Ascendance: The Final Chapter

Boy, as I reread the headline it makes this sound so ominous. On the contrary; our trek out of the canyon was successful (obviously), and mostly fun.

On the 3rd day we ascended to the rim. The last day in the canyon was upon us and we planned to get up at 6AM and be out of camp by 7Am, but we forgot about daylight saving time. We used Joe's cell as an alarm clock and it was on Pacific Time, not Mountain, and it automatically converted overnight to the new time. As a result we got up later than we wanted, but oh well.

We packed up and decided to load our packs differently than we had originially. Joe loaded me up with the sleeping bags and most of our clothes. I had protein bars and some food packets in my top lid, and Joe took eveything else. He got the rest of the clothes, both sleeping pads, our fuel cans, lantern, stove, and everything esle. Plus we both had full Camelbak water 100 oz. pouches (about 8lbs each) and our full Sigg bottles with gatorade in them (made from powder mix). I know we were just as heavily laden as when we decended, but it felt so much heavier. We agreed that we would take frequent rests.

As we hikedwe found that hiking up was difficult (duh.), but the stepping motion was so much more natural than the weird controlled/jarring steps we had to use on the way down. Even though we were climbing a lot of stairs it wasn't as bad because each step was very productive and you didn't have to tense up to control your motions. Nevertheless, it was tiring and we stopped every 10-15 ft. for a few minutes rest. Check out this photo of Joe. He was suffering the most because his load was so much more than mine. I think we took maybe 5 photos on the way up. We were just too tired and were focused on getting out. Once got closer to the top and the end was in sight we took more and enjoyed the wildlife.

These are the few shots I took while resting. I was still enjoying the scenery, but the heavy pack and the aching muscles were really my immediate concern.

On our way out we saw some interesting folks. There were some monks. They had to be Catolic, dressed in full black robes, with 2 huge rosaries as a belt. These guys were hiking with nothing. No water, no packs, no food. When we asw them we were around the 3 mile mark and they were going pretty fast. I don't know where they were headed, but they didn't seem prepared for anything. Then we saw Mennonites on mules. I guess that seems about right. Taking a mule train is probably more accepted in their culture than modern hiking would be. I can't picture them buying high-tech hiking boots, fancy packs, or specialized engineered cmaping equipment.

Finally we were getting to the top. We were sooo close and I realllly had to pee. Every person who was on their way down insisted on stoppping us and quizing us on temperature, condition, distance, time taken, etc. So the last .5 mile took a lot longer than it should have.

At last. We made it and were done. I had originally planned on getting in the car and just driving straight home, but we were realllly stinky. We decided to go to Mather Campground and use the shower facilities. That was one of he best 5 minute showers I have ever had.

Now that we were clean we felt we could reenter society and decided to hit the gift shop to buy "I Hiked the Grand Canyon" t-shirts to commemorate the accomplishment. They just opened a new visitor center, but you can't drive to it. You have to park and walk or take the shuttle bus.

We parked in lot B at Market Plaza and set off on the path to Canyon View Information Plaza. The information guide said the walk was only 300 yards. Yeah right. Signs on the trail said it was .8 miles! So we just got finished hiking 20 miles over the last 3 days, and now were walking 1 more mile to buy a t-shirt? Maybe the lactic acid build up in our muscles had finally reached our brains. That last .8 mile was long and I was walking like I had just gotten off a horse. We finally got to the visitor center, but guess what. No t-shirts. The lady said the general store in Market Plaza has a wide selection. That is back where we parked!!!

The hell with walking back. I don't care how long the shuttle ride takes, I am sitting down. So we amble over to the shuttle bus pick up area and find some others waiting for a ride.

There was a whole family of elk just hanging out by the buses. They were munching on grasses and kinda looking at us, but not at all afraid or interested in what we humans were doing.

The bus ride turned out to be only 5 minutes and we were back at the car. We were still on a quest for our commemorative t-shirts so we hit the general store and bought our trophies. We got in the car and looked at each other and said, welp. I guess our work here is done.

We hit the road and waved goodbye to the GC. It was a great adventure and I'm glad we did it. Joe ushered in a new era of adulthood and we accomplished a significant feat. I am kinda proud of us.