Thanksgiving week is usually my chance to go on a solo trip somewhere and get away from civilisation for a while.

I've gotten back into the habit after a bloc of years where I was prevented going away for a week from work, even if 2 of the days were given as vacation.

Last year was Death Valley, one of the great wonders of the west. There were a few Virtuals still maintained there and one traditional which was archived shortly after my trip because someone noticed that it was now within the expanded park boundaries.

This year was 6 nights camping at the Grand Canyon, with 3 nights in the canyon itself. The first full day I hit several of the Virtuals along the South Rim as I prepared to venture below the rim on the third day. The Virtuals were quite interesting there, in particular GCF17A - Peace on the Rim, what some park employees did in the line of maintenance in the late 60's.

GCAF3E - Grand Canyon Explorers required reading a memorial which most people just walk around or are photographed in front of. GCF1BC - Abyss Disk was quite novel, while GCF1C0 - Trail's End Rest passed on a nugget of information I was unaware of. The big game I was after, though, lay below the rim.

9:30 Tuesday morning, with 20 Kilos of gear on my back I set off down the South Kaibab Trail into the canyon for 2 nights at Bright Angel campground and 1 night midway up Bright Angel Trail at Indian Garden before emerging from the canyon Friday afternoon. The weather was clear and I had my camera to take photos for memories and Virtual cache requirements along the way, though a smaller camera will be part of the gear next time. The Nikon D70s was quite the nuisance to extract from my fanny-pack and then replace.

The first day I needed photos of myself at two locations (for GCFA7D South Kaibab to Bright Angel) along the South Kaibab trail as I descended into a realm of sandstone mostly ever seen from above. It's quite a different experience being down among the monuments of the abyss, trekking beside, around and below as the sun moved across the sky, changing the play of light in this surreal land.

By 3:00 PM I was 4,700 feet down and across the Colorado River, wedging my pack from my protesting shoulders. A lighter, more compressable sleeping bag is also on the agenda for the next big hike. The tent was more than sufficient but not overly heavy. I had packed well and my meals were enough to propell me around, without running out of steam, (though by the end of the trip I could feel that the canyon and gravity had worked on me, making me more fit than when I had started the trip.)

With camp set up and thoroughly knackered I went off for what seemed to be short walk to find GC5F1 - GCNP Bright Angel. The walk turned into a mini hike as I crossed the second bridge, the Silver Bridge (having crossed the Black Bridge on the last leg of the South Kaibab Trail) and proceeded along the River Trail to where it turned into the Bright Angel Trail to find the cache at a neat location, just across one of the creeks pouring into the Colorado. The walk back was facing light disappearing from the upper reaches of Zoroaster and Brahma temples, an amazing sight.

Wednesday was leisurely, late breakfast and stretching out the tired and sore muscles around Phantom Ranch, with a couple more photos for GCFA7D (whatever was supposed to be on the ground I just don't know, unless it was supposed to be mule poo, which could have been taken just about anywhere along the trails but here.) Mule deer were everywhere and food needed to be stored securely to prevent unwelcome ventilation of tent and/or backpack. Relaxing in the afternoon sun on the beach on the north shore of the Colorado I accepted the donation of a few Oreos from a river rafting expedition and enjoyed the warmth of the lower canyon.

Wednesday also included meeting many of my fellow hikers - brothers and sisters on this less traveled road - and sharing tales of the hike, explanations of geocaching and attending a couple Ranger talks. Ranger Mandi Toy first talked of the California Condor population living in the Grand Canyon, to provide a separate population to carry on the species should some contagious and deadly disease wipe out those living in California. After this I would keep an eye out for very large black birds with numbers on their wings (though mostly I only saw ravens.) The second talk by Ranger Toy was on the Harvey Girls, young women hired by Fred Harvey to work at his chain of high quality dining houses along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad. Afterwards, with the assistance of a UV flashlight we saw a few young Bark Scorpions prowling rocks in the dark. Quite fascinating.

The two virtuals down by the river GCB609 - Grand Canyon Techno Trivia & GCGB0K - GCNP Rees' Tragedy were easily logged, if a bit somblerly for the latter. If life with a symthetic backpack on, with lightweight materials and packaged food seems difficult, it behooved the backcountry hiker to consider what life was like 80 or more years back.

Thursday morning came too soon and camp was up and on my back as I made my way about 1,500 feet up from the river, through Devil's Corkscrew, into Indian Garden. Camp set up and the mandatory photo at the sign for the GCFA7D cache and I was off to Plateau Point along perhaps the most visible trail from the South Rim. The net distance from where I had camped the night before was only 0.6 miles as the raven flies and 1,500 feet vertical, but the views spoke louder than numbers. It's a highly recommended visit about sunset for the reason of the spectacular views.

Overnight temperatures were a bit cooler and the wildlife was even more eager to share in my evening's repast. Considering the golden color of the cottonwood leaves, Winter was about to pound on the door and every last minute bit might help.

Friday morning arrived as a touch of grim reality. I hadn't much trouble with the 1,500 foot climb the day before, but this push would be over 3,000 feet up with a mostly still full pack. One virtual to acomplish about half way, while hiking switchbacks in the shade. The shade with its 40 degree temperatures is a mercy for hiking back up to the rim. I was wearing only a polypropylene shirt and fleece jacket and was quite warm. About 3 mile ??house?? I was encountering the casual day hikers who want to scamper a ways down the trail for a better view, without considering how far back up they would be going. It's a bit despairing to see people going down the trail in sneakers, carrying a sack of junk food and a tiny bottle of water or soda. Many of them will suffer on the way back up and never want to do it again, and will only hold memories of how they narrowly avoided grim death-by-extreme-chafing from their blue jeans.

I did better than I thought and emerged at the Bright Angel Trailhead at about 2 PM. A helpful tourist snapped a few pictures of me to help complete GCFA7D and I was on my way to setting up the tent for the final night, and a hot shower and dinner at the cafeteria in the market plaza.

The only down-side of the whole experience came this night as I tried to sleep after the rigors of extracting myself and belongings from the canyon and was kept awake until midnight by people in the campground with too much beer and too little sense.

All in all, it was a good trip and a lot of fun. The caches were the icing on the cake. I'd love to do it again and already am scheming to go again next year.

By DragonsWest Richard Adams

DragonsWest is a contributing author to The Online Geocacher.

Comments(2):

1. Great pictures, Thanks.

   Thursday, December 10, 2009 Marvin

2. Grand Canyon

   It's been 20 years since I last did a Grand Canyon Excursion. These photos jog the memory and stir the soul. Thanks for the inspiration!

   Monday, December 21, 2009 Kryptic