Sore and bone tired I quickly pass out while laughing to myself, “Tomorrow is gonna be a rough one.” Cut to black….