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| View from Shoshone Point |
Well, what to say? It's been 2 months into this adventure and things are coming to end in a few weeks. I have to apologize for not posting anything sooner, but internet access here is poor to say the least and I have to go to the General Store to access the wifi hotspot.
Biking and Hiking
This month I had a visit from my good friend Jerry Neely. He was on a cycling trip through Canada and had a planned stop at the North Rim. He made a stop by the South Rim staying at the Ten X campground in Tusayan. We were able to meet up and spend some time together biking and hiking. I had obtained a backcountry permit to hike down the Bright Angel trail and spend two nights at the Indian Garden campground. We were able to spend the time on some day hikes out to Plateau Point and the Tonto East trails. We also enjoyed steaks at Jerry's campsite at Ten X and Sloppy Joe's and BBQ beans later at my campsite. Not to mention several beers!
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| Jerry After Cycling to Yaki Point |
Biking After the Rain - The day before we hiked down to Indian Garden, we took a short bike ride out to the South Kaibab trailhead and the Yaki Point overlook. It had been raining the day and night before and that provided some really spectacular views of the canyon with the clouds looming about.
Hiking to Indian Garden - The following day we hiked down to Indian Garden. It was a nice day for hiking as the rains had cooled things off and the trail was in great shape. On the trail I ran into Kim one of the Preventive Search and Rescue (PSAR) volunteers I had met at the campground. We talked for a few minutes and then I was on my way. Just down the trail I ran into Mr. Horney Toad. He was sitting on the trail enjoying the damp, cool dirt.
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| Mr. Horney Toad |
After a 6 mile hike from my campsite, we arrived at Indian Garden around 2:30PM and set up camp. We met Jeff the backcountry ranger and had a nice conversation. We told him we were going on a day hike on the Tonto trail and he recommended hiking the Tonto East out to Pipe Springs. We also talked about going out to see the sunset at Plateau Point and he said he see us out there.
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| Cactus on the Plateau Hike |
Sunset at Plateau Point - After dinner and rest, we pulled together our headlamps and water and headed out to Plateau Point. The hike out was enjoyable and we were able to see the colors changing as the sun started down. The views along the trail out to Plateau Point were pretty and its hard to describe the colors as the sun starts down. Hopefully these pictures give you some idea of the beauty.
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| Colors on the Canyon Looking East |
The look to the east had the sun reflecting off the canyon walls and provided bright red and red-orange colors along with the green of the plateau. Again its hard to describe. You just have to be there to get the full affect.
Jerry and I found a spot on the rock out cropping of the point and sat watching the sunset. We both found ourselves playing with various settings on our cameras trying to capture the best pictures. To say the least it was a blast and the views from the plateau of the sun setting to the west was spectacular.
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| Sunset from Plateau Point |
The hike back to the campsite was in the dark. We had our headlamps on and found it pretty easy. The plateau trail is pretty flat and with the exception of the various rocks is an easy trail. On the way back we say 2 lights bouncing along the trail. At first we thought it was flashlights from approaching hikers, but it was to perfect. Next thing we knew we were face to face with two deer moving along the trail. It was, to say the least, pretty neat!
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| Tonto East Trailhead |
Upon arriving at the camp we sat down and enjoyed our six pack of beer we had brought with us in our packs. We split it 3 beers a piece and packed it in lunch pouches with blue ice. It wasn't ice cold, but it beat the alternatives.
Tonto East Day Hike - The next day we slept in till about 7:30AM. After enjoying a good breakfast we packed up for a day hike out the Tonto East trail to Pipe Springs. The hike out to the spring head was about 3.5 miles along the plateau region of the canyon. Temperatures were about 105 F. The trail is un-maintained, but in good shape.
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| Jerry on the Tonto East |
We headed out hiking the trail and enjoying the scenery. Jerry and I took turns on point. It was an enjoyable hike out to the springs.
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| Cooking Raman Noodles |
Arriving at the spring we found a group of Cottonwood trees. The trees provided a nice amount of shade and a great spot to settle in for lunch. It was a nice little oasis and Jeff, the backcountry ranger, was right on spot.
I had brought some tuna fish and crackers along with nuts and a few Cliff bars. Jerry opted for the hiker's standard Raman noodles. We sat and enjoyed lunch, the shade of the Cottonwoods, and each others company. It was a great way to spend time with a good friend.
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| Pipe Springs |
Upon returning to the top of the canyon, Jerry and I spent one last afternoon together enjoying a few beers and dinner from Wendy's.
Shoshone Point - After a fews days of work, I took a short 2 mile round-trip hike out to Shoshone Point. The hike out is along a NPS roadway to the point. The road is closed to vehicle unless there is a special event at the point. At the point I walked out to a rock cropping. I'm afraid of heights and it was pretty spooky for me. I'm not much for selfies, but had to give it a shot.
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| Me at Shoshone Point |
Back at the Campground - The month of August was the monsoon season for Arizona. We had off and on again showers. Some of the rain was pretty heavy and washed out some of the campers. I ran into a young mother and her kids one afternoon. She told me her tent was flooded and she was pretty down and out. I helped her get the water out of her tent and helped put the tent up with the rain fly. She was pretty down and said that this was going to be the worst vacation ever because of the rain. I told her of when I was a kid and we were camping in Canada. It rained and the wind blew so hard that Dad had to pull the front wheel of the Chevy Carryall onto the tent to keep it from blowing away. Everything we had was wet, but for me that's a memory I have and it was the best vacation ever. I ran into to her a few days later and she thanked me for the help and told me her kids had a blast. She said it was a great vacation.
I called my Mom a few days after this and told her the story. She and I laughed remembering that wet and windy camping trip to Canada. Later, I was reading my sister, Deborah Reeves, blog and she mentioned that same trip and her memories. It was ironic how we both shared those memories at nearly the same time.
