Get Down

Dr. and Ms. Cantabloggia on the South Rim just before the start of the hike

Hiking the Grand Canyon presented Cantabloggia with a number of firsts. First time I'd seen the Canyon any closer than from the window of a commercial airliner at 35,000 feet. First time I'd hiked in a desert for more than a day hike. First time I'd camped overnight at a campsite with no water supply.

Starting out on the South Rim, our first day's hike was fairly short, dropping down from 7300 feet at Lipan Point to a camp at the top of the Redwall, at about 5000 feet. Our route was the Tanner Trail, which has no access to water until you reach the Colorado river, at about 2600 feet, which we would not do until lunch on the second day. So, we each carried about 7 litres of water to start. Since I weight about 25% more than Christy, and am a bit more co-ordinated on the steep downhills, we quickly realized that we'd all be happier if we moved some water from her pack to mine, so we moved over 4 liters to take me up to 11. That's about 24 pounds. I also had 8 pounds of food and who knows how much other stuff - probably the total was close to 60lb. Without a doubt the heaviest pack I've ever carried. Another first.

We hiked for about 2 hours without really taking much of a break, and we were getting hungry, but having packed all our food in wire mesh bags (ratsaks - the purpose of which is apparent from the name) we found that we couldn't get a snack without totally unpacking. We wouldn't make that mistake again. By the time we stopped for lunch at 1:30 or so our fine breakfast at El Tovar was a distant memory, but the setting for lunch made up for a lot, at the head of 75-mile canyon. It was one of the first really open views we'd had all day.

Lunch Day 1, 75-mile canyon in the background

Another couple of hours and we were at our first night's campsite, the accurately if unimaginatively named "Top of Redwall Camp". For those unfamiliar with Canyon geology, the layers of the Canyon all have names (more on this later) and Redwall is one that tends to provide flat areas above it and steep descents to cross it. Getting down the Redwall would be our first task on Day 2.

View from Top of Redwall camp

Between lunch and reaching our campsite, we passed a couple who were attempting to hike up from the river to the rim in one day. It was already after 3pm and they were not much more than half way up. The woman was sick from the heat (it was apparently very hot lower down, as we would discover the next day) and they had left her pack behind to try to make better progress. Oddly, they had also left some of their water, and were now running low. Making our best estimate of what we could afford to give away, we gave them about a litre from our supplies. They declined any other offer of help, but a few minutes later we were talking about whether we had done enough for them, and decided to call the rangers on our rented satellite phone. (Carrying this was another first for me, and I would take it again in a heartbeat.) After we'd told them about the couple, they thanked us, and said that they would monitor the situation but not send help (since it wasn't requested by the couple). All I can say at this point is that we didn't hear anything about the couple on our return, so they must have been OK, although I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up sleeping an extra night in the Canyon. I think the couple were at an early stage in their relationship, and I suspect they might also be near the end of it now.

Full set of photos here. More stories to come.