|
GRAND CANYON RIM TO RIM HIKE, SEPT 13-21, 2003, By Bill Huggins |
|---|
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18
DAY FOUR ON THE TRAIL
Scoutmaster Al sounded reveille at 4:10. He was almost packed when he woke us up. We needed to be up, fed and hit the trail quickly and in that order. All this accomplished, we found ourselves once again hiking in the dark by flashlight. Al lingered behind to give us a good head start, but wasn't good enough as he quickly caught up with us. Al hiked in the rear for a short while or until his patience wore thin. Then he moved on out ahead with a pace I couldn't keep up. Phil started his encouragement talk about this time. Soon daylight came about the time we started up Jacob's Ladder. If you think the Devil's Corkscrew in bad, try Jacob's Ladder. The switchbacks lead straight up hill seemingly 90 degrees. And they are relentless. One after the other.
This is a shot of Al Roberts on the trail in Jacobs Ladder. It gives you an idea of what it's like.
It was right after Jacob's Ladder that Phil started to tell me "we're almost there". I knew we weren't. We still had the three mile rest house and the mile and a half rest house to go. Soon appeared the three mile rest house where we took a short rest but needed no water. It had been cool hiking so far and our water consumption had not been high. 1.6 miles behind us and three miles to go!
This is a telephoto shot of the Plateau Point Trail taken from Jacobs Ladder up in the Redwall.
The greenery in the center is Indian Gardens. The slot just beyond Indian Gardens is Tapeats Narrows, which leads on down into Pipe Springs Canyon. The Canyon of the Colorado River can be seen making an inverted U around the tip of Plateau Point.
Onward and upward, and with frequent short rest stops soon the mile and a half rest house appeared. A welcome sight because that meant the South Rim was within reach. With Phil still saying "we're almost there", I actually began to believe him. It was somewhere in that last mile and a half that the tourists would stop us to ask questions such as "where did you start hiking" or "how long have you been in the canyon". Phil's answer was "we started this hike when we were 19 years old". My story was "we escaped from assisted living and the large men in white coats were waiting for us at the top". We were having fun with the tourists. Close to the top, Phil went on ahead to respond to a call while I assured him I would make it to the top unassisted. I was video taped by one tourist when he discovered I was 74 years old and had hiked rim to rim. He even talked into his recorder what he was hearing and seeing. A little closer to the top two ladies after close observation offered to take my pack on up to the rim for me. I told them "not for a thousand dollars". Soon and mercifully the rim appeared and I went to find Al & Phil. We had prearranged to meet in the Bright Angel bar for a celebration beer. We at first missed connections, but later met. I was laying down on a bench in front of the Bright Angel Lodge while they were back tracking down the trail looking for my remains. I went back into the Lodge to the back entrance, found their packs and migrated to the bar. In a couple of minutes we were enjoying a beer served in a Texas shot glass, which looked like it held a quart. Al's treat. Very enjoyable. We took the Blue Line bus back over to Yavapai to claim the cars and to register. This time we stayed in the new section of the lodge which was very nice. No air conditioning but none was needed. After end of the trail showers, we again took our evening meal in the cafeteria. There was no dissension in the decision to turn early.
|
|
|---|
|
|---|