A long standing tradition was broken this morning—we left camp by 9:30a; shattering our normal start time of 10:30. Brian walked out of camp with us for about ¼ mile and we said our good byes trail side. I turned back and took a picture of Brian sitting dejected on the trail side wondering what to do now that he’d been left behind. I can only imagine it was very akin to how Tom Hanks’ character felt when he came ashore in “Cast Away”. I just hope he doesn’t end up having to pull his own tooth tonight before he is rescued tomorrow.
This was a tough walk! There are no level spots or declines, it’s a pretty steady slog with an 800’/mile gain. We did run across a trail crew in action making improvements. The NPS does an excellent job of maintaining the corridor trails because they are multiuse for hikers and mule trains. Even on cliff faces, I always felt safe and stable. We extended our thanks to the trail crew for all of their hard work.
As we were hiking up, in between wheezes, we talked about bringing Chris’ daughters here in the near future. We were considering having them ride a mule train down and up to Indian Garden since the hike is probably way too much for them at their present age. Just as we had decided this is what we would do, we came upon a mule train. As we stepped off the trail for them to pass, we watched as a mule tripped and tossed the old guy riding him over his head. Thankfully, he wasn’t hurt, but we decided to skip the mule train idea and wait until the girls are old enough to hike down under their own power.
The trail got very noticeably more crowded the higher we climbed. Chris was constantly stopping to help people, talk, and take their pictures for them. Once we passed 1 ½ Mile Resthouse, it was a steady stream of people. Pam and I had to stop and use the facilities but Chris didn’t want to climb up to the Resthouse because her knees were hurting so she stayed down on the trail. Pam and I were wondering if Chris was really this nice? I think the exact words were “How can anyone be that nice? It’s kind of sickening, really.” We were so focused on just climbing that we couldn’t spare the energy for anyone/anything else and here was Chris, in pain from her knees, but always willing to help a stranger. Chris always puts herself last in situations even when she isn’t asked. Every couple of years, she reaches a breaking point and gets upset with people taking advantage of her but then she resets after her minute of exasperation and is good to go for another couple years.
Between the tunnels, we had gained enough elevation to lose the protection of the canyon. The wind really picked up and it got cold. By the time we got to the upper tunnel, there were snow flurries in the air. All 3 of us were getting tired and hungry by now. We popped up out of the Canyon and headed to the Kolb Studio to get National Park Passports and get them stamped. After putting on all of our extra clothes, we headed to the car at the backcountry center. This was the longest, coldest part of our hike and we were already done. We wanted to get some lunch and hit the road because we had reservations at the Havasupai Lodge tomorrow evening in Supai Village so we could go to Havasu Falls.
The electricity was out in Tusayan so all the restaurants were closed. We went back into the park to grab some lunch in the village. The electricity was out there, too, but they would still serve food as long as we payed cash.
Now that our bellies were full, we did the unthinkable, and got in the car for a couple hour drive to get closer to Supai Village. It looked like our best bet would be Seligman on Route 66. Hiking down the GC is walking back in geologic time, driving to Seligman is like going back in cultural time. Chris rented us a hotel, The Canyon Lodge, which had 2 double beds. We went in, had a pack explosion, got cleaned up, and then went out for supper at Lilo’s for a great greasy burger and fries from the ‘50s. Fortunately, the food was only served ‘50s style and was very yummy. Back to the hotel and an early night since we were all having trouble keeping our heads up while eating. I can’t say for sure if Pam or Chris snored because I was asleep before the last woman was done in the bathroom.
