Grand Canyon - The Hike Begins

The day began with what would begin to feel like an ostentatiously rise time, 4:15; can't get going until the shuttle arrives unless you want to hike the extra 5 miles to the trail head.  We opted to forgo the extra hike and loaded up at 5 am with other enthusiastic hikers, ready to get underway.

Soon we were at North Kaibob's trail head, eager to get going if for no other reason than to warm up.  At 9,000 ft, even in June the north rim's temperature doesn't match what I would expect from a canyon so associated in my mind with desert like scenes of the American west, but we were almost 4,000 ft higher than the Mile High City.  It's worth a moment to consider how amazing the size of the Colorado river, formed by snow runoffs even higher in elevation, is for its elevation.

Our  walk through time the day before certainly enhanced the experience now as we headed past layers of shale and sandstone  indicating the passage of incomprehensibly long stretches of time.  The scale of time blends itself markedly into the the scale of size, as you walk down alongside rock walls drawing you ever downward, almost a spiritual experience; a physical analogue for being drawn deep and deeper into the presence of the Infinite.  Colors and shadow, light playing along the canyon walls, they all melded to create unfathomable beauty.  Across so many dimensions, the experience was one of awe.

The descent itself wasn't too bad, though the trail was far sandier than I imagined.  A time or two that caused a foot slip, but never anything to bad or too dangerous.  We found the trails wide enough that acrophobia never set in.

As the morning sun rose, it did begin to heat up, but in the early morning, it was never uncomfortable.  We hit a water station relatively quickly, and taking the advise of the rangers, we were sure to drink and wet down our shirts and bandana's, providing us with effective mobile AC.  Soon, the path eased into a gentler slope, and landscape transitioned to more "Western" feel, with sage and sand forming the floor.


The local fauna also matched the feel, though Arthur missed it initially.  It was until Alex heard the stomach dropping buzz of an annoyed local that we noticed the rattlesnake curled up just alongside the trail.  Its worth noting that rattlesnakes really aren't interested on using their valuable venom on anything they can't eat and only attack as a last resort; in the Grand Canyon, snake bites don't come on ankles but on hands, usually attached to an inebriated male between the age of 18 and 35, so we really weren't in any danger.  Regardless, we were reminded that we were visitors on another creature's front lawn and that we ought to be more mindful.

We reached Cottonwood Campground, where we would camp, at 9:45 in the morning, beating the heat of the day.  It seems like a long time to hang around a camp, but we had more activities in mind.  After pitching our tent and securing our food in the safe box we headed another 1.5 miles down the trail to Ribbon Falls.  There was to be a bridge to cross the creek here but it was damaged from a storm.  Another hiker was there and he showed us the "best" place to cross the creek where the bank was less steep.  We are somewhat inexperienced in water crossings and would never have tried to cross this area on our own so we were thankful for his guidance.  Alex still ended up slipping into the creek and Arthur lost a sandal that would eventually make its way down to the mighty Colorado River.

Ribbon Falls was magnificent and one of the highlights of the hike.  The area around the falls was so lush and green with moss-- a complete surprise for being in the desert. We settled in up behind the falls to beat the afternoon heat. We ate our lunch, took naps, and Arthur did some light reading of the History of the Middle Ages while Alex worked on a few watercolor paintings.  On most of our travels we don't sit and relax much and we were unsure how we would handle this part of the hike since our goal was to be done each day before the heat and then hangout around camp.  We actually found that we did enjoy the time to slow down and watch our surrounds or get lost in a good book.  Once it was a little more shady we moved down to the edge of the pool at the base of the falls.  The constant mist was better than having the AC turned up full blast. 

Midafternoon we thought we heard thunder and were seeing more clouds build up.  We had been warned about flashfloods so we decided to head back to the camp ground.  We went a little bit further down the creek and found a better place to cross even if it did make the hike back longer.  Back at Cottonwood Campground we settled in and rinsed out clothing, made dinner, and tended to Arthur's feet to prevent blisters.  It was entertaining to watch all the little lizards dart around the campsite.  We fell asleep in our tent under a full moon that evening.