Grand Canyon Hike

Grand Canyon Hike 2016

Dave and Julie at the Grand Canyon (Pete is around here somewhere...)

Oh, there he is!

Before you start yelling, "Elder Abuse!", he wanted to do this hike. We have been wanting to get Pete to the GC so that he would consider the Rim to Rim hike with us before reaching 70 years old.  As you can imagine, there is not much time.  The only good times to take such a long hike in the GC are in May or October to take advantage of the cooler weather without having to deal with snow on the North Rim.  To give him a taste of what we have planned, we decided to take him on an "easy" hike beginning on the North Rim, heading down the North Kaibab Trail to the Cottonwood Camp Ground 6.8 miles down the trail.  Oh, did I mention it is 4,161 feet of elevation change?  That is not really important until the climb out, another 6.8 miles with 4,161 feet of elevation gain!

We started the morning hike like any other morning getting up at 2 AM and picking up Pete at 3 AM for the 3 hour drive to the North Rim.  The drive went without a hitch with both Julie and Pete sleeping most of the way and missing the endless deer on the sides of the road and crossing the road right in front of the truck.  When we arrived it was  time to pull out breakfast, use the rest room and gather up the hiking gear which included backpacks with hydration bags, food for the hike and the all important hiking poles.  Hiking poles are sometimes a pain to carry, but can come in handy on a nice trail that is mostly climbing because they allow the use of your arms to help drive you up the hill...if you know how to swing you arms in coordination with your legs. More on that later...

The early part of the hike was chilly which is always better that cooking.  We ran into an occasional hiker along the way as we progressed down the path.  "How much further" became the constant theme when Pete would talk.  He is exceptionally quite early in the morning which is unusual for him, but typical until he wakes up.  Mile after mile he trudged along with his friend, "gravity" helping him along the downward path towards Cottonwood.  

The scenery was absolutely breathtaking!

The beautiful scenery along the way helped the 3 hour hike down pass quickly.  Before we knew it, we were to Cottonwood.  There were a number of hikers in the campground area, some just starting out after spending the night, others just passing through and stopping for water and a quick snack like us.  

Time to head up!  "How far is it back to the car?", Pete asked finally understanding that Mr. Gravity was no longer his friend, but was now his worst nightmare!  "6.8 miles, the same amount we came down", I responded in a gentle manner so as not to alarm him.  The first 2.1 miles to Roaring Springs are a gentle warm up of gradual ups and down just to get us ready for the big climb.  When the trail finally turned steep, Pete only had 4.7 miles of very strenuous climbing to go.  Walk, rest, rest rest...walk, rest, rest, rest...  Each time Pete would stop which was often, he would lean against a tree, rock, anything so long as he did not have to stand upright.

I guess I did not take as many pictures of Pete in his resting position as I had thought so I have included two from a previous hike so you get an indication of how he looked.  People coming down the trail or passing us on their way up would stop, very concerned with his appearance and ask things such as "Hey buddy, you ok?" then once realizing he was with us, "Is he O.K.?  He does not look good."  This great show of concern basically went on the for the next 4.7 miles...how annoying!  It got to the point where we implored Pete to stand up straight and "look alive" when hiker were coming our way.  We did not want to appear like we were killing him!

Julie posing with Pete!

After 5.5 short hours (9 hours total), we emerged from the same trail head on which we had started.  Before I move on, the hiking poles....  You will note that Pete has them in several pictures.  He does not use these to assist with his hiking, but to lean on when taking breaks.  When we started to climb in the Grand Canyon we noticed his poles were of no use.  He would stab them into the ground randomly, but never in such a manner as to be of any assistance in hiking.  I pointed this out to Julie who jumped into action for a hiking pole lesson...  Right foot goes forward as the left hand goes forward, then left forward as the right hand goes forward...Walking 101.  Nope, did not work.  His arms move randomly from his feet and the best he could do was occasionally get the right arm and foot moving forward together.  Below is a picture of this lesson.  I'm sorry it is not a video because it was mesmerizing to watch.

The "Lesson"

The lesson failed miserably and we had to confiscate one the the poles as it was more of a hindrance than a help.  He did much better with one pole in a Gandalf, Lord of the Rings fashion.  

All in all, it was a good day.  We got to hike one of the most beautiful hikes in the country with our favorite hiking partner, Pete.  He was tired, but very accomplished in completing such a challenging hike.  He says he never wants to do that hike again, or heaven forbid go the entire way across.  Well, he is wrong!  Just think how great he will feel when he completes the entire Rim to Rim hike!  

If you see us on the trail, don't ask about Pete, it only feeds his self pity!  

Happy Trails!