a southwest trek part I

Destination: Grand Canyon National Park

I started my day at 5:30am. It's kind of a benefit coming from the east coast because getting up early is much easier being 3 hours behind your normal schedule. I had planned to arrive at the Canyon around 10:00am. So leaving Phoenix by 7 was a must.

My breakfast consisted of just 2 slices of toast. I wasn't feeling so hot when I woke up and decided to keep it light for the morning. I headed back up to my hotel room and started packing up my pack.

I figured if it was 45 at 7,000ft (Flagstaff) it would still be somewhat chilly at 6,000ft (Grand Canyon). I brought my polartech fleece from EMS; I work capri synthetic pants and a tank top. Both black. I figure it would keep me warm throughout the day. I packed a turkey sandwich, jerky, fruit snacks, and some granola bars. As for water I brought 2 1/2 Liters and drank a liter plus a gatorade on the drive there. I tend to get incredibly bad headaches and migraines and wanted to do everything and anything to prevent this.

I hopped in the car and off we went. We headed north and figured we'd stop in Flagstaff for gas and a bathroom stop. On the drive up we past through valleys of nothing and then valleys of forest. It's went from desert flat to tall trees. I kept my eye out as the passenger in the car looking for Elk. A friend had mentioned to me that they were out there. I had seen 2 grazing near the highway. At first I wasn't to sure if they were Elk but later i found out they were.

After roughly about 3 hours of driving and not being able to see the canyon at all we finally reached the entrance to the GCNP. 

As we pulled up to the gate they handed us some information on the park and a map and told us it was National Park Week and admission was free! We just so happen to pick the last day of this and saved ourselves 25$ for admission. SCORE! Still at this point you still can not see anything but trees in the distance. They hide the canyon incredibly well. 

After parking the car we headed into the visitor center to make sure we knew exactly what we were doing and where to go. We walked about 5 minutes to the rim of the canyon and were absolutely speechless.

My pictures don't even show the variety of colors throughout the canyon that just reflect to the sun. Absolutely beautiful. We continued to walk down the south rim and headed for the South Kaibab Trail head to start our descent into the canyon.

It was a paved path pretty much for the 2.5 mile trek to the trail head from the visitor center. With nothing but stunning views of the valleys below and the buttes ahead. I had seen wildlife I had never seen before running through the hot sands of the desert ground. I encountered some type of lizard. as well as a female elk. The elk had been right next to me in the woods as I walked past and I seen her out of the corner of my eye, scaring myself half to death because she was taller than me. But very nice.

Shortly after running into this sweet animal we came upon the trail head. I figured now is a great time to sit and enjoy our lunch before we start our descent. Ate my turkey sandwich, put the packs back on and headed down. I could only imagine what I was about to witness with my own 2 eyes.

CRAMPONS? WOW! I would have to bet money that the majority of visitors to the Grand Canyon have no idea what that funny word even is. However, it's one I am much familiar with. Today- those were not necessary. Then beautiful flowers grow in such places can you believe it? I would never have imagined such beautiful things could survive in such heat.. But who am I kidding? The alpine zone on Mount Washington is just as incredible.

As we continued you down deeper into the canyon, views all the way around even looking back up to where you came from and will have to return too were more than spectacular. We hiked down to Cedar Point where there is a big open flat section to sit down and just take it all in for what it's worth.

This is where we decided to take a break and relax for about 30 minutes before we continued our trek back up. As much as I didn't want to leave, I knew it was for the best considering the long drive back. 

Trail Conditions were incredibly smelly from all the dung of the pack mules. It is easily avoidable though, and you almost forget about it because of where you are. The trails are a lot longer with many switch backs towards the top and for most of the way down. Flat and manageable. Much gravel on trail which does make hiking down a bit nerve racking and almost slippery.

All in all, I had one of the most amazing times in my life visiting the Grand Canyon. For any hiker just a few hours is not enough. I very much did not want to leave. With that being said I will be returning and when I do, I will be hiking for many days exploring the ins, outs, ups, and downs of this unforgettable place.