Hey everyone! Good to be back with an exciting trip. Lots of pictures, so I'll try to keep the words brief.
Last week I had a great trip to Phoenix for a conference on PLCs (Professional Learning Communities). This image captures the general idea: why have every teacher take on their challenges alone when we could work together to figure out how to best achieve student learning? It was great, I learned a lot!
Our second night, a group of us climbed Camelback Mountain just East of downtown Phoenix. It was a beautiful climb, and even though we were pushing the limit in terms of daylight, the sunset was absolutely beautiful.
A few of our team from EHS on the way down.
We finished on Friday at noon. I jumped right into a rental car and headed North. I took a detour through the Oak Creek Canyon.
Sedona is absolutely beautiful. The red color of the rocks is fantastic.
The rental company gave me a treat. I got to drive this Mercedes E Class all weekend. It was a very fun car to drive.
After puttering through the Oak Creek Canyon I continued North on 64 for the big guy.
My first view of the canyon is the only one that most tourists see. The visitor center on the South Rim runs right up to Mather Point where I stopped for the sunset on Friday night.
I didn't see any spectacular sunsets or sunrises as far as the colors in the sky are concerned, but the colors in the canyon come alive during these times of day. Nature is incredible.
Sunrise on Saturday morning, again from Mather Point.
I had put my name on a waiting list to stay at the bottom of the canyon Saturday night and got good news early Saturday morning: they had a spot! So my plan was to go down Kaibab on Saturday and back up Bright Angel (the more popular trail) on Sunday.
Kaibab was built with one purpose: get to the bottom as quickly as possible. The views are spectacular, but you're on switchbacks nearly the entire time. The first mile or so had snow on it, lots of people had added traction on their boots.
The thing I liked about Kaibab was that the view changed frequently. This is what we had for the first couple miles. I can think of worse things to look at.
It's well-known that the South Kaibab trail has absolutely no drinking water available. There are signs like these two consistently on the trail. I had done lots of research and was well-prepared. You're welcome, Mom :)
The size of this thing is ridiculous. I can't believe that erosion and a little river were able to cause such an awesome canyon.
Considering all the horror stories about people getting lost or falling, I found some hiking buddies. Eric, Jason, and Sophia were my downward companions.
Here are Eric and Jason, father and son. They do a lot of hiking together. Jason goes to Duke, who Notre Dame just beat in the ACC division tournament. Go Irish! Sorry, Jason.
Speaking of Jason, he made a great video of our hike using his go pro. Check it out here if you want to take a look!
A new view! The colors became more red as we descended.
This gives you an idea of the switchbacks we were dealing with. I'm glad I didn't come back up the same way I went down.
We passed a few mule trains on the way down. This is how everyone entered and left the canyon when tourism became big in the early 1900s. I prefer to walk.
The trail cut into dark red sandstone as we continued to descend. I love that color.
Eventually the river came into view and we could see the bridges that cross connecting the South side to the North.
The "Black Bridge", just visible in this picture, was constructed in 1928. Most parts were carried down by mule but the cables were too long and had to be hiked down on the shoulders of workers.
These mules were carrying trash and duffel bags for people who didn't want to carry their stuff. $68 for 30 pounds of gear. I prefer to get the workout.
Another view of the black bridge. I love how it goes right into a tunnel. I'm very curious about how they decided to put the trail in this location. I'm sure lots of planning went into it, but it seems like it was a tough place to put it.
...or the mules will eat your sign.
Phantom Ranch was a welcome sight after about 5 hours of hiking. They have cabins, dorms, running water, food, and anything else you'd want after a day of hiking. They had plenty of extra space (read: even though Phantom Ranch books solid 13 months in advance, you can almost always get a bed day-of, just check in at Bright Angel Lodge in the morning) so Jason and Eric abandoned their camping idea and opted for beds.
This is the dining hall. I love the look of this place, Mary Colter did a great job designing it. She did several of the buildings in the park.
Lots of rafters stop to stay at Phantom Ranch as well. The boat beach was one of the reasons this location was so attractive to the first explorers who floated the river. There is also a beautifully clear creek, Bright Angel Creek, that flows right past camp.
There were signs everywhere that said swimming is dangerous due to the current and cold temperature of the water.
(repeat readers know where this is going...)
So of course I went swimming.
The spot right off the beach was very calm, almost no current at all. The water was definitely cold, but warmer than the lakes in Patagonia.
Since we started out so early in the morning, we had plenty of time to do some exploring outside the ranch in the afternoon. This is the Clear Creek Trail up the North side. I love the color of the trees above Bright Angel Creek. An orchard and several gardens were planted by the first people to make camp here around 1900.
The first thing I noticed about the Clear Creek Trail was that the cacti grow right on top of the trail. Definitely no mules on this one. It would hurt to run into one of these.
We had a beautiful viewpoint where we turned around on the Clear Creek Trail. I would have loved to have been up here for sunset but dinner time got in the way.
There were deer all over camp, and they weren't shy at all.
Dinner was great. A big steak, and I even ate the potato. I needed the calories.
They also had beer at the bottom. I was quite impressed with the operation they run at Phantom Ranch considering everything is packed in on mules.
The sun went out of view long before sunset considering how low we were, but the colors on the East canyon wall were beautiful long after it was gone.
Here's a view toward the West. As I said, no spectacular colors in the sky, the big story was the rocks looking in the other direction.
I got a very early start on Sunday morning, well before sunrise. I had to be back to Phoenix in time for my flight at 6 p.m. and some doubted that I'd make it. I snapped this picture about an hour or so after I started, it was just starting to get light.
I was very focused on getting out quickly, so I didn't take many pictures on the way up. The view remained relatively constant, I was just able to see further across as I ascended.
They have a rest house at 3 miles from the top and another at 1.5 miles. Since lots of less serious hikers give this trail a shot, there are lots of logical "turnaround" points. At each one there are lots of signs warning hikers to know their limits.
The sun! I only had it for about 30 seconds on my entire hike up, otherwise it was hiding behind the canyon wall.
After getting a little higher I wanted to take a picture of the only switchback on the entire trail where I could see the sun. I think if I had started 15 minutes earlier that I wouldn't have seen it until I got to the rim.
There are two tunnels cut into the rock close to the top, more turnaround points for hikers that only want to drop a bit below the rim.
The trail near the top was very slick, it hardly ever sees the sun. I can see how it would be discouraging to descend on this trail at the beginning.
I made it out in 4 hours. I was hoping for 6 or less, so it was a pleasant surprise.
I had extra time, so I hopped on a shuttle heading West to Hermit's Rest.
Named for the spot where backpackers stop to rest before descending Hermit's Trail into the canyon, it's now a beautiful little gift shop.
Another Colter building, it looks like it emerges right out of the hill. Colter wanted it to look like someone had built it using only what they could find, and she definitely achieved that look.
The interior is just as beautiful. Lots of rocks and hand-carved furniture.
I love the mix of wood and stone.
The view from Hermit's Rest is great too. Those long spires point to the river and to three sets of rapids that are notorious for flipping rafts. They call this formation the Tower of Ra because Ra was the Egyptian god who was always victorious.
After returning to my car I drove out on the Desert View Highway to the East to see my final views of the canyon. This is Grandview Point, the former location of a giant hotel and a copper mine down on Horseshoe Mesa, seen here.
The second stop was Moran Point where you can easily see the Sinking Ship, dead center in this picture. It looks like it's sinking downward from left to right.
Look at those colors! This portion is called the Red Canyon with good reason.
Lipan Point, a spot where I could see the most of the canyon at one time, I think. I'm so amazed at the expanse of this thing.
Desert View Tower, another Colter creation. It's modeled after a Hopi watchtower and has all kinds of Hopi art inside.
It also offers great views. These cliffs extend out to where the canyon begins to the East.
That mesa that looks out-of-place has some of the only rock that isn't sandstone in the canyon. Deposited millions of years before the sandstone, it has stood the test of time.
My final view of the canyon, looking West from Desert View Tower. I'm so glad I had this great opportunity to see such a massive feat of nature, and I feel like I only saw a small portion of it. I hope to go back someday to raft the river so I can see it all from top to bottom!
