Grand Canyon

We spent two nights at Grand Canyon North Rim. It was really nice to not have to drive for a day, or hurriedly pack up camp early in the morning. The first day, we took a hike that was relatively easy. It was a mile and half each way, so round trip about three miles. Really beautiful views, and the terrain wasn’t too difficult.



After our hike, we hung out a little bit at the campsite, had dinner, made a fire, and just relaxed for a while. We enjoyed ourselves making fun of the large group of 10-11 year old children at a nearby site, probably some sort of summer camp or something.



Next day, we set off pretty early for a much longer, and much more strenuous hike. The Kaibab Trail, or as it should be called, the Mule Shit Trail, was intense. It is a 4 mile round trip hike down into the canyon and then back up, which is frequented not only by hikers, but packs of mules carrying tourists. The first three quarters of a mile or so is literally covered in mule crap, only occasionally broken up by large and smelly puddles of mule piss. Nothing motivates you to move quickly like the smell of mule excrement, not to mention the hordes of flies buzzing around them. Gross.



Aside from that though, it was a good hike. The way down is relatively easy, it doesn’t seem too steep, and, as it was still morning, the heat wasn’t too much of a problem yet. Also, the views were incredible. It’s a damn big canyon.



At the bottom is Supai Tunnel, a manmade tunnel in the rock. It’s pretty cool. We took a little break, enjoying the view and some tasty snacks, before resuming the hike and beginning our ascent.



Now this was the hard part. The trail, which seemed relatively level on the way down, is actually incredibly steep. And at 11 or 12 o’clock in the afternoon, the sun is blazing hot. Two miles uphill is not as easy as you might think. Due to my short legs, my lack of will power, and the fact that I am extremely out of shape, we had to take quite a few short breaks. I made it in the end, and as much as my legs hated me for it, it was worth it.



We hurried to the showers, which was a good thing because I think we were both probably starting to smell really bad at that point, and then went back to camp to have lunch and be lazy for the rest of the day. Not much else eventful happened, we just ate, drank, and relaxed by the fire. The next morning, we headed out for New Mexico.







* On another note, I just want to express that the Petrified Forest in Arizona is bullshit. Don’t waste your time.