Grand Canyon Thang Part II

“Baume66, Prosecutor, Paige, Oldog, Crash! Bang! and I just got back from a week-long trip to the Grand Canyon. I have marked the trip public so people can see the details of the trip and also look at the photos the group took. There may be a trip report coming but this trip was so huge and we did so many things that any trip report would be very, very long!

Highlights:

- A beautiful day for hiking down South Kaibab.
- Very, very rugged hiking, especially on the Clear Creek Trail and along Clear Creek itself.
- Dinner at Phantom Ranch as well as numerous beers and other goodies.
- Indian ruins and numerous photos of pottery shards.
- We saw lots of wildlife including deer, a condor, and a bighorn sheep.
- Three waterfalls (one dry): Cheyava Falls (dry), the falls at Clear Creek near the confluence with the Colorado River, and Ribbon Falls (just off the North Kaibab Trail).
- Spent a day hiking with a ranger from the park... lots of great stories and outstanding company.
- Some very basic climbing/rappelling at Clear Creek (mostly for safety) but it added some spice to the hike.
- Tons of good food, much from prosecutor's cookbook.
- A visit to Tango's KOA campground and dinner at a cool local restaurant off historic Route 66 (awesome carrot cake).

There was a lot more and I just can't think of it all offhand. We crammed so much into the week that, looking back, it's hard to imagine we got it all done!

Anyway, the trip page might be a good resource for those that want to hike a similar trip in the future. This trip plan is a tough one... very demanding... but I can personally say that if you are up to some very demanding hiking the trip is worth it!

I learned a LOT of lessons about trip planning to the Grand Canyon but overall I think pretty much everything went off exactly as planned... with no exceptions I can think of... and there were a few bonuses (like the bighorn sheep spotting on the last day!)

I have posted my photos and will sort them and caption them in the week to come. I am not much of a photographer but it's hard to take a bad picture in the Grand Canyon.

Good hiking!”

“I liked the photes you sent me via your phone.”

“LOL!

I was shocked to see that Sprint got service on the rim. Those were at the very beginning and very end of the hike, my friend!

I liked the photo you sent us as well... but I didn't get it until I turned on my phone at Bright Angel Lodge at the end of the trip.”

“yea, i suppose it was a pretty place”

“You did a good job planning Jimmy Sans. The weather was near perfect. Having a cold one, or two, or three at Phantom Ranch in the bottom of the canyon after a warm day hiking sure added to an incredible ambience. And having a large big horn sheep strutting down the narrow rock walled Bright Angel Trail as we were climbing out was something else too.

My photos:
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/558122997tMfzUu
last edited: 3/12/07 3:42:41 PM”

“Lucky Ducks! Glad you had a good trip, can't wait to check out your photos.”

“I want the full story on the ranger that seems to be holding Crash up here...

”

“Awesome photos Ed!”

“I want the full story on the ranger that seems to be holding Crash up here...

Nigal
3:45:01 PM
3/12/07

Yea, and what she did with those poles!”

““I want the full story on the ranger that seems to be holding Crash up here...

seems she only takes cash if i wanted her to lock me up with the handcuffs”

“she was very nice and very funny. she told us about her job as a ranger and really made me think differently about the work these people do.”

“Nice, guys!

Hey Paige, was that the Steripen you used to filter with? Do you like it? I'm thinking about getting one in the near future....”

“Nige -
That's no ranger, that's a parky.

Real rangers work for the NFS! lol!”

“I hate you. But especially Crash Bang!”

“The Grand Canyon is awesome. Hiking down into the canyon is even better. Looking up from the canyon, I think, is as good if not better than looking down from the top. I have hiked the canyon twice and will do it again sometime. An experience everyone should see.”

“Loved the pics. It's a trip I must do soon. Maybe next year.”

“Beautiful pictures!”

“yeah, how do you like that steripen? I won one in Backpackers draw at Traildays, but haven't used it yet.”

“paige didnt have a steripen that i remember, but she did have an emergency filter. it was funny watching her drink out of it. she had to bend down so close to the water she looked like she was attempting a headstand”

“I want to thank all you guys for stopping by. I enjoyed meeting and seeing you guys again. What a great bunch.
last edited: 3/12/07 9:47:40 PM”

“GO COLTS! STEELERS SUCK!”

“Tango, thanks for taking us to that restaurant in your town and suggesting the carrot cake. The carrot cake was huge, and very tasty.”

“What's the deal with the tunnel?
...and the rapel?”

“Stovie,..No comment at this time. There..., I'll wait till I haven't been drinking. I started a couple of times and it just seemed to get dirty. So there... I'll just wait.”

“Hee Hee Hee
Got to luv a woman with a dirty mind.”

“The tunnel was on the South Kaibab Trail just before the black suspension bridge. The bridge was put in first in a narrower section of the river, and the tunnel was necessary to have access to the south end of the bridge.

The ropes and the rappel/belay where on the day hike from the campsite on Clear Creek down and back to the Colorado River. The day hike was along Clear Creek, and the most traveled route required a 20 foot rock scramble straight down. The rock scramble had one tricky move over a narrow ledge that required a blind drop down to some slippery footing, all about 12 feet from the creek bed. Baume66 was able to do it without the ropes, and he talked sone of us down through it too. But if one missed the narrow ledge with their foot, or stumbled just a little, it would be a 12 foot fall on to the rocks below. The ropes and rappel/ belay were a saftey matter.

Paige had never done a rappel before, and had first lowered her camera on a rope. I was able to photograph her facial expressions as she dropprd over the tricky ledge. No actress could have matched her response. Maybe if everyone asks her politely, she will post one of those candid shots of her on her camera.

When Paige got to the bottom safely after her rappel/ belay down, she had sheer joy over her face for having accomplished her first rappel.
last edited: 3/13/07 6:51:15 AM”

“Rappeling is pure fun.”

“Paige sounds like a smart lady.
Rappels are fun.”

“technically speaking, paige was belayed as was everyone else. I rappelled.

prosecutor is totally correct in saying that the ropes were really there as a matter of safety. i was really paranoid about people getting hurt and also I knew what a bummer it would have been to have hiked this far and not gotten to the Colorado River (within 1/2 a mile!) as the trip leader/organizer i felt it was my responsibility to make sure everyone had the OPPROTUNITY to be safe and to minimize the risk of an unplanned accident ruining the trip. that plus the climbing gear is a lot of fun. anyway, i felt better having the anchors set and everyone on belay as they climbed back out.

that said, there is only so much planning you can do. if you could plan every aspect of a trip then it wouldn't be much of an adventure, would it? ;)

i have never been on a backpacking trip where such a safety issue was a concern. so it was good to push the envelope of my experience as a backpacker as well as the experience of the rest of the team. i know i'll feel much more confident pursuing much more challenging trips in the future that require basic rope work. as a climber i have always felt strong with these skills but context is everything in climbing. this was a perfect place to practice these skills in the context of backpacking: long haul of gear (need to control weight while still being safe), short drop (manageable risk), tricky wall for placement of protection, experienced hikers willing to give it a shot, etc.

i know that after this experience, and the lessons i learned, that i am going to be looking for more opportunities to expand my horizons and hike in places that might have otherwise been inaccessible to me... :)”

“Yes, great trip, new sights and many incredible experiences.
Thanks to all who were there, each and everyone of you added a dimension to the trip.
Here's pics from the first day, as usual I took alot of photos so I'll post a day at a time so as not to overwhelm you all.
Wait until you see the last day at Yellow Box with Crash, that place is just as incredible.

http://paigefalk.smugmug.com/gallery/2574218#135541837

oh yeah, that was a Mcnett emergency filter, works like a straw. Hard to get started but once you do it's fun and usefull. I forgot to bring my cup from the rope section so I had to contort a bit. Also had a narrow mouthed bottle for the next dayhike that the filter wouldn't fit in, had to borrow a tablet from Jimmy, that was a total Doh! ;)”

“Great pictures!


Baume66 give me a call bro!”

“Nice pics Paige. Those bridges were long. Did it feel weird being in the middle?
I also loved the river at dusk photos.”

“Thanks T, no not too weird, perhaps the first time I went over it, I can't remember. They are pretty solid.”

“Dude!
You still using that pot stand/stove I made for you years ago?
http://paigefalk.smugmug.com/gallery/2574218#135818477

Paige, your pictures are great! Thanks!”

“"yellow box"? is that like a yeast infection?”

“Hah! Yellow something or other, it's been a long coupla weeks. Must be all that gas. ;)

StoveStomper, there's a story about that stove and it involves a coupla pictures I am not allowed to post.”

“That picture link looks like a stove setup I made for Crash before the Rocky Mountain hike we did years ago.

Well woman, email me those pixs! ;-)
last edited: 3/13/07 10:32:05 PM”

“no way!”

“just got my 35's back ,have some good ones especially of the Big horn, did anybody get a picture when he walked by me,anyway I'll have them up today or later
thanks ALL, had a great time”

“you mean this bighorn?

”

“My, what a handsome guy.”

“this was an awesome trip with great folks. i'll get more pictures up soon. thanks for posting yours prosecutor and paige.

tango is a sweet lady. i'm glad i got to meet her.

spam, i will call you.”

“how is your foot sass?”

“sweet photos all!”

“Love the expression Baume66! Great capture.”

“there's a story about that stove and it involves a coupla pictures I am not allowed to post.”

paige

i give you permission to tell that story if i have permission to tell the story about the rubber gloves in the motel room at kanab”

“It's better Baume, thanks for asking. Got permission to take off the cast when I want to two days ago. There is absolutely no way I ever could have done this trip. Still really sorry I missed it but it was the right choice. Hoping Joe and I will be able to do the same ittenerary next year or in the fall. It looks like it was an amazing trip. Jimmysan is a superb planner.”

“Jimmy san is a freak planner.”

“Well, I wasn't going to call him names but yes, he is a freak. ;)”

“2nd days photos are up

http://paigefalk.smugmug.com/

Crash, I think the rubber glove story is much better told in person. That one's best kept for around the campfire.”