It's a Crash! Bang! Grand Canyon Thang!

“i'm planning my food today”

“if possible, everyone should have a map and compass to be able to find themselves, and an emergency whistle and signal mirror so others can find you”

“do we have to know how to use them too?”

“no, you can use them in trade with the indians who can carry you out”

“jlust, there is an 11-mile stretch without any good water (there is water, just not GOOD water), with a camp in the middle. its the stretch from indian garden campground to (i believe) monument creek. youll want more than two quarts for that section, im sure”

“hehe

this is going to be a good trip”

“hey whats the word on me getting in your room before you get there?”

“shhhh, people will think we are goofy

i'll call the hotel tomorrow. you might have to provide a cc to get the room key, worst case. there won't be any charge since i paid with points but that's how they work...”

“do that, because haspack wants to know when to come to the airport”

“I have a 2 gallon capacity.”

“well then i guess youre set”

“it's like a $9 cab ride to the hotel from the airport”

“25lbs!!! Damn Jason, thats great. You must have some ultra ultra light stuff.
I'm looking at starting out around 45 lbs.”

“what did you find out from the hotel, jenny san?”

“what jason didnt mention is that hes surviving on only one brick of ramen per day”

“I called the hotel. I added your name onto the list. You can check in before me however you will have to provide a credit card to do so. We would just change the credit card when we check out. Currently the room is paid for with points and reserved with my AMEX card.

There should be no charges since I paid with points unless the phone is used, etc. They just take the CC for incidental expenses as most hotels would do.

The hotel is 5 minutes away. Cab fare from the airport is roughly $10-15. She said as high as $20 but I find that hard to believe.

Per the web site:

Bus service, fee: 5 USD (one way)
Estimated taxi fare: 10 USD (one way)

Confirmation number: 83640957
Check-in: Sat, March 04, 2006
Check-out: Sun, March 05, 2006

Fairfield Inn Las Vegas South
5775 INDUSTRIAL ROAD
LAS VEGAS, NV 89118
USA

Phone: 1-702-895-9810

http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/LASFS

NOTE THIS IS NOT THE FAIRFIELD INN LAS VEGAS AIRPORT

This is the Fairfield Inn Las Vegas South that is right near the airport.

The hotel is 1/2 mile from the Las Vegas strip so it might be fun to go hang out and have dinner or something. I am not much of a party animal and I plan to spend the next weekend in Vegas with my wife, but like I said it might be a fun distraction.”

“hell, yea!”

“it's a crash bang las vegas thang!”

“what happens in vegas stays in vegas........or at least is fodder for around the campfire at mather and then forgotten....”

“There should be no charges since I paid with points unless the phone is used, etc.

This is crash you're talking too. Don't forget about purchasing "movies".”

“movies, hell. we got live showgirls!”

“ROFL... I can see it now. Crash will be walking the trail bowlegged from all the "excitement"!”

“CB, you have mail.”

“Weekend Forecast for
Grand Canyon, AZ On The Spot Weather
Sunday 5

Partly Cloudy

High
59°F

Low
24°F

Precip: 0%


Times of sun and clouds. Highs in the upper 50s and lows in the mid 20s.”

“Have fun guys!”

“do you mean "have fun guys"

or

"have fun comma guys"?

because i might have some fun girls while im in vegas saturday night iffin im not too tired”

“Supposed to be 65-70 daytime temps at the river next week!
You guys are going to have an AWESOME time!
Have a wonderful, safe hike!”

“yea baaabbbyyy!

i better go start packing.”

“what temp sleeping bag are you doods packing?”

“20 or 0. they both weigh the same.

the 0 packs down a little smaller so i'll probably bring it. i'll just have to sleep with it open.”

“my only other option is 45, and i don't think that will cut it on the rim.”

“i was gonna bring my 30 and some extra layers but now i am wondering if i should just bring the zero and sleep with it open once off the rim. unlike you my 0 packes much larger than my 30”

“31 pounds with everything and two liters of water.”

“The long range forecast for Thursday and Friday nite calls for a low of 5 degrees on the rim. I might bring my 20 degree bag for Sunday thru Thursday nights.”

“weather.com is predicting overnight low of 24. im bringing my 20 degree bag for both the rim and the canyon. im bringing a 4 season tent (hilleberg akto) for the rim, and 3 season (henry shires) for the canyon. im betting that 24 in arizona doesnt feel as cold as 24 in the midwest or south, where the humidity is worse”

“27 pounds with everthing but water.

The REI in Henderson opens at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday.”

“well that makes it easy for me! The lows range from 0 to 20 on the rim. I can bring my 0 degree bag for the rim but wouldn't want to take it for a week in the canyon. are we going to have enough room for all this gear in the cars? I could bring a 40 and a 30 and nest them. I just might do that...

I am betting I could make it with the 30 and my layers I am packing. Oh well, I have had more than one cold night on the trail. I won't freeze to death! worst case is a poor nights sleep.”

“My pack turned out to be 35 pounds. Oh well.

I'm leaving now and will stay the night someplace in route and will catch up with the rest of you at Mather on Sunday. My cell# is in my TT profile.”

“jimmy san and i are at the fairfield inn in vegas, waiting for haspack and baume to pick us up for breakfast, rei, then the four hour drive to the canyon.

i was so excited i could hardly sleep last night. good times a-comin”

“Have fun!!”

“CB is right, it wont feel as cold BUT be warned in the desert there are extream temp diffrences sometimes during the day and night. It might even get hot in the canyon during the day if it is sunny. Be prepared to strip off layers (and take pics!) :) Take care all...looking fowarard to the TR.


Oh and be careful of the badgers!!! They tend to get under foot on the north rim...
last edited: 3/05/06 9:50:32 AM”

“Have a really great time you guys. And watch out for the mini-bears. They are relentless!!”

“Man I wish I was going!!!! Good luck everybody and be careful. I can't wait to hear about it.

Hey Crash post your dam pics!!!!
See ya later.
Randall”

“cd, if by mini-bears you mean mice, i had one in my tent thursday night. i had to chase him out

wow. this was the best backpacking trip of my life. the scenery was incredible, and the last day was the buttkicker from hell.

im working on the trip report, and will continue working on it during breaks at work, then post it online. for right now, i just finished unpacking a little while ago, and im going to unwind for the rest of the day. later, folks”

“Hey, I got an album together this weekend(my kid backpacking trip fell through due to rain and cold so I had some free time) Still am working on album number 2. Here's a link to the first one

http://paigefalk.smugmug.com/Nature

as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, I must have a couple novels. :)

Great trip, thanks again for instigating Crash!”

“the tools of the trade


”

“great photo's paige!”

“Hey Baume, how was Hermit Rapids? Sounds like you had some little invaders. Was it snowing when you guys hiked out?”

“Thanks! Quite a few of you with your tools :)”