Travels of Bob & Sharon: April 2013

Entering Grand Canyon South, we were struck with the difference in terrain from Grand Canyon West. Grand Canyon West was wide-open hot and bare dusty land, with a clear view of the canyon almost from the moment we entered the area, while Grand Canyon National Park relinquished no such views..coveting the view by shrouding the edges of the canyon in wonderful green trees. We parked the van at the Visitor's Centre, picked up all the material needed for this special experience, then walked a little trail, a few hundred feet through a forest and suddenly the canyon was upon us. Gasp-worthy, we stood in awe of the most amazing sight that we have experienced to date. Those of you who are following this blog, and who have experienced the beauty and size of the first view of the canyon know what I am talking about, and those of you who have never set foot on this magical place, can only imagine the wonders seen here. Early explorers described this place as a complete waste of space, a vast wasteland where nothing lives and nothing can live. Nothing can be further from the truth. Visiting Grand Canyon West, we were able to spot what appeared to be, tiny toy helicopters flying in the canyon. Here, we couldn't even see the helicopters, the canyon is so vast. The canyon is 257 miles long, east to west and spans 21 miles from the south to the north rim. The depth ranges from 5000 - 6000 feet on the south rim, to up to 12,000 feet on the north.

Grand Canyon is the sacred home of the Indian people.

Ancient and beautiful trees

We felt completely suspended in time and space...cautious and yet
unafraid...

In these magnificent and sacred places, there always seems to be the presence
of those who choose to embrace the environment they are experiencing, by meditating. Look
closely and you will see two individuals who found their private space.

Part of trail that we will take on our mules tomorrow.

Along the rim, and where there were no other tourists, we saw a young couple standing
and hugging, overlooking a vista. We joined them, said "hello", then immediately felt intrusive because the young
woman, Emily, was crying as she hugged the young man, Patrick. We stepped away from them and Emily blew away
our discomfort by asking if we would take a photo of them. She said "Patrick just proposed to me here, on this very spot and you are the first to know. We are so happy that you came along and we can share the news." It was a fun experience and perfect timing. He's from Iowa and she from New York City.

Fresh, clear, cold water from the Colorado River, free
of charge.

Hopi architecture

Hard to believe that Phantom Ranch is down there, somewhere
in those deep crevices.

Uranium mines - an never-ending blight on the land and
an eternal clean-up. It's a world-wide issue. Take what you want
and leave the cleanup to the poor beggars who care.

Grand Canyon train runs from Williams, Arizona to Grand Canyon

We found the mule corral and checked out all the mules for our trip
the next day....make friends with all of them and everyone will be happy...
....we think......

One of the mule-skinners has a very lovely vehicle...and we saw
him swan by our campsite in Grand Canyon Trailer Village Park but
do not know which lucky wrangler owns this beautiful beast.

The day prior to our descent to Phantom Ranch from the South Rim, we report to Xanterra at Bright Angel Lodge, to weigh-in and determine if we meet all criteria to take the mule ride into the canyon. The rules are:

. You must be over 4 ft 7 inches

. You must weigh less than 200 lbs

. You must be height/weight proportionate

This is Steve...one of the BIG bosses at Xanterra and not shy about telling it like it is. He said that if we had:

. An abnormal fear of heights

. An abnormal fear of large animals

- A propensity to ignoring directions

- An inability to understand and speak the English language

then, we would dismount, have our money refunded and, it was suggested, should pick up a t-shirt that read "Almost

made it to the bottom of Grand Canyon on a mule" and leave without another thought. We were instructed that we would be travelling on very narrow ledges where our mules heads would be out over the canyon while our arses would be on the ledge, we would not take photo's or try to arrange or remove clothing, or drink water or dismount without being invited to do so. The rules were brutal and for a very good reason. We were descending over 5000 feet on the most precarious ledges we have ever experienced....if we valued our lives, we would pay attention. 5 million people visit Grand Canyon every year and only 1% make it to the bottom of the canyon and back to the top.

Each year, over 300 people, have to be air-lifted out of the canyon. Their physical profile is shocking. They are young, fit , run marathons and triathlons and yet ignore the most basic instructions....drink at least 1 gallon of water and take it easy! They dehydrate because they think they are invincible, run marathons on a regular basis, and are extremely healthy. This is the desert and this is life or death.

Nine of us mounted our mules to descend into the Canyon. One of our members was a man in his early 70's who had had a dream for years to take this trip. He lost 130 lbs over several years, to achieve this goal. When he weighed in on our weigh-in date, he was 194 lbs. He had never even rode a horse before, so he had many reasons to be proud that he made the trip.

Seat-belt secured and ready to go...Shelby and Bob head out from
the rim to the trail

There were 9 of us with varying experience in riding horses.
No one had experience riding mules.

From the corral we take a tunnel out onto the narrow ledges

We exit through the tunnel and look at the trail that we are about
to experience. We are told that our mules recall every step
of the 5 hour trip. If a backpack or rock should be in the way on the
trail, our mules will stop and not budge until the offending rock/pack/whatever,
is removed.

Several hundred feet below the rim, Simon, our Navajo wrangler,
stops on the trail to bless our journey with the Navajo Guardian prayer, in both
Navajo and English. Simon does this on every trip and it is incredibly
emotional. The temperatures up on the rim were chilly and here, only a few
hundred feet below the rim, it was getting hot.

Simon left a hand-written copy of the prayer and two mule shoes to bless our home at the stables, and we picked them up when we returned to Grand Canyon Village. He had written the prayer in Navajo and gave us a loose translation in English:

I respect this place because I am a native. The Keeper of the Canyon will keep us safe, all the way down to Phantom Ranch, and all the way back out, and will continue to protect you on your journey home. God bless all of us.

Look closely and you will see the profile of the Keeper of the Canyon

Following amazingly steep slopes and increasing temperatures,
we arrive at Indian Gardens, an hour and a half after leaving the South Rim.
We are allowed a 20 minutes break for lunch. We were warned as we dismounted,
to "find your legs before you take a step" and I was shocked to discover
that although my legs felt fine while still mounted, they almost collapsed under me when I dismounted. The ride down into the canyon is muchworse than the ride up, using every muscle in the lower back and from the waist down.

My lovely TC (left) and Bob's gorgeous Shelby, the largest mule of the group (right) - taking
a break. Did you know that mules, like elephants, never forget us?
We can approach these animals years from now and they will remember us...just
like elephants!

Such a beautiful and unimaginable oasis at Indian Gardens,
an hour and a half below the rim.

At last, after 5 hours of riding, we arrive at the bottom of the canyon, at
Phantom Ranch. This place has not changed since it was built in the
early 1920's. Rustic, quiet and peaceful, it was a wonderful haven
for we dusty travellers. Bob and I both slept 12 hours each night with
breezes blowing through the cabin.

Our Park Ranger, Lisa, teaches us all about the California Condor.
20 years ago it was extinct due to pesticides, other toxins and hunters.. The argument began that nature should take it's course and that the condor should remain extinct. The opposing argument was that man caused the
extinction, and that man should put it right. Millions of dollars have been spent to renew
the condor's habitat. Today, there are 75 condors in the canyon. The greatest threat today is lead...from bullets
that hunters use to kill deer...condor being scavengers, they ingest lead from the meat and are dead within a very short period of time. The ranger's point is that hunters cannot eliminate the lead poisoning in the meat they use...no matter how much they try, and that we are all vulnerable to the toxins in the bullets if we eat animals that have been killed with these bullets. Arizona began giving hunters boxes of copper bullets which are much more expensive than lead and that has helped to reduce the deaths by toxins. 7 condors have died already this year..not all from lead poisoning, but the majority which begged the question, if the success rate of transitioning hunters to copper bullets is 85%, why are condors being contaminated? The answer is that neighbouring states have no such program and the condors are venturing further for their meals. And no, I didn't grab this beautiful shot, although we did see a couple of them way above us on our way into the canyon...I "borrowed" it from a National Geographic site.

Phantom Ranch - a fabulous oasis far away from everything.

Our rustic cabin...exactly as it was almost 100
years ago..

Bob and our terrific guide Simon...a very spiritual man

Sunrise on the mountains

I arrived at the Phantom Ranch Corral to say "goodbye" to Simon, Ed
and our fellow travellers, who stayed only one night at the ranch.
Simon and Ed were already at it, making jokes at 7:15 a.m.

Saying "goodbye" to our wonderful guides...the best guides!

This little cutie showed up

The two day break healed our sore butts and we can't
imagine what it was like for these fellow riders who only
stayed one night.

After breakfast, Bob and I went for a 2 hour hike up the canyon
from Phantom Ranch. Along the way, we saw very old telegraph poles.

Arriving at the top of the ridge, overlooking Phantom Ranch, Bob decided that he
needed to do some yoga to work out the kinks from the previous day's ride. On this bench
of natural stone, he did his Cat asana

His Cow asana

Child's Pose

A bit of Yin

And best of all...his "let it all hang out" asana

Uh oh...rockslide...RUNNNN!!!!

Spotting someone on Boat Beach on the Colorado River

Yikes! We have to take Devil's Corkscrew out of
here tomorrow??? Holy Doodle!!!

By 10 a.m. it was very hot and we decided to return to the ranch.
Another couple who were on the ride with us hiked for 6 hours in
the heat of the day without enough water supply and they both
became dehydrated and felt ill the rest of the day.

Visiting my baby mule...TC in the corral. Know what? He
did remember me and approached as I called out to him!

Shelby remembered Bob as well!

The next group of riders arrive with the wranglers who will escort
us out of the canyon the next morning.

We checked out the sound of a helicopter and learned
that the water lines that carry water from the North Rim and
supply all water to Phantom Ranch and the South Rim, had a break.
The heli and crew were here to fix the problems and get water running again. Look closely
and you will see the bundle of material that the helicopter was dropping off for the fix.
Helicopters are only used when absolutely necessary and almost everything is either
dropped or lifted this way...probably with the exception of broken people or mules.

We came in on Bright Angel Trail and leave on South
Kaibab Trail. North Kaibab would take us to the North Rim.

The beach on the Colorado River with the bridge we came in on (and will leave
on) in the background. There is another beautiful bridge close-by and hikers
use it to cross the river to Phantom Ranch. Problem is that mules will not cross
bridges when they can see water through the structure...and so....we used the furthest bridge,
adding an hour to our travel time. People who experience river rafting and kayaking,
pull in here to stay at the ranch.

Imagine hiking down (and up) the Grand Canyon, for 5 hours plus,
carrying gallons of water AND a tent...then arriving at the bottom, setting
up the tent, then cooking your own bloody dinner! I have such incredible respect
for these intrepid hikers....a bit nuts, but to be respected all the same. We met 4
women my age who had each carried 39 lb packs down the trail...including tent, sleeping bag,
food and water. They asked to see our cabin and regretted that they hadn't booked one.

TC pretending he's shy but loving me from behind the post. He's
adorable!

The morning sun on the cliffs above our cabin

After 3 days at Phantom Ranch, giving our butts a chance to heal,
we mount up and head back up to the South Rim. An easier ride for us and a
tougher load for our mules. We stop no fewer than 28 times to give them a chance
to rest and to give us a chance to take photo's. A very different ride than the ride down,
with only one 20 minute stop.

We've crossed the bridge and are heading into the tunnel where we
spend most of our time in darkness, bending over the backs of our mules...
to avoid whacking our heads on the rocks above our heads.

Gorgeous twins...what a treat they were. That's Hoop, our
return trip wrangler, in the background. Where on earth do we find
nicknames like "Hoop"???

You might notice that almost all my pics have ears in the foreground...yup...
TC's ears....I love my TC's ears!!!! It means that I'm not flat on my back
at the bottom of the flippin' canyon!!!

Can you believe the trail we just ascended on? One incredibly
tight corner, two mule feet wide, is called "Jesus Corner". It's called that
because as you round the corkscrew corner, the mules head is out over the canyon while
our butts are barely on the trail....all you can think/say is "Oh Jesus!!"

We reach a wide area that I call a "rest area" and who do we see? Ed, ourwrangler from the trip down into the canyon. Today he is working on the mule train, packing all the goods that go down into the canyon. All food and materials are carried down daily to Phantom Ranch and all garbage is carried out on the backs of these beautiful pack mules. It was nice to see Ed once again!

Look way up and you will see our ultimate destination.

Giving our trusty mules a well-deserved break.

This adorable mule is resting his head on the railing.

Hoop

Jackie - admiring the incredible view.

Giddy-up Shelby and Bobby! It was imperative we were told,
to keep our mules head to tail at all times. Mules tend to run
if they get behind and there is no running on the trails.

Devil's corkscrew...we actually did this??? How do hikers do it?

A noble survivor, here in the desert.

The beauty and grandeur of it all....my heart was full!

Yes - we still have to reach that upper rim!

A welcome sprinkling of rain.

Heading into The Chimney

Note the hikers below

..and more of them....

..and even more. The most difficult part of the Kaibab Trail.
Man these hikers deserve so much credit, and a few of them
had their babies attached to their backs!

At the top, we dismount and collect our gear. Tom (left)
a Wyoming horse-back tracker/packer collects his gear and Danny, our wrangler,
gives us instructions on our return trip to Bright Angel Lodge. See the little plastic
bag in Tom's hands? That was our luggage. We were allowed one bag if we stayed one
night and two bags for two nights, keeping the load light for the mules.

When we returned to Bright Angel Lodge, we were told that a group of Ironman participants had left the south rim at 4 a.m. to run the South Kaibab trail down into the canyon, up the North Kaibab trail from Phantom Ranch to the north rim, then back down and up to the south rim, only stopping for water. Crazy and dangerous. Our wranglers commented that they see many hikers and runners with one objective, to just do it. They never seem to see the beauty that is around them as they walk/run. We encountered lots of happy hikers, including many children our grandson's ages, however we also saw some pretty grumpy ones as well.

Back at the campground we look out our van window and see
that we have visitors.

Next morning, we head for Desert View and the east
end of the canyon.

Mary Coulter, the NYC architect who built the Phantom Ranch and
Indian Gardens cabins, built this tower overlooking the canyon. Apparently,
when this structure was being built, a few rocks were placed in a way that made her unhappy. She had
the workmen tear down the structure and start all over again.