Grand Canyon R2R2R
Days 18-20
5.1.15 - 5.3.15
My first visit to the Grand Canyon was a very interesting experience. Most of us have seen pictures of it before, but I don't think that they come close to representing the canyon well. I would argue that seeing the canyon in person along the rim doesn't fully give you a sense of the place. It's a step up from pictures, but the hike that Noah and I did within the canyon over three days gave me a much better sense of everything. A Rim to Rim to Rim hike, traversing the canyon twice.
As we arrived along the rim, I peered down below the south rim from the viewing area, and it felt almost like looking up at the clouds. What I mean by this is that it is so large, that you have to almost perceive it at a flat surface. When you look at clouds, you can't easily tell which clouds are miles and miles away compared to the ones that are close by. The same thing happens looking at the buttes, rims, and gorges of the Grand Canyon. It's such a large space that it all becomes like a backdrop.
Again, since an
album is posted on facebook with lots of pictures, I will only include a few here. I primarily want to share my experience with the canyon.
First of all, I need to thank Eric, Noah's housemate, for lending me a full-brim sun hat to prevent me from dying in the extremely sunny part of the world. As you know, I tend to burn about 50 times faster than I tan, so utmost care should be taken to avoid all possible sun exposure. This of course means only hiking at night. And if the moon is in any phase except new, sunglasses must be worn.
On the first day, we planned to hike from the south rim, at 7200', down to the Colorado River and Bright Angel Campground at 2400', and continue along the Bright Angel Creek to Cottonwood CG at 3400'. From the rim to the river is 7 miles, and from the river to Cottonwood is another 7 miles. Normally, this is a reasonable distance for me to hike, but the heat that we experienced while descending into the depths changed the situation tremendously. Starting in the 70s along the rim, the heat was turned up to over 100° once we got to the river. I have never hiked in such heat, and even with low humidity, I was clambering for any shade I could find. And water. Lots of water, even for a guy that can typically make a quick moisten of the lips last about 8 miles.
My favorite part about descending on the South Kaibab trail was the fact that as you hike down, you can almost always see the trail ahead of you, as it makes switchbacks along the steep slopes. I've always liked to be able to see where the trail goes ahead of me, hence my love for alpine hiking where the trees are absent.
I became more aware of this toward the end of the hike, but it was very interesting to pay attention to the layers of rock that were around us. It's a story of the Earth's history as you get deeper and deeper. It would be a geologist's dream to be here. The oldest rock in the lowest parts are nearly 2 billion years old. That is almost half the age of planet Earth! Below is a diagram from the NPS showing the main layers that are exposed in the canyon.
In the photo I took below, you can see the Coconino Sandstone layer pop out brightly toward the top of the canyon, then the red layer below that is the Supai Group and the redwall limestone below it. The large plateau is the Bright Angel shale, and below that, the granite and schist begin to appear.
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| Layers of the Grand Canyon |
In many places, you can see a distinct line between the horizontal sedimentary layers and the vertical "flumes" of metamorphic rock inside the lower gorge. It is very clear looking at the metamorphic rocks that they were once in motion from extreme pressure and temperature, in contrast to the sedimentary deposits of the other layers, which form layer on top of layer. The flowing nature of the schist is visible in the photo below.
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Example of visible metamorphic rocks in the
Bright Angel Creek gorge |
Along the Bright Angel Creek, we found several places under and overhanging rock with shade to rest from the heat, which was really slowing both of us down. At one spot, Noah started to jam on his didj, using the rocks to amplify the sound, and then we noticed a swallow's nest hidden up in the rocks, and the birdlets were peeking their heads out at the sound of the didj. Hard to say if they liked it or if it was the worst thing the baby swallows had ever heard.
Upon arrival at Cottonwood, we were very happy to set down our packs and get going on dinner prep. This was the first camping use of my $7 stove from amazon. It performed very well, though I may need to work on some kind of wind shield for it. We used the ammo boxes they have at the CG to store food in as out wind protection system.
On day 2 of the hike, we headed out to summit the North Rim, which at this time of year is only accessible on foot. The road is seasonally closed, and even if it was open, it's 220 miles by car from the South Rim. Clearly, hiking is the quickest way to get across, unless you have a car that can go over 30 miles per hour, that is.
The North Kaibab trail to the North Rim is considerably different from the South Kaibab trail, mainly because it is more wooded, as well as more tucked into the cliffs. I found this a bit more enjoyable for a few reasons. Firstly, trees mean shade, and that made me happy. Secondly, being tucked in around steep cliffs was more of a dramatic experience, compared to a wide open feel to the South Kaibab trail.
After uncountable switchbacks, we were nearing the top of the trail. This was also evident by paying attention to the layers of rock. My favorite layer, the Cocnino Sandstone, is a light blonde color, and often has tan and black lines shooting vertically through it. That layer was cut through almost vertically, so it's mostly free of trees, which makes it stand out when you look across the canyon.
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| Coconino Sandstone with the vertical lines though it. |
Just before the top, Noah introduced me to the best part about hiking in the southwest: the smell inside deep cracks of Ponderosa Pine bark. It smells of butterscotch and vanilla, and I swear it never gets old. I can go up to a big pondo any day and just stick my nose in it and breathe in the scent.
We also got a fantastic view of the San Francisco Peaks, which are about 15 miles north of Flagstaff, and include Humphrey's Peak, the highest point in Arizona. Nothing quite like seeing the depths of the canyon right next to the mountain peaks in the same view.
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| Mountains and Canyons |
There was snow at the North Rim, and I just barely dodged a snowball impact from le copain Noah. Also, many R2R2R runners were up at the North Rim with us, and I was amused to see that almost all of them had "Nathan Hydration Systems". It's always nice to see that everyone cares about you by wearing backpacks with your name.
The way down was not as easy (for me) as you might think. It was a battle of paces between me and Noah. If the grade was gentle I ended up going much faster than Noah, however on steeper grades, he got far, far ahead. Personally, I think a unicycle would have been the ultimate method of travel.
Among the topics discussed, the weather came up, since it had been so extreme here in the canyon. It's one of those jobs where you can be wrong 50% of the time and have no concern of getting fired. They call it meteorology, but it really has nothing to do with meteors, so we thought that instead, it could be called "partly-ology". It will be partly sunny, partly cloudy, partly rainy, partly snowy, partly hot, and partly cold. This covers you on all bases.
It was on this day that I really got a full sense of the scale of this massive canyon. The fact that it took more than a full day's hike to get across put some perspective into the initial view I had of the canyon from the south rim. Even looking across as the south rim along our descent back to Cottonwood, I found I still didn't believe it was 5000 feet deep and 21 miles across. My legs however, were telling me a different story. They were saying it had to be at least 7 light years across, and at least a few hundred miles deep. But like most things, if you go slow enough, it is possible.
Around our last mile of day two, I discovered that part of a staple that held my outsole onto my boots had detached and was slowly inching its way upward and poking into my heel. I thought it was one of Arizona's fierce plants that want to kill you, but after several inspections of the shoe, with no plants inside, I found it was indeed the shoe trying to kill me. I pulled out an inch long piece of staple and intend to send it to Merrell with a friend note saying that a tiger had no friendly mouse to pull the thorn out of its paw this time.
That night, we still had two full loaves of banana bread left. We had avoided eating too much along the trail because it made us not want to move at all. We were pleased to share the bread with a man who wandered over to our campsite to ask how our day had gone, since we had passed them earlier on the trail on they way down. Sadly he didn't each very much, but they his friends came over and devoured a good two-thirds of a loaf! Weight reduction successful.
On the third day, we awoke with a big appetite for banana bread and oatmeal. There is always something exciting about the final day of a trek. It is sad to leave such a beautiful place, but you look forward to some kind of civilization. We decided to visit Ribbon Falls, which is along the middle stretch of the traverse along the canyon. It is at least 8 miles from any road access, making it one of the more special places to visit.
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| Ribbon Falls |
The remainder of the way to the river went by very quickly since the trail was ever so slightly downhill. Seven miles can go by swiftly in those conditions. We also had left the campground early enough to be in the morning shade for most of the way.
After stopping for another banana bread reduction break at Bright Angel CG, we headed up the Bright Angel Trail, which is a bit more accessible to day trippers because there are several water filling stations along the way, compared to South Kaibab which doesn't have any. It is known for the Devil's Staircase and Jacob's Ladder, both of which are steep switchback sections that seemed to be never-ending.
We passed by a creek, which was a miracle since I was not doing well with the heat after starting the ascent to the South Rim. I dunked the hat and the shirt to get myself soaked with water. And if that wasn't enough, as we started to climb the switchbacks of Devil's Staircase, it began to rain in very large drops. Soon enough, it was very blowy and occasional hail was falling. Many people along the trail acted as if they had never seen rain before, and were huddling underneath rocks to escape the terror of this liquid. They warn you to bring practically a semi's worth of water with you if you hike here, and when nature gives it to you for FREE, you panic and hide from it. Logic, people - use it.
The rain brought the temperature down to the 60s, according to my dangly thermometer I bring with me hiking. In twelve trips that Noah has taken to the Grand Canyon, this was his first time seeing rain in it! What a time for me to come west and see it for myself. We had phases of sunny and damp as we continued up the trail. We stopped at Indian Gardens, which had a very large cottonwood tree. These trees grow very fast, so a tree 5 feet in diameter may only be 100 years old. Because of this though, they tend to be weaker than other trees, and often have large branches break off. Sadly, these do not smell of a delicious dessert like the Ponderosas.
After the final climb through the Coconino Sandstone layer along Jacob's Ladder, we reached the magic we call pavement! We had hiked 45 miles Rim to Rim to Rim. Now this is what I call a good perspective of the Grand Canyon. A lady helped us take this photo of our exit from the canyon. Or as seen, "Bright Ang Trailhead".
Thank you Noah for bringing me along on one of your favorite hikes. I probably won't have a chance to do this again for awhile, so I'm glad I went all in for the R2R2R.
EDIT: Map + Elevation Profile for anyone interested.
