We got to the Grand Canyon about 4 or so and stopped at the first overlook along with everyone else. After Canyonlands, the crowds were a bit overwhelming, but we managed and got some nice views of the late afternoon sun over the canyon. We also stopped at the conveniently located bookstore and at the equally convenient small general store where we got some firewood and a few other things. We got set up and put dinner together and sat around the fire wondering if it was really going to be *that* cold at night. And - of course - it was. The temperature the first night got down to 23 degrees.
Now, here's where the aforementioned twin-sized air mattress comes in (you all saw this coming, right?). William was having hip problems but I wasn't; I was fine with one camping pad and if he had an air mattress, I could sleep on both pads and be even more comfortable. Also, the queen-sized mattress cost more and I wasn't absolutely certain that it would fit in our tent. So, I had (in more ways than one) made my own bed, and I was planning to lie in it...until about an hour after we went to bed and I couldn't sleep for shivering. It was COLD, and the sleeping bags and pads that were more than adequate at 40 degrees or so just didn't hold up at 23. Also, we have 2 bags that are zipped together and there are just more ways for the air to leak in that way. I may have actually been fine with one bag to myself, but that operation was far too complicated to attempt in the middle of the night. So I put on every layer of clothing possible (socks, woolen long underwear, jeans, shirt, sweater, jacket, and hat) and William and I curled up precariously on the just-barely-wide-enough mattress (it was fine until one of us wanted to turn over), and we survived the night. And the next night, and the next.
Friday morning, we lurched around until our legs started working again and then went for a walk over to the main plaza by the campground. There was the ubiquitous gift shop and a HUGE grocery store (also with gifts!) and deli, and a post office and bank too. We got a few things, again marveling at the difference between this canyon and the last one, and wandered over to the ranger station to get some ideas for our explorations. The ranger was very nice and suggested some hikes that were not going to be overly crowded. She also explained the enormous grocery store: there are 1200 houses for staff in that part of the park and it's simply too far to get to the next town on a regular basis. As we went in and out of the store over the next 2 days, we realized that the people there are in the bizarre position of living in a very small town where everyone knows everyone else but you hardly ever see the people you know because of all the tourists. It must be disorienting at times.
That afternoon, we took the shuttle bus (again, nothing like Canyonlands) over to Yaki Point and walked about 1.5 miles down the Kaibab Trail to Cedar Ridge. Lovely day, easy hike, lots of scenery etc. etc...until it was time to go back up. I thought I was in fairly good shape after the previous weeks but the return trip was awful and I had to stop and rest a lot more than I expected to. We saw a few people coming up from the bottom of the canyon with fully loaded backpacks from camping the night before and I really don't know how they managed it with the extra weight. After finally getting back to the top, we took the bus over to the visitor's center (again, there was a bookstore and gift shop) and pondered the names of all the different layers of rock in the canyon. That about exhausted our spirit of adventure for the day, and we headed back to the campsite planning on a hot dinner and a nice fire. And...remember the collapsible water container? The campground information leaflets mention that it is probably unwise to leave food out unless it's in a hard container because the ravens will do their best to steal it. We had put all the food away in the car but left the water container out - and the ravens, realizing that it held water, knocked it off the table and pecked a couple of holes in it to get a drink. So much for the nice new water jug. Not devastating, but supremely irritating all the same.
Saturday morning, we took the bus in the opposite direction and went over to Hermit's Rest. We went down the Hermit Trail a ways (but not too far) and enjoyed it very much, especially since there weren't many people around. After we came back up, we stopped at the (you guessed it!) gift shop and then walked over to Pima Point to catch the bus back to the campground. We had some lunch and sat around reading for a while and then we took a shower ($2.00 for 8 minutes)...boy did it feel good. Another night, another fire, and (since it was the weekend) this time we had neighbors serenading us with cell phone conversations and what I think might have been Mexican mariachi opera music. Is there such a thing? Google says 'yes'!
Sunday, we packed up early and headed south, feeling like intrepid explorers who had courageously braved the elements and survived the cold. We'd like to go back to the Grand Canyon but I think next time we'll try the North Rim (it closed on Oct. 15th) and be even more intrepid. We got to Flagstaff in time for lunch (Black Bean Burrito Bar) and then continued heading south - and down about 3000 feet - to Mesa (a suburb of Phoenix) where we were going to be staying with my college friends Brad and Jen. When we got out of the car at 2:30 or so, it was about 80 degrees outside and I thankfully decided that I could live with that for a few days.
No comments:
Post a Comment