grand canyon – kristilynk

Grand Canyon – part one

The day started at 345am. I ate a boiled egg and a banana. Built my pocket burritos out of precooked, shredded chicken and avocado smashed up. Next up, filling hydration packs. I had brought one 2 liter and one 3 liter bladder bag plus 2 12 oz collapsible water bottles for my from ouches on my day pack. The collapsible bottles I filled with water and electrolytes, I use LMNT sooooo salty.

Time to go! We left the hotel a little after 430am. I called the taxi on the way to the visitor center, packing lot 4, so they could scoop us up to take us the south Kaibab trail. The shuttle service doesn’t start until 6am at this time of year and we wanted to start the hike earlier to make sure we were out of the canyon by 2pm. Rain was predicted to roll in around that time.

When I called the taxi they actually told me the taxis were so busy they would need to call me back in an hour! This was 430 in the morning 🤯

At the parking lot we waited, got out of the car and actually were a me to sneak on to someone else’s taxi ride. Score! From the parking lot, south kaibab trail is 2 miles so we were there in no time.

My second time to the Grand Canyon. 1st time going IN the GC.

I was a little nervous going in but once we got going my confidence soared. I thought, I got this. The downhill is pretty steep, and it’s a long way down. I would recommend prepping with a LOT of front lunges.

From Kaibab, we headed west to the Tonto Trail

The farther west we went it was cool to see green lush tree lines, you know what that means! Water! 😍

This is around the time I realized… I forgot my pocket burritos!! Not good.

Super rookie move. Remember, I had only eaten one boiled egg and a banana. Luckily my hiking crew member was a hero and thoughtful and brought 2 bagels, so I gratefully scarfed it down.

Just after this rare shade finding, there was a little creek I didn’t take any pictures of because there were too many people rest here and I wanted to keep trekking. I did dip a plastic sandwich bag in the creek to fill it up with water to soak my neck cooler in for 30 minutes, it was getting hot .

There was very little shade in this trail. Having a hat is very important. Anytime I found shade it felt so great to take the hat off to let my brain breath.

I’m really not a fan of hats, glasses or things – like neck coolers – around my neck. I wore them when needed but as soon as I could those items were OFF.

Around this time we stopped and I collapsed my trekking poles. I like to have my hands free and I was tired of carrying them.

The old water line busted so they just replaced it. I think the construction is fairly new. I really hope they bury the line or cover it with something more aesthetically pleasing because this is not what I want to see.

Off to Havasupai Gardens

Another stop around here to sunblock and dip the neck cooler in the stream again.

Next up! Off to bright angel.

But first, I met Phantom, he’s a canyon mule and so sweet

Not gonna lie. I was scared. I’d never met a mule

We LUCKED out. Just before the over 3500 foot ascent, the clouds starting rolling in so the sun was GONE! I could not have been more thankful.

I ate an RX bar, 200 calories.

It didn’t last long.

This is about where I started to question my judgement. I was losing steam and fast.

Pitt stop for a peanut butter and jelly snack. Only 170 calories. Up up we go.

This was – what they said to be 1.5 miles left of the trail. It was miserable.

Wow, I made it.

The walk to the shuttle was painful. The rise in the shuttle bus was amazing. It felt great to sit after 7 hours of walking.

Back at the car, we grabbed a fresh stash of clothes, socks, shoes and some body wipes to clean up before the ride home.

Pit stop in Flagstaff for a burger and fries and Diablo Burger. I had the Blake and it was sooooo good.

In 3 weeks we plan to hike the south rim to the north rim. Lessons I learned that will be applied to the next trip.

I must drink a shit ton of water the week before and especially the day before the 25 mile hike. I will need to pack way more calories for this next trip and NOT forget the pocket burritos. I’ll need to eat more frequently. I’m positive I can do the rim to rim. I know the hike up was so hard was because I did not fuel my body enough to make it and this made the ascent more difficult than it needed to be.

Until next time! Happy trails 😁

And Down the Mountain We Went…

Tent – tarp = waking up with the sun..which is O.K by me!

I mean..who wants to waste a perfectly gorgeous day in nature…sleeping it away?? Not this lady!

Darn, I just realized..I completely forgot to take a snapshot of the mess I woke up to. When I sat up for the first time I peeked out the mesh of the tent and spotted a H.U.G.E crow wondering around our campsite. He picked up, what looked to be, a piece of bread and fluttered himself up onto the bench of the picnic table. This guy was extremely “healthy”. Now I’m really bummed I didn’t get a photo of him, I just tried to Google “fat crow” and “huge crow” and NOTHING came up as big as the crow I saw… and no one else was awake to verify my story….oh well just believe it..

I crawled out of the tent and all three of the bags Jason had put in the tree the previous night were on the ground riddled with beak holes. Buns, chips, bottles, packaging for the meat were strewn all over our camp area. That bird ate, four hamburgers, three hotdogs, like eight slices of pepper-jack cheese, a bunch of buns and some chips. As much as I don’t like birds (aka rats with wings), I certainly hope that creature is OK. That pepper jack cheese could NOT have been good for him…eeeek.. I would hate to be walking along minding my own business while he was flying over head when that cheese kicked in!! WOOOO

Pretty much as soon as I finished cleaning up the birds party mess up..everyone woke up and we all started packing up to head down the mountain.

But first! We had to stop at the Watch Tower:

We climbed up and up and up and up, I have no idea how many flights of stairs but it felt like it was never ending. Totally worth it..the view was amazing and the inside with the drawings (not sure if they are original or if they were drawn on as an added effect) were super neat as well. Gahhh…another missed photo opportunity.. when we reached the top there was yet another flight of stairs that was roped off with a really tempting note that said something along the lines of: “Do not climb these stairs that lead to the top of the tower”.. haha surprisingly, as much as we all wanted to, we did not disobey their request. 🙂

Thoroughly at peace and happy with our intake of the Grand Canyon, we strolled on over to the trading post for a quick bite and a to-go of java. Both of which were completely sub par..the best part of the teeny burrito Jason and I shared was the jalapeño hot sauce we doused it in and I’m pretty sure the coffee was Folgers..made with too much water and not enough grounds.. By the way..normally Jason and I don’t share plates but we wanted to save our appetites for lunch at the famous Rock Springs Cafe on the way home.

With some fuel in our bellies we were ready to roll!

Jason brilliantly suggested we take the back route and hit Slide Rock on our way home. Taking the scenic 89A route from Flagstaff to Slide Rock is a MUST. The geological transformation from the forests of Flagstaff into the red rocks of Sedona is an amazing display of Mother Natures pure awesomeness. Breath it, live it, feel it and go hug a tree! 😉

The last time I went to Slide Rock, parking was along the one lane two way highway..dangerous and it was pretty hard to come by a spot!

Since then, a parking lot has been built and now for a small fee of 10.00 you can park and have great fun at the park until they close if you like.

A little walk

A little hike

And just a little further is a peaceful oasis that in the summer time might be the perfect swimming hole!

Unless your Jason..it’s perfect now!! NUTBALL! That water was like 50 Fahrenheit!!

Going in for round two!

Sandro was VERY much tossing around the idea of free falling

While Carmen and I sat back and watched the show 🙂

I can’t even imagine how PACKED this place must be in the dead of summer?? Shoes and jackets came off as the heat set in a bit so we could put our toes in the water to cool off. Jason won the badge of bravery for the day! 🙂

No doubt we could have all spent the night in that very spot but with lunch to eat, showers to take and friends to meet..We had to go.

We pit stopped at the famous Rock Springs Cafe for lunch and pie, sped home (as safely as possible of course), showered, rested and readied ourselves for guests! ** Click on Rock Springs Cafe..this little place deserves a blog all its own. Super friendly people, excellent food, out of this world pies and old saloon type decor. My subliminal message to you is…You must go !! **

No pictures from here on out because by lunch time Kristi Kodak was closed for business. 🙂 Trust me when I tell you we had more great food, great drinks and great friends! We didn’t over do it because the next day ..there were plans of more shenanigans!

Grand Canyon Trip? Don’t Mind if I Do :)

Sometimes.. you just have to say “eff it…I’m outta here”! Thursday was one of those days. I had three VERY..good “excuses” to pack up and get out of dodge!

Side bar… Anyone know where Dodge is? And why do so many people want to get out of it?..please share..inquiring minds want to know..Thanks 😉

Anyway…three excuses:

1. I had never been to the Grand Canyon

2. The Jason and I had friends from Switzerland headed to the GC so we would meet there

3. Holy crap..we just REALLY needed to get into some nature…

The drive was great ~ but I couldn’t help but think ~ how sad is it that one of the seven natural wonders of the world…yes..the WORLD..is only a three and a half hour drive away from where I live and I had never been there??

Ah well..what’s done is done and I can now say..I have been to the Grand Canyon 🙂

You really have to be in the mindset to appreciate the goodness. I mean, if you just look at it..sure you will be impressed but you will also kind of think..hmm, big hole in the ground..NEXT.

Now, if you really stop and think about exactly how this gigantic structure was carved into the earth..you can’t help but be amazed. Click on the word carved (if you’re interested) and it will take you to a little write up as to how it was done..like I said..amazing..

First stop..Meet up with the friends at the campsite. GREAT..campsite by the way so don’t ruin it people..it’s quiet, 1st come 1st serve and cheap.

This was our sleeping quarters for the night. Thankfully it did not snow because the tarp that covers the tent, was not in the tent bag

I set up 3 sleeping bags and our comforter in hopes we would be warm for the night.

Then it was time to relax, catch up with our friends and decide what to do until dark.

We decided to head on down to the Grand Canyon Village so we loaded up into the car and sped off. Well, not really sped off, the speed limit is an almost impossible 30 miles per hour.

We made a couple of pit stops along the way for pictures and ooo’s and ahhh’s

The next pit stop we made put a bit of a damper on the day. I was not paying attention (I know…shocking right?) and then I realized at the last minute that everyone wanted to stop at a particular spot. Once I realized, I turned around and headed back to the parking spaces, there was one available immediately so I snagged it.

Walking to the lookout point, Carmen and I noticed a couple of silly tourists, late teens maybe early twenties, happily jogging in the other direction. A little curious but we maintained our route to take some pictures. After a few minutes we all heard a horrifying sound.

The sound of screeching tires and metal upon metal in the midst of a car crash. Shortly after we heard the blood curdling screams of a little girl. The Jason had already – literally the instant the impact was heard – ran towards the wreckage. Carmen and I had ran that way as well – worried the hiss of the parked Honda mini van may blow up and seriously injure Jason AND the two silly teenage tourists who happened to be retrieving something out of that Honda mini van when the tour bus crashed into and completely changed their life courses.

Thankfully, as horrible as this was, the outcome could have been so much worse. The ambulance and park rangers arrived at the scene so promptly. SO much faster than even in the city..I was impressed.

They took the the teens away, the blood curdling screams of the girl were (praise sweet tiny baby Jesus) were only because she was absolutely horrified as to what had just happened.

We were stuck for a little bit..Torn between watching the cleanup an looking at the Grand Canyon. It was a little awkward. Kind of like Ricky Bobby in an interview .. ” I don’t know what to do with my hands ”

If you look at the GC and continue to just carry on with your life..you’re insensitive. If you watch the cleanup..you’re morbid.

So yea, I hope everyone is OK.

We continued on our path to the Village (with a renewed outlook on life) once the green light was given by the authorities.

The village was not impressive..way too many people, no place to park so we found a place to eat (with not so great food) and then headed back to camp.

The road wasn’t quit cleared yet from the accident so we went to the Mather Point Lookout to pass some time. We had actually stopped into this place on accident earlier in search of the village but left promptly…we should have stayed. We would have avoided seeing the accident and would have completely enjoyed ourselves.

What we don’t know doesn’t hurt us, right? Eh, well on the other side of the coin..everything happens for a reason soooo maybe we all needed some sort of enlightenment..

ANYWAY….

Caution near Edge!!!! EEEEEEEKKKKKK.. It is overwhelming looking at the GC..sometimes it made me queasy.

Here we were able to hike a bit down onto a platform”ish” rock formation.

We rallied but admittedly were a teensy bit skeptical about the decent…

Don’t mind my afro..

So, Jason took this picture of our friends and I did not even notice until JUST NOW…LOOK..just LOOK at how close the girl in the background is to the EDGE of the cliff!!!! Unreal..

Jason…nor I for that matter..were going anywhere near the edge of that boulder…More power to ya Sir Sandro!!

After the rush of living on the edge for a few moments we were ready to get back to camp.

On the way to the car, we ran into this little guy..from what I remember..I think the guys told me it was an elk.

Back at camp, the guys started the grill for burgers and dogs…

A plethora of junk food. 🙂

Soon after it became dark. We enjoyed dinner, conversation, drinks, nature and then a sleep under the stars.

Perfect ending to an ALMOST perfect day.

If you have yet to…DO IT..Experience the natural wonder of the Grand Canyon..Feel it, appreciate it for what it is and be thankful you are here..on Earth to absorb its positive energies.