I took over FIVE HUNDRED pictures on this trip. As such, perhaps you can appreciate why it's so hard to narrow down the blog to just a few pictures each time.
To ensure a bed at the Phantom Ranch, you really should make your reservations about 8 or more months in advance. Frank called for our reservations in February and got three beds for us in early April - talk about lucky!
But first, HERE is a good website for in-depth information on the lodge and all other things related to the Grand Canyon hikes. The Official Reservation system is through Xanterra and can be found HERE. I'm in the process, kinda, of making reservations for next April 2009 for Dana and me.
Now, for our stay at the bottom. Our cabin was the first of the row. It looked about like any old church camp cabin you might run across.
We arrived WEARY and GRATEFUL to have made it down. I'd like to romanticize the notion but in fact we were pretty doggone worn out. Our 'fiftysomething' companion Ted verified his true grit by hiking all the way down with a knee that hurt so bad most would have given up. For the most part he couldn't even bend his leg and yet he made it down about five miles in this condition. The shower was amazing and it felt incredibly good to get cleaned up before dinner.
You have two options for dinner: beef stew or steak. Steak is served at the early sitting around 1700hrs and stew comes at 1830 (or thereabouts). Vegetarian stew is an option as well but...really? :-)
Here we are all lined up outside the dining room waiting for dinner to be served.
As you can see, it's all served family style and all the goods are passed around as you request. It was a lot of fun and a great experience to share with a host of complete strangers. Plus, the stew was GOOOOOOOD (I suspect at this point we would have been happy to chew on an ol' leather boot if it was salted appropriately). Our standards for sustenance were not particularly high.
Here is a closeup of the stew and salad. TASTY!
After dinner we went back to the room for a few minutes to arrange gear a little for the next day. We actually debated whether to walk around again before bed and I can't believe we even considered not. Fatigue can cause you to make bad decisions. I would have really regretted it had we not walked to the might Colorado.
My memory of the Colorado ---- ICE WATER. I can't even believe how cold the water was.
Admittedly, I am a cold water wimp. I can't even really enjoy Oklahoma lakes until well into summer. This water was SO cold. Because Ted's knee was hurting so bad, and because he's tough as nails to begin with, he spent alot of time kneeled down in the water. He's actually well over 6 feet tall and it looks like he's standing in a hole. In this picture I am about to cry due to pain from the cold water but I faked it long enough for a smile and a picture.In the background you can see the bridge that leads to a tunnel through part of the canyon. Over my left shoulder is a group of people who are rafting through the canyon on a guided trip.
Here is a picture of how I really felt about the cold water. It was taken right after the calm looking picture of me in the water with Ted.
Here is a picture of our bunk house and some advice if you ever stay in one.
TAKE EAR PLUGS! The 'old dudes' can really snore and you won't be getting any sleep no matter how tired you are in a space this small with snoring that loud. One of the guys in our cabin was 74 years old and he had just hiked down the day before and was heading back out the next day.I almost forgot to tell you about the stars. Oh man, the stars! I grew up in the country where the stars were so very bright. Yet, I don't know that I've ever seen a night sky like the one from the bottom of the canyon. It was incredible and a privilege to experience.
One more picture of me on my bunk and Frank on the bottom bunk.
The next morning I walked around a little before breakfast. The Bright Angel Creek was running strong due to spring melt out of the mountains.
It sure made for a nice quiet place to sit and soak it all in before everyone started emerging from their cabins.
There are two breakfasts served and we opted for the latter which I think was at 0615 or 0630. Being a hardcore breakfast eater I have to compliment the cooks. Breakfast was fantastic and the bacon especially tasty. The lady in red hiked down the night before with her sister who was seated next to me. The guy in the black on the bottom right of the picture spent an extra night at the lodge and day-hiked around the canyon trails in his off day. The only thing I can really remember about him was that his portable XM satellite radio had dead batteries and he could only talk about whatever sporting event he had missed as a result!
Here is a shot of the canyon as the sunrise just started to illuminate it from the east. It was a beautiful start to a day which only grew more fantastic as we made our way out on the 10-mile Bright Angel trail hike! More to come...stay tuned.
Finally, I leave you with one of my favorite pictures from the top of the canyon. I'm honestly kind of surprised that the National Park Service would allow a scripture posted publicly like this. Perhaps it's nothing more than part of the privately owned souvenir shop. Nonetheless, it is completely appopriate for the setting. Click on the picture for a larger view.
The verse is Psalm 104:24 and says this: "O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches." The prayer below it says: Father Almighty, wonderful Lord,
Wondrous Creator, be ever adored;
Wonders of nature
sing praises to You,
Wonder of wonders -
I may praise you too!
The initials are "MB"
but alas it ain't me!
1 comment:
I scanned down to read all of your Grand Canyon entries. Funny, we took some of the same pictures! (from the rim only) We decided we would take the boys on a hike into the canyon in a few (10) years!
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