This summer I read Donald Miller's Through Painted Deserts and started dreaming of backpacking in the Grand Canyon. Something about the way Donald described his experience as one of the most challenging and wonderfully rewarding things he has ever accomplished in his life made me want to explore the canyon for myself. So, after a whole semester of planning, preparing and training, three of my gal pals and I set off for a week to conquer the grandest of the canyons. And we were not disappointed.
Everyone loves a good road trip, plus plane tickets can be pricy and binding, so the gals and I decided on an ole fashioned Route 66 drive to the land of the wild, wild, west. We hit Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, made a 10 AM Dairy Queen blizzard stop, met some fellow Aggies at a gas station in New Mexico and ate Sharky's burritos like true Abilenians. We were tempted to take a slight turn to the North and head up to Las Vegas when conditions were looking a bit too cold or icy. Yet, we persevered. We also came to a mutual consensus that Flagstaff is the neatest little town along Main Street America, complete with trendy wall murals, breweries and outdoor surpluses galore.
After a restful night at the Red Feather Lodge motel, we strapped up, secured our crampons and headed down Hermits Rest Trail. First, let it be known that hiking 10 miles downhill is more exhausting than one might think. After descending down the trail and the steep switchbacks of the Cathedral Stairs, we were completely relieved to crawl into Monuments Creek campsite that afternoon. We rewarded ourselves with some backcountry pies (#BCP!!), made a mean sausage stir fry, read some Bill Bryson, and snuggled into our sleeping bags to prepare for day two. And if I didn't learn anything else on day one, I did learn that snow makes an excellent substitute for toilet paper.
Day two consisted of hiking along the rolling hills of Tonto Trail and catching some spectacular views of the Colorado River. We even ran into some friendly mule deer! Okay, actually they just took one look at us and went back to their grazing, but nonetheless I will include them as friends since we did not see a single other human until we reached our campsite on the second afternoon.
The morning of the third day we woke up prepared to tackle the famous Bright Angel Trail with our bellies full of apple cinnamon oatmeal and our eyes on the prize. That morning before we set off, our buddy who we affectionately referred to as Professor Coco informed us that we might hear her singing opera on the trail because it helps her to steady her breathing while climbing uphill. Pardon me, but I do not think that belting out opera sounds too appealing while ascending 3,000 feet. Nevertheless, we did indeed hear Professor Coco yodeling her opera melodies which seemed to rebound off the canyon walls and visit the ears of many tourists strolling down the trail on day hikes. We met a few other friends along the trail, one being a man who was there on a two day hike to celebrate his 70th birthday. Go John, go!
At the top, we treated ourselves to a meal of cheeseburgers and cherry pie to celebrate our twenty seven completed miles across the canyon. It was undoubtedly the most challenging hike I've ever done, yet fed my passion to get out there and continue exploring.
Thankful thankful for three great pals, new land traveled, and an able body that I can use to honor the Lord.
"Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness." // Psalm 37:3
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