Grand Canyon Hike, Round 2

I was able to take the second memorable trip of my life to the Grand Canyon two weekends past, October 25-27.  (I say "memorable" because I was 7 the first time I went, and all I remember was my mother yelling at me to stay away from the edge.) I've been waiting to do this ever since I left after my last trip, when I hiked to the bottom and back in two days May 2012.

To me, the Grand Canyon is a symbol of rest, refuge and close knit friendship. Every time I've gone,

May 2012

I've been with people I love dearly, and we've always had a challenging and beautiful time. Not to mention, I believe the Grand Canyon is the single finest specimen of God’s creation, aside from the soul.

This trip was only partially planned. It had been in the works since late September, but when the government shutdown occurred, we were hesitant to make camping reservations or to even solidify our plans.

My roommate can tell you just how excited I was when the government finally opened back up, when I realized that in fewer than 10 days I would be hiking in the most peaceful place on earth.

Granted, this trip was not without its roadblocks. We only drove one car up, and due to a lack of planning, didn’t even know whose car we were going to take until the night before (Ben thought I was driving, I thought he was driving…)

Ultimately, Ben elected to drive, and so we embarked upon a grand adventure to Flagstaff at noon on Friday the 25^th, which really means we left Phoenix at 2:30 pm. We arrived at our friend Melody’s apartment at 5 pm, where we planned to sleep on the floor.

Our night in Flagstaff consisted of a trip to Sprouts and to Bookmans, where Ben and I both did our first live open-mic poetry readings. I’m not sure if I’ll ever do that again. I felt like I did before my first big swim meet—nervous beyond consolation. We returned to Melody’s and cooked dinner, and got ready for bed. Once we were all in our pajamas, we realized we had forgotten to put the parking pass in Ben’s car. He came back after trying to put the pass in his car and informed us that the car had been towed.

One hour and $230 later, we were all asleep and ready to hike the next morning. This is why I always factor $50 emergency money into a trip plan, because sometimes emergencies happen, and good friends help friends pay towing fees.

October 2013

Due to the late night car-fetching activities, we didn't leave for the Grand Canyon until 8:30 on Saturday, but we were able to hike down beginning at 10:30 am.

At first, I was incredibly apprehensive to make it to Indian Gardens. The sign at the Bright Angel Trailhead says it is not advised for hikers to try to go down and back in one day, and that it likely would take eight hours (or longer) to reach Indian Gardens and head back up.

Before I knew it, we were at the three mile rest house. I felt fine. I was fine, even if my toe was a little sore. I’d already made it three miles; of course I could make it another one and a half.

All five of us—Ben, Jon, Melody, Marty and me—made it down to Indian Gardens at about 12:45 pm, safe and sound. It was there that I said goodbye to everyone when they continued on to Plateau Point (a mile and a half farther). I sat, ate a sandwich, journaled, shot photos, and enjoyed the shade offered by tall, green trees. At 1:30, I headed back up by myself, can of coconut water in hand.

I should sell C2O this photo.

How amazing is it that we live in a time where we can enjoy natural refreshment from the coast in the bottom of a land-locked canyon? Pretty amazing. I enjoyed every sip of that coconut water.

My hike out was spent in prayerful contemplation, drinking in the beauty that surrounded me. Seriously. It completely amazes me that I can enjoy pine trees, red rocks, gravel rocks, bushes and cacti in such close proximity to each other.

You really have to respect the Grand Canyon. Even if you’re in shape, you need to enter the canyon with the mindset “I am physically capable of doing this. Even so, I know it’s going to eat me up and spit me out and I’m going to be sore as hell tomorrow.”

It took me exactly an hour to get from Indian Gardens to the three mile rest house, then 50 minutes to get from the three mile rest house to the one-and-a-half mile resthouse (I really had to use the restroom.) The final mile and a half was taken at a leisurely pace—one mile an hour. I took photos and stopped to watch the shadows set in over the canyon, wondering where my friends were.

I was really happy to see them.

Twenty minutes after I reached the rim, everyone else surfaced as well. Tired and hungry, we headed back to Flagstaff, with a stop for donuts (both the edible type and the I-lost-control-of-my-car type).

I don’t remember much about that night, except for the fact that I fell asleep before the brownies Melody cooked were even out of the oven. I must have fallen asleep before 10 pm.

I woke up slightly sore at 7:30 Sunday morning, and dressed for church. After church, Ben, Jon and I adventured around Flagstaff, looking at the usual music and book shops. We ate food and pumpkin sweets galore at Melody’s, then hit up Firecreek Coffee’s new Flagstaff location before leaving the town.

Stickin' my head out the window.

We took the Oak Creek Canyon 89A through Sedona, because Ben had never been to Sedona before. (Of course that means we decided we’re going to Slide Rock someday.)

We stopped at the Chapel of the Holy Cross outside of Sedona, right at sunset. The golden hour lighting mixed with the naturally red rocks made for a beautiful photo. I had never been inside the chapel before, and my breath was taken away by the views provided by

Babyhood friends.

As we left Sedona, we went to Firecreek Coffee’s original location south of Sedona and met Ryder, the barista. He let us know that Firecreek does coffee cuppings every Friday at 3 pm. I’m filing that in the back of my mind as a future weekend adventure.

Ben, Jon and I ended our restful weekend Sunday night at Lux, where we met Raquel, talked about our trips (she went to DC) and proceeded to do at least two hours’ worth of homework. Ah, the life of a college student.