Jason and I originally planned to wake up early and catch the sunrise over the Grand Canyon, but instead we decided to sleep in and rest. We planned to hike down the Grand Canyon today, so sleep seemed more important than a sunrise. We woke up feeling refreshed and ready for the hike. We quickly showered, packed, and made our way to the hotel lobby for check-out. Jason grabbed some coffee and a green apple as I took care of the bill. At first the woman at the front desk asked if we had changed our mind about the room. We explained we already used the room and had simply arrived rather early in the morning. She nodded her head in understanding and then gave us our bill--almost got out of paying for a hotel room! Oh well, we were just happy we had a place to rest our head last night. Of all the hotels we've been to, the Red Feather Lodge may not be the prettiest but it was definitely the one we were the most thankful for.
Originally, we had only planned to spend the first night at the Yavapai Lodge and the second night at the Grand Canyon Hotel. This meant, we needed to check in to the second hotel (well, actually the third by now). We weren't sure where it was and we were very excited to see the grand canyon, so we decided to just grab some food and check in later tonight. On the way to the Grand Canyon, we stumbled across Plaza Bonita. Jason and I had been told by numerous people to eat some real Mexican food while in Arizona. So, we gave this place a shot and we were very glad we did! Below are pictures:
Us:
Jason's meal:
My meal:
Both meals came with warm, homemade corn tortillas. Couldn't have asked for a better way to start this adventure. We happily paid our bill and made our way back to our rental car. Jason and I used our phone to find directions to the Canyon, as there was no GPS in the rental. In no time, we were there. At first we had difficulty figuring out where to park, but after circling a few areas we eventually found a spot. We got out our camel backpacks and filled them with water at a nearby station. We then went into the visitor's center. I asked one of the women working there where we might find Bright Angel Trail--we had been told by numerous people that this was a lovely trail to hike. She gave us instructions and we made our way to the bus stop. Different buses (orange, blue, red, etc) take you to different areas all over the park. As we boarded the bus, we listened to a large group of elderly people discuss how much they enjoy coming to the Canyon to hike. We were extremely impressed by how physically active and in shape they were, especially for their ages. A few people tried to give up their seats so some of the elderly people could sit down, but none of them wanted to. One made a joke that if he sat, he wouldn't be able to get up. They were all very healthy and appeared to be strong--I hope I'm like that when I'm older.
Throughout the park and especially near water stations and bus stops, there were many hilarious signs warning people of dehydration. I laughed at the sign visible in the picture below:
I remember telling Jason: "Watch, I'm laughing but this will probably be me!" We chuckled again when we stumbled across another similar sign:
Jason and I went searching for the beginning of Bright Angel and found a nearby gift shop. We walked in for a moment but quickly left, realizing we were wasting time, that would have better spent on a potentially long hike. Finally, we found it. Below are pictures of our journey:
Another warning sign:
We came across quite a lot of animals on the trail, but the most common was the squirrel:
This is the view from the ledge! Quiet a drop:
Another squirrel:
A video that shows how far down everything is! Hopefully it will play:
Another video:
Another view of the drop:
One of my favorite pictures of Jason:
Me, in my A-1 outfit:
Tons of pretty flowers along the way:
Jason being Sisyphus:
The further down you go, the more the colors of the rocks change and redden:
Back at the top:
What an adventure climbing down and back up this trail was! I honestly had no idea how out of shape I was until doing this. I was amazed by all of the elderly people who were hiking the trail with ease--many of them seemed less exhausted than we were! Jason and I started out slow, enjoying the view and taking in the beautiful weather. It was hot, but windy and a very dry heat. I was amazed that I wasn't sweating--in Georgia that would happen within the first 5 minutes of being outside (not even hiking, just standing)! It honestly couldn't have been a more beautiful day. Jason and I kept drinking from our camel backpacks and we refilled at each water station we came across. The only time we noticed we were sweating was when we unhooked our backpacks to refill them. We always felt a cold chill as the back of our shirts unwrinkled and flowed in the wind. We were also amazed by how cool it was in the shade. In direct sunlight you could feel the warmth from the sun, but in the shade the temperatures would drop and even become somewhat cold. It was such a weird experience and vastly different from what we are used to. I would much rather have hot, dry weather than Georgia's uncomfortable, sticky climate.
As we walked farther down into the canyon, the light would hit the rocks in new ways, causing bursts of colors to shimmer around us. New shadows would form on the rocks as the sun would shift to the west. It was breathtakingly beautiful. We passed large groups of people chatting, people resting in solitude, and one woman who was drawing under a large rock formation. I saw lots of exhausted people but never an angry face as we traveled further into the canyon. Jason and I stopped many times to enjoy the view, refill our water, and take pictures. As the sun shifted, we began wondering when we needed to climb back to the top. We knew there wasn't enough time in the day or energy in us to make it all the way to the bottom and back again, so we decided to turn around at a large watering hole. They say it takes twice as long to get back to the top, so we tried not to rest too long. We took only a second to refill our water and sit under a shaded pavilion with fellow hikers. I watched a bird flutter above a puddle of water and softly tweet at us. Not long after it flew off, we decided to make our way back up the canyon.
On the way up, we met a mother with her two college-age sons also hiking to the top. We'd pass them as they rested, then they'd pass us as we rested, and it continued like that for most of the trip. My energy was depleting fast as we walked up the rocky path. I felt weak and my muscles were giving out. Jason was tired but still able to go at normal speed. Soon we realized I was experiencing the beginning stages of heat exhaustion. I was drinking enough fluid but we didn't bring any snacks, and I was in desperate need of something salty. We took many rest breaks as we climbed up, trying to renew my energy I started worrying I wouldn't be able to make it to the top. Jason offered to run up alone and bring back some food, but I'm stubborn and pushed through with him. It took a while and an old man almost out walked me, but we eventually made it. It was a six mile hike down and by the time we reached the top again, my fitbit said we had walked up 191 flights of stairs! To say we were exhausted was an understatement. We saw small glimpses of the sunset over the canyon, but we weren't able to stay and take pictures because we were in desperate need of food, salty food especially. We got on the bus and tried to find a place that sold something to eat, but by that point many places were closed. We went back to our car and decided to get fast food once back in town. Jason was kind enough to drive. We had difficulty figuring out how to get out of the park and ended up going in circles a few times. Luckily, we were able to catch an elk crossing. Here's a picture of one of them, but there were a good 5 or 6 around at the time. They're such large and spectacular creatures!
After saying goodbye to the elk, we eventually found the exit and drove back to where our day originally began. We then went through a McDonald's where I ordered the largest french fry possible. I ate as Jason drove to the Grand Canyon Hotel. We entered it into the GPS and were shocked to see that it was literally down the road from the hotel we stayed at the night before. We were there in less than two minutes. I finished the fries in the car and we enjoyed the air conditioning a little before going in. Finally, my energy was coming back. We checked into the hotel, dropped off our belongings, and then decided to go on the hunt for clothes and food. We realized we had a miscommunication before leaving for our trip, which resulted in some of Jason's clothes being left at home. I asked the person at the hotel desk where the nearest clothing store was. Unfortunately, she said flagstaff... a two hour drive away. We decided to get in the car and see what we could find on our own. We headed out of town, hoping to stumble across something. We saw a leather store but weren't able to find much of anything else. It was getting really dark at this point and we were both very tired and hungry, so we decided to call it quits and go eat. Since it was so late, we just went through the McDonald's drive through again. We then went back to our rooms, rested, and drifted off to sleep.
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