Rim to River

On Wed (Jun 28) I left Michele and the kids at the tent site and headed down into the canyon at 6am.  This was something I had been planning and training for during the winter.  At the time we planned the trip back in January, no one else wanted to enter the lottery to get the overnight hiking permit.  

The trip down was 7 miles of trail descending a full vertical mile to the Colorado river on the South Kaibab trail.  The scenery was stunning, with the sun coming in at such a low angle.  

I stopped briefly at the Colorado to gather some sand for my collection.  I got down to the Bright Angel Campsite by 9:30 am ... well before the heat peaked.  With temperatures of 115 degrees in the shade!  I spent the day trying not to lose my energy or getting sun burned!  There were lots of other early morning hikers to chat with, spending our day chasing the shadows and staying hydrated.  My tent was nothing more than a screen, and worked adequetly.  Sleep was still not easy to come by with the temperatures still in the nineties well into the night.

For my hike up the next day, I decided to again depart early.  This time I broke camp at 3:45 and trekked under the stars with my headlamp.   I can tell you that crossing the roaring Colorado on a suspension bridge in the pitch black is a little nerve wracking!  The Bright Angel Trail seemed to go on forever, winding back and forth to scale the steep inclines.  The sun started peeking into the canyon by 6:30, making the effort all the more hot and exhausting, but providing the inspiring views.  By 8:45 I was all the way up to the rim - exhausted, but really satisfied to have completed this challenge.