Beefcake and Cactus Magnet: A Grand Cany on TR

“Mataharihiker, glad you're enjoying the photos etc.

Jason brings up a good point, Photoshop skills are almost as important as equipment. Postprocessing is a very legitimate step especially in digital photography. Almost every photo benefits from sharpening, levels/curves and saturation filters in photoshop.”

“I know about the neccessity of having to "photoshop" (it's almost become a verb now, hasn't it?) pictures...I use Jasc Paint Shop Pro because I couldn't afford Photoshop...I don't know how to set black and white points tho or even what it means...LOL...I also don't know if I can batch process anything...that would certainly make things quicker...both of you know how to compose photos...that's what makes the difference between photography and taking pictures...putting the photos, yours and everyone elses, along with Crash Bang's great writing and you have one of the better trip reports that has ever appeared in here....
last edited: 3/19/06 8:25:09 AM”

“Hey, all, thanks for taking the time to write these reports. Its been a blast to read.”

“Today I am washing my down sleeping bag from this trip. I usually only have to wash my down bags once per year, just before I put them up for the season as the weather warms and cools. This trip easily put a full season of "funk" into my 30 degree down bag. In the storage bag it had less loft than the 40 degree bag (same quality down)...

It's in the drier now... hours of "thump, thump" as the tennis ball goes round-and-round. It's always like magic when you first take the bag out, however.”

“day 5 of trip report coming up later today. also hope to write the conclusion and my thank you's today, but if not, tomorrow”

“Hey, who had that great jerky at the GC? I can't remember who it was! Anyway could you either post your recipe/method or email it to me? I bought a food dehydrator and am going to change my style of food/cooking. Between that jerky and the smell of prosecutors food on the trail I am convinced it’s time for a major change.”

“ummmm that wasnt jerky. you were delirious from your migraines and started eating your boot leather before we could stop you”

“Around midnight of the last night, my peaceful slumber was rudely interrupted by one of Mickey Mouse's scavenging cousins. I either felt or heard him enter my tent, and as the mesh door does not attach to the floor, it was easy for him to do. At least it meant he did not have to chew a hole in the tent-wall. I chased him out just as he was going for my food bag, but the poor thing, in his hurry, kept running up the door, as he had pushed it in when he entered from the other side. Taking pity, I zipped open the door and let him out, instead of smashing him.

Instantly, it occurred to me that maybe I should have flattened him, for he might just keep coming back to get what he wanted. Fortuneately, mice are not as brave as bears, and that was the last I heard or saw of him. Unless you count the dreams I had right after, the ones in which my food bag was being invaded by more mice and I was catching them by their tails and flinging them out by 3's and 4's.

We were all up very early, before 6 am, for we knew we had a long hard hike ahead of us, along with a mean winter storm coming in at the top of the rim, and we wanted to avoid as much of it as possible. I gave away much of my remaining food, lightening my load, and helping provide energy to others running low on food. Haspack was threatening to ditch what remaining food he had left. I think he was kidding. Prosecutor remarked, "this might not be our favorite hike of the week, but it will be the most memorable." I wouldn't naysay that.

We were on the trail before 6:30. The day as a whole certainly was a buttkicker: 9.3 miles, over 4200' of elevation gain, 40-50 mph winds trying to blow us into the gulleys, narrow trail with giant rock walls looming on one side, big drops on the other, and just to make things a little more challenging, the results of past rockslides every so often, all coming together to make it one of the most challenging 6 hours of hiking I have done.

As I anticipated, the hike up Hermit Creek was not as difficult as the hike down, due to the ruggedness. Anyone who has hiked the Whites or similar very rugged terrain knows what I am talking about. Thankfully, the last 8 miles were smoother than the 1.5 out of Hermit Creek. But they did have their moments. I was blown sideways once and nearly lost my balance, and a hiker was heard to say, "you gotta be f-c-ing kidding me!" There were a couple of times I would have had a hard time finding the trail at the rockslides were it not for Baume66 right in front of me.

The uphill slope was relentless, with only brief respites of level ground. Early on, a stiff wind on the other side of a sharp corner convinced each person that came by that they needed another layer, and maybe some gloves. The exposure was enough to up one's concentration, though it certainly was not intimidating. It was a nice challenge, making me feel like I was starting to plunge the depths of my resolve.

Over the first 4 days of the hike, I was on pace to take in the neighborhood of 200 pictures (sadly, nowhere near Paige's 650!). But on the last day, the shutter on my camera was malfunctioning, and I was so involved in concentrating on the hike, so after just one panoramic shot, I put the camera away for the day. However, I have many excellent photos from which to reminisce later in life, and I am not disappointed.

Late in the morning, I arrived at the spring house, a very welcome structure beside Santa Maria Spring, complete with benches for rest and three walls for protection from the elements. Hoorah! We had caught up with Helinka, Rescue9, and Cactus Magnet. R9 and CM had also hiked up the Hermit Trail yesterday, to shorten this day's hike. Ken and Olddog were still behind. We assumed that they stayed at Hermit Creek campsite.

After signing the shelter register, I made ready to hit the trail again. We looked out, and it was blowing snow diagonally. The icy beginning to my re-start almost convinced me to put my yaktrax on, until it was pointed out that it was just the run-off from the spring.

The last 2.5 miles from the Spring to the trailhead was the steepest section of the day, at over 800 feet elevation gained per mile. Shortly after a couple of sidetrails, the ground flattened out temporarily, and even though it started uphill again a brief time later, at least there were not massive cliffs and rock walls with landslides on either side of me. Eventually that levelness gave way too, but was not nearly as bad as the last 4.5 miles had been.

I was the first to leave the spring house, but it was not long before JLust, the strongest hiker of our group, blazed by me. I made a puny effort to stay right behind him and draft off of his windbreak, but that petered out soon. Later, steady-as-she-goes hiker Prosecutor caught me as I was beginning to bonk. I had not eaten enough on the hike up. Baume66 probably would have caught me, but he took a wrong turn at one point and never bridged the gap.

A few minutes before I reached the trailhead, a couple of obvious tourists passed by me going in the opposite direction. I knew I was close now. Exhausted, I finally reached the trailhead, never so glad to see a parking lot. Prosecutor and JLust exited the canyon before I did, but they were nowhere in sight. Baume66 surmised they had gone on to the concession stand/gift shop a short distance away, and headed off in that direction.

It was cold, very cold at the top of the rim. If I was to guess, I would have said it was in the low 20's, and the wind did not help. Haspack's truck was unlocked, and I climbed inside. I put on my coat and waited. It helped to get out of the elements for awhile, but I eventually became cold again. Luckily, Prosecutor returned, and drove me to the gift shop. I ran inside at full speed, heedless of the tourists milling about. There was a fireplace against the wall, and I nearly threw children aside to get to it.

Prosecutor came inside and told me that B66 was looking for me. He had bought me a hot cider and a huge muffin. I found him, and we returned to the fire, while the tourists tried to pretend that they did not notice the smelly, scruffy hikers in their midst.

Warmed up sufficiently, I bought myself a hot chocolate and B66 another muffin, and the four of us that were up first jumped in Prosecutor's rental and drove to Bright Angel Lodge to wait for Haspack and Jimmy San to arrive. We all got cheeseburgers (except for Prosecutor, who got a chicken basket) served by a very cute waitress, and eventually the other two members of our party caught us.

After a sufficient amount of time recuperating and catching up, we said goodbye to Haspack, who was giving Jimmy San a ride to the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, and then driving on to Prim Valley on the California border to spend the night before driving home.

A good wintery storm was moving in, and I heard later that the area received 20" of snow that day. We got out just in time. However, Cactus Magnet was not so lucky. She was stranded an extra day and had to get a later flight. But she got some good pictures out of it.

On the drive back to Vegas, B66's son, using Expedia.com booked us 2 rooms. At the Luxor! We were shocked to hear that they were letting rooms with two beds go for $100, so we jumped right on it. Jimmy San was very surprised to see us in the lobby. We had dinner at a very nice buffet downstairs, as I find out that my eyes were bigger than my stomach, while B66 won $500 playing cards after the rest of us had went to bed.”

“hehe, well done crash!”

“Jimmy Sans was at the Luxor in a $800 per night Honeymoon suite with his wife. He was as happy to see us unwashed dirty backpackers as the maitre d' at the Chicagio Pump Room was to see the Blues Brothers when they went there to recruit him back to the band.”

“jerky:

two small bottles (6 oz?) of liquid smoke
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablesspoon of favorite hot sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

add all ingredients together. fill liquid smoke bottles with water and add. whisk until all sugar is disolved and other ingredients are well mixed.

add meat and let marinade for at least 6 hours.

remove meat from marinade and lightly pat on both sides with paper towel to remove any standing/puddling liquid. put on dehydrator rack. sprinkle with cajun seasoning.

dehydrate to desired moisture level.
last edited: 3/19/06 7:07:46 PM”

“"maitre d' at the Chicagio Pump Room was to see the Blues Brothers when they went there to recruit him back to the band.”

pros is a good story-teller, but sadly thats the only pop culture reference he has. thats what happens when you watch talking heads 12 hours a day

;-)”

“Awesome trip report, Crash. I really enjoyed reading it!”

“Poor Crash Band. He is too polite to post how I made him listen on the 5 hour ride back to Las Vegas to my favorite songs on my Ipod played over the car stereo from the 1950s and 1960, starting with You Belong to Me sung by Patti Page (1952). Torture. Only once in those five hours did he indicate that he like one of the songs.

Crash Bang's hidden pain was so bad, that once I got back home, I reorganized my Ipod songs into decades, so I can play songs that the passengers would recognize.”

“I had to listen to them on the way there and there was traffic at the dam! Perhaps that explains my migranes?”

“Great report of an awesome trip Crash!

When I hit the parking lot the first place I went to was the bathroom. I was overjoyed to actually have a place to sit while taking care of business. While in there cleaning up and changing a tour bus unloaded a group of "Rimmers". The women all piled into the bathroom, which was the Taj Mahal of bathrooms as far as I was concerned.
"Oh yuck, what do I do now"? One of them said.
"I think I'll hold it until we get back to the motel".
"How do you work this thing?" another said.
"What is she doing?" said another in reference to me taking a very long time in my stall. I emerged from my stall laughing hysterically, too shocked by civilization to say anything.”

“Your TR set a high standard for this years up-coming hikes, CB...it looks like it was one of those magical trips where things just came together with some "interesting" weather to make it even more memorable...nicely done all of you...”

“finishing trip report today....”

“I finished making beef jerky today. The results were excellent but not as good as what I enjoyed on the GC trip at Hermit Rapids. Still, much, much better than what I could get in the stores. Overall I was very pleased. I'll still beg for that recipe.”

“but wait, theres more.......”

“Had breakfast at the buffet. Significantly cheaper than dinner. Hallelujah! After breakfast Jimmy San took what remained of our group on a short mini-tour of the Strip. We saw some lions at the MGM Grand and walked inside the lobby of the Belagio (sp?). Next up was a long traffic jam to Tony Roma's for lunch, and saying goodbye to Rescue9 and Ken. We were not that many hours removed from breakfast, so I just ordered dessert and ate off Helinka's and B66's plate (kick-ass ribs!) Helinka joined our dwindling party of three to make it a dwindling party of four, and we took a side-trip to REI before heading to the airport.

Once at the airport, Prosecutor left to turn in his rental, while B66, Hel, and I waited at the top of the escalator. B66 eventually had to leave to catch his flight, and it was just Helinka and I left to kill time (cue 70's porn music here). We decided to go get some drinks and call Prosecutor to let him know where we were going to be. Unfortuneately, he gave us the wrong number. yes, I checked my email, you gave us the wrong number, Ed :-P

Back to the airport bar. Helinka's pocketbook got violated by our bar tab ($18 for a margarita and a glass of wine!), so even if we were planning on getting more than one drink, that would have put the kibosh on that. Poor Helinka, her flight did not leave until 11 pm, so I had to say goodbye to her with much time remaining til her flight. I assume she occupied her time well.

I found Ed in the Southwest Airlines terminal and said goodbye to him, and headed to my flight. It was nice to fly from Vegas to Indy without a layover. It made the trip go really quick. I could not believe how warm it was at midnite in Indiana in March, rainy, but I believe it was almost 60 degrees. My best friend Jeff picked me up, and I crashed at his apartment, sad to be done with my vacation, but happy to be done with the traveling.”

“This was easily the best backpacking trip I have ever been on, as well as best vacation ever. The scenery was outstanding, the companions were excellent, the weather was nice, and only one day did we really have to work hard (but it made up for the other four easy days). This trip could not have come through as well as it did without everyone's cooperation. So now, I would like to thank everyone involved for making this a truly outstanding week:

Haspack

First one to sign up. If it had been just you and me (for a long time it was looking like it was), it still would have been just as good. And aren't you glad you stopped at Plateau Point? Thanks for the wheels, man, and thanks for finding me at the airport. It was fun riding with you. I think one of us tried to reach you to let you know we were going to the Luxor and that we could take Jimmy, but oh well. You probably would have been lonely.

Jimmy San

Thanks for the motel and the gift certificate. Sorry I was so wiped out when you arrived, but traveling takes alot of a person. I'm really glad you had a good time despite the migraines. "You so handsome. Like Bruce Willis."

Baume66

"You gotta be #&%!$ing kidding me!" Awesome photos, dude. Love the condor in flight. Good lookin' out getting us those rooms at the Luxor.

Prosecutor

You kept us entertained with your terrific stories and endless supply of lawyer jokes. Hey, I really did like some (ok, alot, oh heck most) of the music on the way home. It's funny that you had the talking heads on when you left the room for your shower, and you come back and some childlike naif had switched the channel to Spongebob. You are free to use that in a story when somebody asks you "so, what's Crash like?"

JLust

Dude, you powered up those hills. Beefcake! GA-ME 98! Excellent pics!

Rescue9

You were an excellent group leader. Great job of looking out for the best interests of everyone in your group. Coming back to carry CM's pack was a really swell thing to do. I was also very happy to have some medically trained personnel on hand. Good choice for lunch Saturday afternoon, also. Those ribs rocked!

Ken

You were the chivalrous knight of the trip. Helinka remarked that that was the first time anyone had ever looked out for her in that way on a trip, and she appreciated it very much. Your son is a good man, and it takes another good man to raise him. I only regret I did not get to know you better.

Cactus Magnet

I'm really proud of you. You pushed yourself to the limit and found out what you were made of, and still kept a positive attitude the entire way. I really enjoyed hiking with you down into Monument Valley and to the Colorado. I was very happy to see you at the spring, knowing that you were not going to have to practically kill yourself getting out on Friday. If it has not been told on this thread, you need to tell everyone here the story of your trailname.

Helinka

Those were the best damn $18 drinks I have ever had! You have an outstanding positive attitude. Slow and steady, but tough. Thanks for the chocolate and good conversation, babe!

Paige

That bad old Prosecutor desecrated your love letters in the sand, but I got a picture before he got to it. You were an excellent comanion. Strong hiker and excellent photographer. The detail in your shots is amazing. Too bad you had to leave early.

Olddog

You are one brave dude on those cliffs, boy! Another strong hiker. You represented the Hoosier State well.



You all made this a trip worth remembering, and I think of each of you fondly. From the bottom of my heart, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You.”

“... and thank YOU Crash. Outstanding trip and one I would have missed had you not gently prodded me into signing up.”

“Yes Crash without you this wouldn't have happened. Thanks a ton for being an awesome leader and all around great guy!”

“My trip report is nearly complete. It is WAY too long to post on this thread, so you have to go to my website if you want to read it--no registration required. Comments, however, are welcome! www.traveldorks.com

Crash Bang, the explanation of my trail name is there, on Grand Canyon 2006, Day 2. Your trip report is amazing. You are amazing. Thanks for making this trip happen!”

“jimmy san,

i posted the recipe after you asked the first time. take me off ignore and you can see it above.

crash,

thanks for setting it all up and getting it rolling. and writing the trip report.

everyone else,

thanks a ton for the great company on an awesome hike!!!

hope to hike with any of you again in the future. (especially in the sierra's).”

“Crash, your my hero. I love you.”

“"It is WAY too long to post on this thread"

is it longer than mine? i cant wait to read it.

ive barely scratched the surface when it comes to looking at photos. now that the TR is done, i can get busy looking”

“I think so. This was a helluva first trip!”

“sorry about that. my pc died over the weekend and all my options were reset when i went to a new pc. thanks for the instructions!”

“is that 2 small "6oz bottles" of liquid smoke or is that 2 small bottles of liquid smoke that makes 6 oz total?

oh, and it looks like that might do about 1lb of meat. is that correct?
last edited: 3/21/06 11:01:29 AM”

“CM, enjoyed reading your trip report also, you have a gift for writing. I enjoyed seeing the trip through your eyes.
The next trip will be easier, you have been christined in one of the hardest places on earth to backpack, you survived and enjoyed yourself. What more could you ask for? ;)”

“6 oz. each (if that's what they are). they're little bottles.

and yes, i guess that'll do about a pound.”

“I'll give it a spin this weekend. The stuff I made the other day was good but it used soy and worcestershire sauce as a base. I can't say I care a great deal for that flavor. It's still very good but not as good as what you shared in the GC.”

“Cactus Magnet, I just read your TR. Great story, thanks! I like the web layout too.

Baume, When are you going to get all your pics on your FotoTime page? What cut of meet do you use for that jerky?”

“i'll get my pictures all up today or tomorrow.

i use a london broil. trim it and slice it myself. it may have been closer to two pounds than one.”

“about halfway thru paiges first album. pure hiker porn”

“baume_66: I have a batch sitting in the fridge tonight. It smells good and I can't wait to try it. The liquid smoke was in 4oz bottles. So 2 4oz bottles + 8 oz of water made 16oz or two cups of liquid. It was more than enough for 2 lbs and I am betting I could have done 3 lbs of meat easily. I also used london broil but mainly because it was less per lb than many of the other cuts (on sale even) and it also was very lean.”

“cactus magnet: hell of a trip report! thanks. It was great to hear about your adventure.”

“Glad you guys liked it. I had a blast writing it.
last edited: 3/23/06 4:17:20 PM”

“Catcus Magnet, well written trip report. The only thing I would add is the huge smile on your face when Andy agreed to carry your pack the last couple miles.”

“her one word was an orgasmic "heavenly"”

“CB: That jerky I ordered came in finally. Sorry it missed you. It's from Fox Country Smokehouse in NJ. It's quite good and I have to wonder if it's the stuff you had on the AT that you loved so much. I'll drop a bag in the freezer for our next hike and you can tell me!”

“fox country smokehouse sounds right, but i coulda sworn they were outta vermont”

“ok, so i point my browser to foxcountrysmokehouse.com, and it re-directs to oldehousesmokehouse.com outta new hampshire (at least thats closer), with foxcountrysmokehouse.com coming soon. im so confuzzled”

“Orgasmic? Be kind to me!”

“not that i would know what cm's orgasmic voice sounds like.....

;0)”

“Thanks for the clarification! :)”

“Hey, Cactus Magnet, I really enjoyed your trip report! I also have been the grateful recipient of helpful trail angels..indeed, I don't know what I would have done without their aid the last couple of years on our winter camping trips in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (UP of Michigan)...I think it is to your credit that you were able to get through your panic attacks and enjoy the experiences as much as you did...it is hardly a beginner trip! Just think, everything you do now will look easy in comparison! LOL...good job, girl...Phoenix has quite a Mom!”

“Thank you! I sure hope the next trip is easier!”