Hello again. Since the last blog update we've finally finished the first leg of our trip and said goodbye to canyons, the desert and the mighty Green Lava (our van).
We spent six nights in Moab - there is plenty to do and see there, but when it is nearly 40 degrees C and you are trying to save money (by not hiring mountain bikes at $90 US each for the day), I think it was perhaps a little long....
We did almost all of the walks in Arches, which I must say was spectacular - but unfortunately the cloudy mornings were not conducive to taking spectacular photos. We also had a day hibernating in our air conditioned cabin, recharging the batteries and catching up on a few episodes of Full House....
Balanced Rock
Double Arch
Delicate Arch
Rock that looks like an elephant
Arches - the bit from the start of Indiana Jones
Delicate Arch
Landscape Arch
Partition Arch
Our cabin in Moab
Arches
Devil's Garden hike in Arches
Devil's Garden hike in Arches
We also took an excursion up to Dead Horse Point State Park. This is a narrow neck of land above a spectacular canyon where cowboys corralled wild horses. So the view might have been worth the $10 entry fee, but certainly wasn't worth the $190 to get the keys extracted from the van! But we won't dwell on that...
Dead Horse Point (Colorado River below)
We also spent a morning looking around the Island in the Sky area of Canyon lands.
Canyon Lands
Mesa Arch, Canyon Lands.
Shaun on top of Mesa Arch
Upheaval Dome (no one is sure whether it is caused by an ancient salt dome or meteor impact).
We then drove down to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon via Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, and a night in Flagstaff for something to do (the problem when you have to book accommodation months in advance, you lose your flexibility).
I can whole heartedly tell you that the Grand Canyon really is a place like no other.
Monument Valley
Monument Valley
S'mores by the camp fire
Sunset at the Grand Canyon
Sunset at the Grand Canyon
Visitor to our camp site!
On the third morning, we set off down the South Kaibab trail at 4.30am with our day packs filled to bursting, and with an assortment of bedrolls and sun hats and jandals strapped to the outside. We perhaps over estimated the suitability of our days packs for the job.... Anyway, we didn't want to take too much gear because it is a long hike back up!
Watching the sunrise as we walked down into the canyon was amazing. I'm only sorry that my little pocket camera was not really up to the job, and the battery was dead by the second morning. Canon, you have let me down.
We reached the bottom by 8.30am and set up camp and spent the day trying to stay cool by sitting in the creek. We also listened to a really interesting ranger talk about Californian Condors - they are big vulture birds that were nearly extinct (in the 1980's there were only 60 left), but then thanks to a successful captive breeding program, they are now making a comeback. Interestingly, the main cause of their demise today is due to lead poisoning from hunters using lead bullets and then the birds eating the poisoned carcasses.
That evening we then had the luxury of a beef stew dinner at Phantom Ranch, followed by chocolate cake.
As much as I was looking forward to sleeping out under the stars, it was one of the worst sleeps I've had in ages. Our bedrolls did not do much to take the edge off the ground, and the noise of the wind and the creek didn't help. I also woke up twice to go to the bathroom, and woke up again too cold (would you believe) as we only took down our sleeping bag liners...
We got up early again to have the 5am cooked breakfast at Phantom Ranch and collect our packed lunch. It certainly would have been more enjoyable without a pounding headache and nausea, and the worrying thought of how I was going to make it out of the canyon if the headache didn't go away!
At breakfast I was afforded a teaspoon of concrete in the form of meeting a guy who was walking rim to rim, back to back... he had hiked down from the north rim the day before, had dinner then left the ranch at 10.30pm, walked up to the south rim, and back down to have breakfast at 5am, and then was heading back up to the north rim! That was 6.5 hours up and back walking all night!!! CRAZY!
It took us 5hrs 18 minutes to walk back up the Bright Angel trail - the last few miles were intense! I was about as happy to reach the top as I was to finish the marathon!!
Sunrise over the Canyon
Shaun looking like a pack mule!
The mules crossing the bridge over the Colorado River
Our camp site
Bright Angel creek
On the way to Phantom Ranch
Sunset
Touching 1.7 billion year old rocks!
Hiking up the Bright Angel trail - a long way from the top!
Finally finished!!
We then drove 5 hours to reach the north rim of the Grand Canyon. It is green and forested on this side, a nice change from the desert. The Grand Canyon Lodge is indeed a very grand building with amazing views! We spent two nights here relaxing and taking in the sights.
Looking forward to the prospect of a change of scenery and starting the next leg of our journey, we drove back to Las Vegas to drop off our van and meet up with Jeremy, Pete and Josh. A great night ensued, but i'll leave it at that. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!
Farewell Green Lava
Enduring an early flight, we have made it safely to Boulder. We have a very fancy rental car - i'm not sure which makes me more nervous - a rickety old van on the brink of breaking down, or the shiny new rental car which is just asking to be dented...
Goodbye beard..
Until next time.
C&S
