I had planned to camp tomorrow night at Colorado national monument. But given deteriorating weather, I will probably skip the camping and drive straight home.
If so tonight will be the last night of this trip. It would be great if I was treated to another starry night, but I'm not counting on it.
Or is it?
Both pics are from the same location at 10 am. The first is looking down the canyon toward Havasupai Gardens campground, a short distance away. The second is looking back at the south rim, 4 miles away and 3000' up. By noon the skies had clouded over, but I was already back from my hike.
The campground really is an oasis. The pics speak for themselves.
Only real conversation today was with another volunteer ranger, a schoolteacher from Phoenix. She said that visitations were down this year, especially from Canada. I have no way to verify this.
On the descent, I passed three guys that were razzing each other in a good-natured way. One had a muddy shoulder, so clearly he had slipped in the mud. Another accidentally dropped his trekking pole while waving me ahead. After I passed them, one of them said: Crap, my pole is bent! One of his companions asked if he had considered using a walker.
When a 6 year old boy asked his father about the meaning of this sign,
the dad took a deep breath, and then explained the concept of Instagram deaths.
The steep trails at the Grand Canyon get a lot of use from hikers and pack animals. And they are also damaged by rock falls, slides and runoff. After yesterday's rain the Bright Angel trail was only wet in spots,
but in 2021 I hiked up this trail during an intense cloudburst. Streams were running across the trail, and ravines like this turned into mud waterfalls.
... as Pete said to Kermit the Frog. I'll post some pics later, but I'm struck by how spending time at the Grand Canyon always makes me feel better about people. Most everyone is very present, attentive and thoughtful. When hikers see a couple taking photos of each other, they often ask: Would you like one of both of you? And even if they're not familiar with trail etiquette such as uphill hikers having the right of way, they figure it out by observing other hikers. In contrast to every other situation in life, at the canyon people actually RTFM! Yesterday I heard a guy tell his wife, "Well, that climb we just did was like 112 flights of stairs." Which he got from an informational sign, like the ones all of us ignore in the real world. Some hikers pick up litter, and yesterday one woman patiently waited for the owner of a misplaced satellite phone to realize it was missing and dial the number.
Today started out sunny, a pleasant surprise after 10 hours of rain yesterday. I was planning to hike 4.5 miles to Havasupai Gardens campground, but at 3 mile rest stop I saw clouds rolling in. So I decided to turn around there. As I started up the trail, a man came up to me, saying "Sorry, l have question for you about how far. My English is not good - you understand?" This was Mariano, hiking with Carlos (who spoke no English). They wanted to know if they should turn back here or continue farther. I asked them to follow me a short distance to an overlook past the rest stop, where they would be able to see the next destination. I pointed down to the cottonwood trees by a stream, and explained that this was the campground. Which was (doing math in my head) 2.5 km away and 300 m down. It might take them less than an hour to get there, but the climb back up could take 2 hours. Mariano asked how long it would take to reach the river, which I estimated would take 3 hours. Given the weather I suggested not proceeding, but it was their decision to make. They thanked me, introduced themselves, praised the beauty of the canyon, and turned to enjoy the view and talk it over.
A short distance up the trail I caught up to a young couple who were at the rest stop. The woman asked: Did they decide to keep going? I said that they were discussing it, but it seemed likely that they would turn back. These two were from Olympia, Washington, so they weren't too bothered by the rain. I mentioned that yesterday I met a woman from Puyallap, WA while we were both walking to the rim. She was staying at the Maswik lodge, and had spent the previous evening hanging out there because her tour was going to start the next day. But in the morning when she spoke with the lodge's activity desk, they explained that the rim was 5 minutes away (!) She was annoyed that nobody told her this earlier. Hearing this the guy from Olympia grimaced, and said that they never go on tours because they like doing their own research and planning. We agreed that tours are a comparatively passive experience.
A half mile from the rim, I saw a middle-aged couple I had noticed early that morning. At our first encounter, they were taking a breather about 2 miles below the rim. What initially struck me was that they were both wearing stylish camo pants. When we said hi, the guy gave me what Pittsburgh natives would call a Willie Stargell smile. Seeing them again, I asked how far they hiked. They said to the ranger station, which I know is at the campground, 4.5 miles from the rim. But since they were hiking slower than me, how could they have covered more distance??? This confusion was due to my erroneous assumption that earlier in the day, they were heading down. Turns out that the previous day they had hiked to the campground before getting caught in the rain. Since they had no camping gear, the ranger let them spend the night at the station. This must have been quite stressful and uncomfortable, but here they were gamely making their way to the top. And still smiling!
Back at the rim, the good behavior continued. Drivers were amazingly courteous, keeping an eye out for pedestrians, bikes and wildlife. People even obey the posted speed limit, which is 15 mph in the campground. It is like I'm on a Star Trek voyage to a planet where humanoids live up to their potential.
Yes, it's a Grand Canyon exclusive news update:
Looks like Mr Scamp got the Denver Boot (google it) for illegally camping in the backpackers lot.
Yet no one has come after the elk for bugling during Mather campground quiet hours.
Today I got in 8 miles of hiking, keeping an eye on storm clouds. There was a sprinkling of rain at 12:30, with some lightning. Then a heavy downpour 2 hours later. It is still raining at 5:30, so I am charging the Tesla instead of hiking.
It takes a lot of employees and volunteers to support visitors like me. Today I saw several crews repairing the trail, which I have seen on previous visits. This year the trans canyon water pipeline is being refurbished. This pipeline provides water to the lodges and other buildings on the south rim, the rest stops along the trail, the Phantom Ranch cabins and dining hall at the base of the canyon, and more. The stone building near Havasupai Gardens is a water treatment plant and booster pump station.
Wranglers lead mule trains down and up the canyon, carrying supplies or visitors.
Wildlife biologists track bighorn sheep, mule deer and other critters using motion detecting cameras.
Geologists analyze the 1.7 billion years of layered rocks, and try to make it comprehensible to the public.
And vast numbers of workers staff the lodges, restaurants and services along the rim, including the Maswik lodge pizza pub employee who poured me a refreshing pint of Wanderlust Brewing 928 Local ale. And since some of the workers are parents, there's a school and library in the village. Also a medical clinic, post office, stables, visitor center, and more. I am grateful for all of it, as the efforts of hundreds allow me to hike truly magical trails.
I had planned to camp tomorrow night at Colorado national monument. But given deteriorating weather, I will probably skip the camping and dr...
