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I know
this has already been reported on elsewhere, but I thought I would also
tell the story. During the last weekend in May 2015, a Grand
canyon hike was planned. This was the same hike that was planned
for the year earlier, but Terra was going to go on the trip. As
things sometimes change, Terra ended up getting pregnant with Janelle
and thought that hiking the Canyon in that condition was probably not
the best idea - so we backed out. When we backed out of the trip
everyone else did too. The trip was re-scheduled for May 2015 and
this time Ethen went in Terra's spot. Terra still has plans to
hike down to Thunder Springs, but it will probably be in a couple of
years with Kyle. As you can see here, when we arrived in the
Kiabab forest and were setting up camp, Ethen decided that he would
just hang out in the trunk of the car rather than set up the
tent. He will deny it later, so here is some photo documentation
of that event. |
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| As
the hike started, Ethen seemed a bit hesitant to try it. A few
months leading up to the hike, he was excited, but as we started from
the top and he was able to look out over the side, he didn't think he
was going to be able to make it. He wanted to turn around and go
back to camp and hang out with Dad and Wyatt. Somehow, I managed
to talk him into trying the hike and he ended up being one of the best,
fastest, and capable hikers on the trail. He wanted to all but
run down the slopes and we had to hold him back. On the way out
he wasn't as fast as Dave was, but he was right there on Dave's heels
all the way out. He ended up really enjoying the hike. | 
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I think that we will go back and take Kyle in a couple of years then maybe Rachel and so forth. I would like to keep hiking the canyon. I really enjoy the hike. This time around the hike wasn't that bad. The weather was probably 10-12 degrees cooler in the canyon which made for easier hiking. The heat was not as oppressive. |
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We managed to
find this little guy laying next to the trail on the esplanade. I
am not positive, but I think this is a prairie rattlesnake. When
we found him, he was just basking in the sun. We left him as he
was, and he didn't bother us either. We never saw him again, and
this is actually the first rattlesnake I have seen in the canyon.
The size is hard to judge, but I estimate it to be about 4 feet long. |
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| Here
is the red wall. This part of the hike is very steep. You
can see from the photo above we are standing on the top getting ready
to descend. The Colorado river is just visible in the left of the
picture. The red wall is very steep, but it is much worse on the
way up rather than the way down. This is partly due to the heat
of the day. You hit this part of the trail around 11:00 am on the
decent and around 3:00 pm on the accent. The red rocks just hold
the heat of the sun and reflect it back at you as you are
climbing. Ethen did like to complain a bit, but managed to make
it all the same. |
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| Here is Thunder Spring.
It is very impressive and cool. A stark contrast to hike to and
from the spring. From the bottom of the red wall Ethen, Zeke and
I hiked over to the spring. We ended up getting there about 15
minutes before Dave and 45 minutes before AJ, Brittany, Mia and
Mylinda. We stayed there for about 2 hours before heading
out. Originally we were going to hike out together, but Dave
wanted to start back up and Ethen was too tired of just being bored and
wanted to go as well. So Zeke, Dave, Ethen and I left the spring
and headed out. I think we left it about 3:00 pm. Once we
reached the top of the red wall (about 5:00 pm) Zeke decided to say
there and wait for the rest of the party. Ethen let Zeke use his
bed roll that he was carrying down the canyon and we headed out across
the esplanade. We started hiking up the Coconino white wall just
before sunset and ended up reaching the top of the canyon at
9:00. We started hiking around 6:45 that same morning. As
we were hiking up the top of the white wall we saw a light midway
across the esplanade (Zeke who got tired of waiting) and another light
right at the top of the red wall. That was the rest of the
party. They just reached the top of the red wall as we were
leaving the canyon. We saw them in camp the next morning. |
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| Here is Ethen on the same rock at the bottom of the Coconino white wall. The one on the left is as we were headed down, and the one right is as we were headed out. Ethen is looking forward to going with Terra and Kyle in a few years. Anyone else who would like to join us for the hike is welcome to. I suspect that Mia might, but AJ probably wont. I don't think he really enjoys hiking as much as I do. Or maybe it is just that he is in school and his dislike for school bleeds over into many other aspects of his life. I guess we shall see... |
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