| From time to time, AJ has complained that he was short-changed by being the last child and having a tired old man for a father. There is undoubtedly some modicum of truth in that argument, though not nearly as much as he tries to portray. |
|
|
Never-the-less, it is undeniably true that I have never taken him (nor Ameilia, nor Jon, nor Andrea, nor Mylinda, nor Sabrina, nor Symantha, nor La Rena) hiking in the Grand Canyon. So, with the intension on rectifying that egregious oversight (for those who were both desirous of going and able to do so) we planned this adventure. |
| Thunder Springs, located on the north side of The Canyon, is one of my favorite destinations. It is not the full trip, which would allow one to swim in the Colorado River, but it is definitely less crowded, more spectacular, and was, in truth, as much as I dared to attempt. |
|
|
I trained for this outing by taking 8 hikes, ranging in length from 2 to 12 hours (see details in 6-28-11 letter). If I'd have worked like that even 10 years ago, I would have been in very good condition. Now, my body just doesn't seem to respond. Senescence is the pits!! Barbara was convinced that if the training regime didn't kill me, the actual hike was certain to... |
| It is a source of constant amazement, how one can sit in the comfort of one's home and after examining a map in some detail, decide that it is possible to do things that, on the ground, are clearly impossible. But, it happens to me time, after time, after time... |
|
|
At any rate, I improved to the point where an attempt seemed feasible. We (AJ, Nathen, and I) left Thursday morning, drove all day, and camped in the Kiabab Forest 2 to 3 miles from the trailhead. Dave Elliott, and his son Dave Elliott, joined us shortly after our arrival. |
Road signage continues to fascinate me. While traversing the Kiabab Forest on our way to camp, we were driving down a road sloped such that the rear bumper was higher than the driver's head, and sized such that one tire was almost hanging over the edge, and the other was in the barrow pit. Along this stretch, someone felt the necessity to inform us that it was a narrow, steep road. Perhaps they felt they actually wanted to clarify that it would only last a mile... |
| The morning of the actual event, we arose about daylight and an hour later were standing at the trailhead. |
|
|
The U.S.Park Service lists the trail as "strenuous" and the justification for this can be found in the first 100 steps--the trail falls off very steeply through the first set of cliffs. |
| It then wanders up, then down and around three outcroppings, before dropping steeply a second time. |
|
|
Near the beginning of this second drop, the immutable forces of nature have eroded a section of the trail away, leaving a short wall that requires the use of hands (as well as feet) to traverse it. |
| This vertical section isn't technically difficult, but if a person were extremely fatigued (climbing out at the end of a long day)it could be a bit treacherous. |
|
|
At the bottom of this descent is the esplanade, and the trail wanders across it staying almost level. |
| There are numerous drainages (with varying amounts of erosion) around which the trail meanders, making it perhaps half again as long as the air distance. |
|
|
The trail then drops into the inner gorge, with switchbacks down through the red wall. |
| Here the temperature soars, and heat seems to radiate off the red sand stone wall. |
|
|
At the bottom of this descent lies Surprise Valley. |
| The trail is again flat for a short distance, then drops again, turning a corner into Thunder Spring. The spring gushes out of a crevasse in the wall, and is surrounded by lush vegetation. The temperature of the water is perfect for drinking, but much too cold for soaking your tired feet! |
|
|
I was definitely the slowest hiker in the party, and not wanting to keep us from finishing the hike in a single day, I stopped and reversed course at the top of the red wall (inner gorge). |
| While the others continued down, I leisurely wandered back across the esplanade then climbed out, arriving at the vehicle just as the sun was setting. |
|
|
As I neared the top, I stopped in several places and spent a fair amount of time "glassing" (I carried binoculars) the esplanade for any sign of the others, but was unable to locate them. When I arrived at the locked car, I was out of water, and not knowing the progress of the others, I decided to hike the couple of miles back to camp. |
| Hiking alone in the forest after dark is an interesting experience, and if you happen to be blessed with a vivid imagination, it might even be described as exciting. I carried my head lamp, but with the full moon, I neither needed nor used it. |
|
|
After scrounging some food (of which we had a plethora, given that we only ate two of our planned meals) I built a small fire and lounged around for what seemed an eternity, before giving up on having company, and went to bed. |
| About midnight, Dave Elliott (the elder) stumbled into camp. He characterized hiking up the red wall out of the inner gorge as, " ...running for my life," and decided he needed to travel at his own pace. He started before the others, thinking that they would over take him, but that was not to be the case. |
|
|
He did not see them again, and it was dark when he reached the rim. There he stopped, flashed his light over the canyon, and was promptly rewarded with a return signal from the others That placed them on the esplanade. |
| As it turned out, AJ, Nathen, and Dave (the younger) reached the top of the red wall just about the time Dave flashed his light looking for them. They spent the night on the esplanade, and about 10:00 am finely made it back into camp. |
|
 |
AJ had "hit the wall," running out of electrolytes and had experienced multiple bouts of major muscle cramps in both legs. These cramps continued up the red wall, across the esplanade, and all the rest of the way out. Ask him about them sometime... (or perhaps encourage him to post a communiqué). |
| I was surprised by this, as on previous hikes, AJ was the one who would hike out, and return carrying water back to other struggling hikers who followed. I guess the soft life of a missionary, followed by the comforts of marriage, and AC cooled apartment living has robbed him of his native resiliency. |
|
|
We broke camp shortly after everyone made it back, and headed for home. When we stopped in Flagstaff for ice cream, my legs were a bit sore, Nathen could hardly walk for the first few steps, and AJ didn't make the attempt. Hours later when we arrived in Oracle, AJ savored his first full taste of ambulation using sore muscles... and I'm still sorry I didn't phone ahead to have Barbara ready with the video camera. Barbara thought he looked pitiful and felt sorry for him as he was walking all bent over into the house. Nathen and I (knowing exactly what he was experiencing) were rolling on the ground in laughter (at least as far as our sore muscles would allow). |
| I find The Canyon to be a prodigiously beautiful place, and the many hikes I have taken there have been immensely enjoyable (particularly in retrospect). But this beauty is definitely impersonal, and The Canyon is certainly not party to any two-way love affair. If you over estimate your abilities in the slightest, or make even a small tactical error, the canyon extracts a terrible price. Still, I suspect this fickleness and hint of danger is an integral part of the collage that produces The Canyons' Allure... |
|
|
I characterized this as my farewell hike, and I'm pretty sure it will be the last time I will look at the Canyon Rim from below. There is sadness in that statement, but as I have been so fond of saying, "To every thing there is a season..." |
|
Data from 12 August 2011 hike. Since we separated at the top of the red wall, the last line relates only to me. The temperatures were undoubtedly hotter for those who continued on down to Thunder Spring. |
|||
| Time | Elevation | Temperature | Location |
| 0622 hrs | 7057 feet | 70.0° F | Canyon Rim |
| 0830 hrs | 5854 feet | 78.1° F | 1st Water Cache |
| 0915 hrs | 5435 feet | 90.8° F | Esplanade |
| 1050 hrs | 5123 feet | 95.9° F | Top of the Red Wall |
| 1847 hrs | 7163 feet | 79.5° F | Canyon Rim |
| David Elliott (the elder) memorialized his experience on this hike, and I include it here to give a different perspective (sans photos). |
|
I've been more excited about other hikes, but when Al came up with a firm date to go down to Thunder River, I began gathering necessary gear for the trip. When we lived near the Canyon we became almost casual in our expeditions; making brief dashes into new areas of the Canyon, depending on our youth and a small margin of reserve food and water to cover miscalculations. For this trip, I thought long and hard over a couple of weeks on what to bring and what to leave home. My son David was able to join us. After picking him up at SLC International we drove south arriving at Alan's camp before dark, where we were greeted by A. J. and Nathan. The camp was thoughtfully set-up with a fire ring (complete with fire) in the foreground, folding table with a two-burner stove and two- mantle lantern, two Dutch ovens, two ice chests, an array of folding armchairs, and the largest privately owned tent I've ever seen completing the background. I later discovered two queen beds in the tent and the necessary pillows and sleeping bags to go with. But Thermarests on TOP of the beds? Yes, I know inflatable beds require insulation from the cold. All this gear and other items too numerous to enumerate were transported in Nathan's mid size Mazda. The plan was to get up before daylight and be at the trailhead at first light which we missed, but only by an hour. There is .8 miles of walking along the rim before the trail starts the decent through the Coconino Sandstone. We hiked slowly and stopped often, but made it to where the trail drops down through the Red wall before noon, I think. Alan, knowing that the hardest part of the hike was still ahead, elected to turn back, saying he would wonder back across the Esplanade to where the trail begins the final climb out. We made good time going through the Red wall and into Surprise Valley where we dropped off four to five pounds of muffins, leaving them under a cat claw tree. A. J. got a little grumpy when we had to climb up before we could make the final decent to Thunder River. I suspect this was an unusually hot day even for mid August which made the contrast in temperature at Thunder River as dramatic as it gets. In a few yards, we left the reflector oven and walked into the shade of cottonwood trees and a 30 maybe 40 degree drop in temperature. An hour went by and I began to feel a strong urge to leave out ahead of the rest. I filled bottles with two and a half litters of water plus I made-up 14 ounces of chocolate milk and announced I was going out ahead. With a ten-minute head start, I knew they would soon over-take me, but this is the part where I have to pay for the trip, and I was anxious to get it paid. I soaked my shirt and hat before stepping out of the shade so I was shielded from the heat for the first half-hour and made good time. I was surprised by how the hot air burned my face. It certainly WAS hot. A bit of a scare went through me. The way out of this was to put the Red wall below me. Every foot gained meant cooler air. Once, I stopped where I could back close enough to a bush to be shaded. Higher up, a large slab of rock made shade, and had a strong breeze blowing through, and I took a twenty-minute nap out of the sun. Nearly at the top of the Red wall I saw the other three just coming to the base. Once back on the Esplanade the wind was cooler and the sun lower. The worst was passed, but I felt sick and faint from the heat. I had to force myself to drink the water I was carrying. The GPS showed exactly where we left six quarts of water on the way down. I left the trail, retrieved the three jugs of water and set them right in the middle of the trail. Shortly after, I felt impressed to leave the small bottle of remaining powdered Gatorade, and placed that in the middle of the trail. From there, it was easy going along mostly flat terrain. Even though it was completely dark, the GPS showed me where Al should be, but he wasn't there. Reasoning that he had gone on to the car, I began the final climb. Once I sat down on a flat rock to rest and turned on my headlamp, shining it out over the trail below. Then there was an answering light, but way to the left of where I expected. I learned later that it was David and that they had just topped the Red wall. My light told them that I was up in the Coconino. I was sweaty all the way to the top, drinking the last of my water just before the top. I arrived at the cars and no Al. Maybe he's stopped somewhere and I passed him in the dark. After an hour, I drove back to camp where a comfortable bed was waiting, and there was Al, sleeping on one of the queen beds. He awakened and we began to speculate on the status of the others. "A. J. has had power failure," was my succinct conclusion, which we learned was the case ere David, Nathan and A. J. drove into camp next morning. |