Hang Out In The Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon really is an awesome spectacle. After I hiked to the bottom the first time, I knew I had to come back and spend more time there. So that went on my list. This is one of the items on my list that has multiple check marks next to it. I ended up spending a lot of time at the bottom of one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

One visit that was particularly memorable was the time a friend and I decided to spend a week hiking in the Canyon. We were both seasoned Canyon hikers and spent several hours discussing where we would hike this time - finally deciding to take the Clear Creek Trail. If my memory serves me correctly, it was June, so it was just a bit warmish down in the canyon. I think the daytime temperatures were around 110 degrees (F.). The first day, we hiked down the South Kaibab Trail and camped at the bottom of the canyon near Phantom Ranch. I do like a beer (or two) every now and then. But, as long as I live, I don't think I'll ever forget how good that first beer tastes after hiking for three or four hours in that oven like heat. We didn't stay at Phantom Ranch, but it's just a short walk from the campground where we set up. They were more than happy to sell beer to campers as well as their guests.

The next day, we got up bright and early - and I mean early - like 4:30 A.M. We wanted to get our heavy hiking with our backpacks done before the heat down in the canyon got to be too bad. I think it was about a nine mile hike from where we were camped to the Clear Creek camp. We each had quite a bit of water with us, but we knew we would drink a lot to keep ourselves from dehydrating in the hot dry climate. The hike itself was enjoyable. I remember it did get a bit hilly at one point. I also remember at one point I was lost in some sort of daydream as we just kept plodding along. I was in the lead and came around a sharp turn in the trail. As I turned, I happened to look down and saw that I was about to place my boot right on top of a sleeping rattlesnake. I can't tell you what exactly happened at that moment, but I do know that a split second later I was about five feet from where I had been. I'm not sure, but I think I may have walked on air :-)

My hiking companion had a great laugh when he realized what had transpired. After my heart slowed back down to the point where I could breathe regularly, I told him he'd get his someday. Little did I know that his comeuppance was not far away.

We hiked on through the morning. As we did, the temperature deep down in the canyon began to climb. Soon we were perspiring heavily. We wrapped bandannas around our heads to keep off the sun and to keep the sweat from running into our eyes. I think we must have been about a mile from our destination when I looked back to check on my partner's progress. He was nowhere to be seen. I shrugged my pack from my shoulders and sat on a rock to wait for him to catch up. He had dropped back quite a bit, but soon I saw him rounding a bend back down the trail. As I waited for him, I took a sip of some of the last water I had with me. I was going to be a bit short of water, but I knew I could make the distance. As my buddy got closer to me, I could tell something was a bit amiss. I noticed that his gait appeared somewhat irregular. As he reached me, I noticed that he seemed a bit unstable. I had to stand up and stop him. He seemed like he was going to keep wandering on. And that was the key. He was wandering. I looked at his eyes. They were unfocused. I held onto him and told him to take off his pack. My voice seemed to bring him back to the present.

It turns out that he had been drinking his water somewhat faster than I and that he had run out quite a ways back. I could tell the heat was starting to get to him. There was no shade anywhere nearby, so I couldn't get him out of the sun. But I did know that our destination was not that far away. Still, in his condition, I was skeptical about him and his pack making it the rest of the way safely. I shared what water I still had with him as we sat for a short time. I didn't want to wast time dallying. Finally I told him that we were going to leave his pack where we were and continue on together to the campsite at the creek. We did know that the creek ran all year long and that there would be water there. He didn't argue with my suggestion, so I stashed his pack behind a boulder out of sight of the trail and, we headed off again. Without his loaded pack, he seemed to do quite a bit better.

We had gone about a half mile and my buddy began to mumble something. I couldn't quite catch what he was saying, so I stopped and asked him to repeat himself. He gave me a sort of bleary look and said "This is a fine way to treat British royalty."

I shook him gently and brought him back to time present. I took out my last water bottle. I let him sip some of the remaining water and then blotted some onto my head rag and wiped his face. This worked a bit. I told him we needed to keep going. He was quite amiable and off we again went. It wasn't too much longer before we could see the creek ahead. That seemed to be what was needed to give my buddy the wherewithal to make it the last hundred yards or so to our goal.

Once we were able to slowly replenish the water in our bodies, my friend made a complete recovery. We actually laughed about a phrase that we now use whenever we see each other to this day. Whenever something bad happens to my friend, we quip "That's no way to treat British royalty."

We camped at Clear Creek for several days. From there, we hiked down to the Colorado River and watched as groups floated by on rafts or dories. In the other direction, we explored historical parts of the canyon.

During other trips to the Canyon, I have hiked on many of its fine and adventurous trails in addition to Clear Creek: Bright Angel, North & South Kaibab, Tonto, Hermit, Boucher, Kanab Creek and the Bass Trail. Those who enjoy history would appreciate the lore of the Grand Canyon. Some of the trails were used by rustlers back in the 1800's. Many were used by miners who sought their fortunes within the confines of the Canyon. The Hermit and Boucher Trails refer to Louis Boucher, a miner and hermit whose tales are part of Canyon lore.