Photo: Winding Colorado

Grand Canyon Wed May 7th - Tanner Trail to Cardenas Creek through Saturday May 10th - Grandview Point via Grandview Trail

We got to the Red Feather Lodge in Tusayan the night before and were settled in there. Yeti would be there for the duration until the 14th. Fairweather was expected at the South Rim on the 9th. I was to come up the South Kaibab Trail on the 11th.

Well, things didn't turn out exactly as planned, but I did have a grand Grand Canyon adventure.

I left early in the morning to descend the Tanner Trail nine miles down to the Colorado River. Yeti dropped me off and it began. Very steep trail up top as you head down a very rocky terrain, switchback after switchback. It was slow going and I began to worry that it would take me all day to get down. After being in many canyons it is still a big awe inspiring "shock" to experience the size and magnificence of the Grand Canyon. Nothing prepares you for its majesty. It was a great feeling to finally see the Colorado River below - a green snaking band winding through the mighty cliffs.

After about 1.5 miles, the terrain eased up and I was able to pick up the pace. Two other backpackers passed me, but they stopped for a break shortly after and they never caught up to me after that. A young guy with a small pack came striding by - he was doing up and down the same day.....not for me! That's a big day hike with over 8000 feet of total elevation change. It's a drop of 4600 ft to the river.

It is already pretty hot down here. Was excited to get to Tanner Beach and the river where I took a long break - made a meal and loaded up on water. The Colorado was running clear, so no need to filter through a bandana. At 4pm, I headed out to finish the three miles to Cardenas Creek and my camp. The terrain here was easy going and I made it in good time.

I dropped my pack on a nice flat spot well off the trail. I didn't want to camp right at the water but did have to go down to fill my bottles. As I approached the water, I could see tents and then a group of guys and holy moly....a river rafting group!!!! What a fabulous surprise. The group consisted of 15 guys and the two river guides, Eric and Dan. Steve was the common denominator among the guys - they hadn't all known each other but they all knew Steve. I guess he had arranged the tour. One of the men had joined at the last minute, but he fit right in to the bantering mood of the group. I didn't even try to get all the names - I wouldn't have remembered most of them anyway!

These chaps were so nice. They were amazed that I was doing this trip at 71 years of age. So, I got Gatorade and we were chatting and they invited me to stay for dinner. So, in the end, I got my gear down as I didn't want to have to retrieve it in the dark. Dan made an amazing dinner of grilled blackened salmon, rice pilaf, asparagus, and fresh salad. And Eric made a cowboy cake in a dutch oven. What a feast!

We joked into the night. Three of the guys had a "cult" going, calling themselves the FEB's - Flat Earth Believers. They fashioned hats out of aluminum foil - it was a riot.

Eric came over to describe the next day's float. It was to be one rapid after another, two of which were rated 10 - the highest rating. Sounded like a challenging and exciting day for the group. Good luck guys. Thanks so much for your generosity and hope your trip continued to be a blast! Meeting you has been a Hayduke highlight adventure for me.

I was to do 14 miles to Hance Creek. Finally turned in - I cowboy camped.

Cardenas Creek to Ledge before Steep Chute - May 8th Lots of condensation that night. I woke to a soggy sleeping bag and gear. I loaded up early but did get coffee. I could have stayed for a pancake breakfast, but I had to get an early start. A big breakfast would have not been a good idea when you have a big climb ahead. The over 1000 foot climb came soon. I was going really slowly uphill. I think that my lungs had never really gotten back up to speed because of the flu I had just before the trip. My respiratory stamina was not great. I had to stop frequently to catch my breath. Also, once the sun came up it got hot. I later found out that one of the days I was down there reached 98 degrees!

The trail was pretty good all morning but I was moving slowly. Got down to the river again and took a long lunch, soaking my feet in the cold water (heavenly). After lunch it just got hotter and my pace was very slow. I had filled all my water bottles, so my pack was heavy with a gallon of water weight. The trail rose above the river and went up and down and contoured around...typical for this route. As it turned out I got back down to the river later in the afternoon. I had only gone about 7 plus miles so I was not counting on reaching my original destination at Hance Creek. To top it off, the trail got really sketchy there and it took me forever to figure out where it continued.

As it turned out, I had to climb up (hand over hand) a steep rock wall. I was hoping this was right because I sure didn't want to have to get down that thing. Well it was right. Again, the trail was a bit hard to follow, but luckily some cairns helped out. Next obstacle was a narrow chimney that I had to get up. I knew I couldn't get up with the pack on, so I thought I'd have to pull it up with my rope. So, I climbed the chimney and knew immediately I'd never get the pack up - it would get stuck in the narrow cracks. So, I went looking for a better way and found another chimney that was wider. I scrambled down this chute, retrieved my pack, went back up the proper chimney with pack on and then retrieved the rope! By now, it was getting dark and I needed to stop. Not very far up the trail was a wide enough spot on the cliff ledge where I could cowboy camp again. What a day! Clearly I had over estimated what mileage I could do in the canyon. I was hoping that I could make up some miles over the next day or so. I went to sleep after staring at the starry night and silhouette of the canyon cliffs looming over me.

Ledge to Horseshoe Mesa - May 9th Well, big surprise just around the corner from my sketchy camp spot. A big steep chute filled with rocks and boulders of all sizes was right in my way. I had to go down that thing! It took a while, as I had to go carefully, each step sent a cascade of rocks down the hill. I wasn't expecting this. Once down, the trail was right along the river again. By now, the Colorado was running brown - it can change from day to day depending on what happens anywhere in the drainage for the river. So, critical error here: I did not take water from the river. Instead I was going to rely on a spring and Hance Creek, which was considered pretty reliable. A big climb followed and then in and out of small canyons. The heat rose and I was moving slowly again. And, worrying now about water. At around late morning I could see a hiker coming. Great - I'd ask about water. Well, this guy was useless. First, he barely spoke or understood English and he seemed to say that he had not seen any water since dropping into the canyon from Grandview Point. He said the spring was dry and he said he had not seen any water. AAGH.

I then had to ration water. I only had two liters left. So, one liter for that day and one liter for the next. I was still hoping to find some at Hance Creek, but could not really be sure. That was tough afternoon. Heat was difficult to bear...I drag in heat. I could tell that I was never going to make up any miles that day. I would have to reassess. Finally I was nearing the creek mid afternoon. I could see a shiny ribbon...water!!! Funny that that guy I'd met had not seen this water...incredible. It would have changed my entire afternoon. I was really dehydrated.

I was thrilled but frustrated as it still took about 20 minutes to get down to the creek after contouring in and out. I almost jumped for joy to get to the water. The creek trickled but there were several pools to dip into for filling my bottles. It was a lovely spot...too bad I'd not been there last night! The wash had trees, shade! Another rarity out here. I met a woman filling two huge bags with water. She was with a group and they were camping there that night. I took a long re-hydrating break there, making a pot of hot tang to get as much liquid in me as I could.

I knew I had a big climb to Horseshoe Mesa and I had already made the decision to climb out of the canyon there. There was clearly no way I could make up the miles I had not been able to do. I though of adding an extra day, but realized it would probably need two extra days to finish my original route. That would mean no rest day before going up to the North Rim. Not okay. I was okay with this decision. It was the right thing to do. I left Hance Creek about 4pm, hoping the sun would change angle and I would have some shade going up. Part way up I did get shade which helped - it was a steep climb. Although only 1.5 miles, it took me over three hours to plod up the mesa. It's amazing that there is trail here. When you look at the formidable rock cliffs it's hard to believe there is a way up! At one point, the mini pinged. A message from Yeti - clearly he was alarmed how far behind schedule I was and he was asking if I was okay. He said if so, send the ETA 2 hours message. I did this.

The last of the climb steepened even more...finally got to the top! There were great flat camping spots right near the Grandview Trail, where I would climb out the next morning. First, I sent the "All ok I'm in camp" pre-set message via the mini. Then I sent a more detailed message using my phone paired to the mini to let Yeti know that I was coming out in the morning. It is much easier typing on one's phone than trying to send a detailed message using the clunky pad on the mini. Another starry night high up in the Grand Canyon.

Horseshoe Mesa to Grandview Point - May 10th Another almost 3000 foot climb out the canyon! Luckily starting early in the morning and a lot of it was in shade. The Grandview is an amazing trail - rugged by featuring unbelievable constructed elements. I later found out it was built by miners - unreal to think that they built these trails on such steep terrain with hand tools! Apparently they used to haul copper out on mules on this trail! Some of it I called the cobblestone trail - it had rock obviously laid my man to create a "road" like surface. Very steep especially as it approached the top - in what is referred to as the Coconino level. Again I was amazed that there could be trail here. I was meeting quite a few people coming down...mostly day hikers going as far as the Mesa. The trail was less than 3 miles, but it took me 4 hours to get to the top. Finally I spied some people coming down without packs and I could hear voices, so I knew I was close. Yay, there's Yeti! Cold drinks and get those hiking shoes off. Was I glad to be up top.

Fairweather had been up on the 9th and stayed at our motel room. Also, they met the three hikers that Yeti had bumped into at Bryce. They'd all been a bit worried about me, though the guys said they had struggled in the canyon also. They had come up Grandview also as they ran out of food. It was the end of the trip for them - they had finished their section. Fairweather, of course, is amazing: she breezed it and is doing a longer route in the Grand Canyon with another river crossing. She is young, fit, and a super strong hiker. Hope to see her at the end. She should be in Hurricane when I finish in Zion, so we could drive over to see her.

So glad to be getting a rest. The Grand Canyon sure was challenging for me. My lung stamina definitely was not optimal and I was not in thru-hiker condition either. I'm perfectly happy with what I did and it was the right decision to come out at Grandview.

Yeti took me for breakfast buffet at Yavupai Lodge and then back to the hotel to get cleaned up! Bliss.

I'll be resting three days now before heading down the South Kaibab and then up the North Kaibab to the North Rim. We are visiting our friend Li Brannfors, who is a Fire Specialist here and is located at the North Rim - he has employee housing. Yeti will go over there on the 14th before it opens officially. Li gave him the code for the gate so he can get in. I'll join them on the 15th for the end of my Grand Canyon Sojourn. Looking forward to that hike and seeing Li.