Kim and I had seen the Grand Canyon many years ago, when we piggy-backed on a business trip, drove to Williams, and rode the train to the South Rim. And while I’ve used it many times as an example of “indescribability” (no matter how you try, the person you describe it to simply can’t imagine it until they see it themselves), we really didn’t “experience” the place at all. We stared at it from a couple of viewpoints, got back on the train and headed south.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure how this would be different, except for the fact that we would be camping this time, and I figured there would be some hiking that we might try. There was also the fact that we’d be there over Thanksgiving (our first major Holiday away from home). It turned out amazing.
We drove down from Arches NP in Arizona, and it was a really pleasant drive overall. I was sad that we didn’t really have time to stop to see Monument Valley. We saw the turnoff, but it was a long drive and we didn’t know now the weather would be near the canyon. Once we arrived at the Canyon, we were so excited, we stopped at the first viewpoint we came to… Desert View. The kids were so excited… Kane about the canyon, Kat about the snack bar and gift shop. It was a quick stop, then we drove to Trailer Village, and setup camp.
Our first full day at Grand Canyon happened to be Thanksgiving. We basically spent the day messing around… reading, playing video games, etc, until it was time to COOK. At around 10:30 or so we went into high gear…. I cooked a 9 lb turkey on the big Green Egg, Kim and Kat made Turkey Cupcakes for our neighbors and park rangers, and Kim also made a Cherry Pie, Mashed Potatoes, Stuffing, Green Beans, and Croissant Rolls. I helped with the gravy at the end, and the meal was amazing! All the while, we were able to watch some football (the campground here has CABLE!), and play some football, and ride bikes etc.
Later that night, we drove to a view places to try a cell signal and call home. No luck with the cell, but Kim bought a calling card, and we were able to use a pay phone.
The next day, was the day for Adventure! We started at the Visitor Center (where we always do), to get the Jr Ranger books, see the video, and make a plan for hikes etc. This Visitor center was a mess! It was new and beautiful, but nothing worked. The exhibits, the hike planning kiosks, and the video were all broken. The sign said the next video started in about 12 minutes, so we hung out and waited. At 5 minutes till, the doors opened and we jumped into the theatre for a great seat, followed by about 30 other folks (it was very busy because of the holiday). After about 5 minutes the lights came down, but the movie didn’t start. After about 5 more minutes, I went out to tell the ranger the movie was broken. He came in, looked at it, and said he had to reboot the system, and the next show would be in 30 minutes. Too much automation! It was like the Denver Airport when it first opened.
Anyway, we gave up on the video for that day, and jumped on the “orange line” bus to the Kaibab Trail Trailhead. At the trailhead, we ate our lunch, used the potty, and headed down the trail. Kane REALLY wanted to go to Skeleton Point, which was 3 miles out and > 2000 feet down. Kim was OK with going to OOH-AAH point, which is .9 miles out and 600 feet down. I was leaning toward meeting in the middle. Cedar Ridge which is 1.5 miles out and 1100 feet down.
The Kaibab trail is a really well established trail all the way down to the River. Which is good and bad. It’s a nice trail, but you have to share it with Mule trains. They use mules to a pack supplies down and people/trash back up. Proper etiquette requires hikes to stand to the uphill side of the trail and wait for the mules to pass.
We were surprised that portions of the trail near the rim were frosty and slippery in spots. About a 1/4 mile in, Kane had run ahead and he let us know that he found a really slippery spot. So of course, Kim decides to “side step” the spot, and fell. Her new walking stick flailing, knocked Kanes baseball cap down the hill, and almost poked his eye out. She also broke the screen on her (about 1 week old) camera. It was hilarious.
I was lagging behind Kane and Kim, helping Kat down… she was doing great, but was cold and scared of some of the drop-offs. At about 1/2 mile, Kim had stopped for some reason, and I took the opportunity to run ahead with Kane (leaving Kim with Kat). Kim wasn’t too keen on this and ran to catch up with me. We decided it was a good time to split up since Kane wanted to go further than Kim was willing. So, I got my snack/water from Kim, and ran to catch Kane who was way down the trail by now.
We picked up the pace and hoofed it quickly down to Ooh-Aah point. It was nice, but we didn’t stay long and headed on down toward Cedar Ridge. The path was steep, and pretty uneven in most areas. They have made crude stairs in some areas with railroad ties, but they are “cupped” by hiker footsteps and mule prints (and rain/snow). In spite of this, we made great time, but I started to get a little anxious about the trip back up by this point.
Meanwhile, Kim and Kat made it to Ooh-Ahh point, and went back up to the rim. Kim wanted more hiking. So, they worked on the Jr Ranger program, and hiked around the rim.
Back to Kane and I. We made it to Cedar Ridge, and still making really good time. Kane used the restroom, and since we were cruising, I told him we’d go down another 20 minutes. The trail really thinned out the further we got. We went long stretches and didn’t see anyone else going either way. After 20 minutes, we passed a guy, and asked him how far to Skeleton Point. He said about another 20 minutes. Kane looked at me with his “please, please grin”, I looked at my watch and said “OK, we may never be here again”. (my inside voice was telling me it was a mistake)
We got to Skeleton Point, and it was amazing. The Canyon looks really different from the middle, and the lighting was getting good too. I love the 4:00 hour in the wintertime desert! While we were there, a nice couple from New York got there too, and they took our picture for us. We checked out the river (you can finally see the river from there), took some photos, drank some water, ate the snacks, and headed back up toward the rim.
This hike was absolutely amazing, and the Canyon looked amazing, but the elevation gain, and hoofing it back to beat the sunset KICKED my BUTT! Kane started complaining just before Cedar Ridge that I was taking too many breaks. I understood, but I had to get him off my back. I reminded him that I weigh 3 times what he does, and that if something happened and I had a heart attack, to run up the hill, find someone with a cell phone and call 911. That shut him up for the rest of the hike.
We felt amazing back at the rim. We took a few photos, and went over the shuttle stop to catch the bus back to the visitor center (where the jeep was). We just missed the shuttle, and Kane started chirping about walking back instead (it was 2.5 miles). I agreed to walk back to the next shuttle stop, and try to catch the shuttle there. Walking on the flat rim trail was an amazing cool down, and seemed incredibly easy! We ended up walking the entire way back.. a total of about 9 miles. Kane was so so proud to do our longest hike, and our largest elevation gain (and I was too). What a great day, but it was 1/2 hour after dark when we got home.
Well, it was good for us we had such a great day on Friday. On Saturday, we went back to the Visitor Center to try again to see the video, rode the bus West to catch a ranger led program on California Condors, and got our Jr Ranger badges. The Canyon was completely fogged-in. We felt so bad for folks like us the last time who basically had one day planned at the canyon. There was no seeing any of it. What’s funny is it was a beautiful day at the campground before we left, and so I wore shorts. I must have looked like an idiot out there in the low 30’s, with my shorts on! The trees where great with a layer of frozen fog on there though!
We caught our NP sign photo on the way out, and all was right with the world…. on to the next adventure.
