Grand Canyon !!!

[Dave McClung]

Linda and I enjoyed a day of hiking along the South Rim. We enjoyed ourselves.

Some things we observed:
Most people who visit the Grand Canyon never go below the rim.
A majority of those visiting the Grand Canyon are not American
A large number of visitors have difficulty walking

I have posted today's pictures in an album. Here is the link:
http://www.davemcclung.com/album/thumbnails.php?album=49

Here are some samples:
1. Linda at Grand Canyon
2. Me
3. Both of us
4. Grand Canyon wildlife
5. This is the trail we will hike tomorrow.
6. This is the trail we will hike tomorrow.

Dave

[Dana Grant]

Beautiful! Our son, Tyler, will be hiking down one side and up the other next week -- something like 46 miles, I think, in total.

I hope he will send us pictures so I can post a few here......

Sounds like you've had so much fun!!

Thanks for sharing.

[Hans Deventer]

Dave, are you going down to the river? I understand that is more than a day's hike.

We stayed at the rim as well, but we did take a flight accross the Grand Canyon.
Problem was, there are (as far as I know) no short hikes, or you'd have to go back on the same trail. Also, it was very hot and I didn't like the idea of easily going down but, when you're tired, having to go up!

[Dave McClung]

Beautiful! Our son, Tyler, will be hiking down one side and up the other next week -- something like 46 miles, I think, in total.

I hope he will send us pictures so I can post a few here......

Sounds like you've had so much fun!!

Thanks for sharing.

We had originally planned to do the rim to rim hike, but I was unsuccessful in getting the needed camping permits. They don't allow one to apply for a permit until 4 months before they are needed. I was in Africa then. When I got back, they said that all camp sites were full.

[Dave McClung]

Dave, are you going down to the river? I understand that is more than a day's hike.

We stayed at the rim as well, but we did take a flight accross the Grand Canyon.
Problem was, there are (as far as I know) no short hikes, or you'd have to go back on the same trail. Also, it was very hot and I didn't like the idea of easily going down but, when you're tired, having to go up!

We won't make it to the river. We hiked 10 1/2 miles today and are thinking we will hike something like that tomorrow. That won't get us to the river.

You are correct that we will have to return on the same trail. It isn't practical to do a one-day loop hike.

[Joel Merrill]

I love the Grand Canyon! I agree with your observations. I have never had time to hike below the rim. I'd like to do that sometime. My wife is very afraid of slopes and ledges. I would have to hike without her. There probably aren't a lot of children there now that school has started. I was there in the summer of 1992 and I was shocked at how careless parents were about letting their children run and play along the edge. I've been told that people fall there almost every week. A couple of Japanese tourists fell that week I was there. I saw a man trying to walk down a steep gravely slope and slip. He slid on his back about 20 and stopped about 20 feet from the edge. :eek: He had no business on a slope like that. I was there again in December of 2003. The most snow I drove in all winter was there, not Iowa. When I'm at a big park, I often see a couple taking turns photographing each other. I usually say, "Hand me your camera and I will take a picture of both of you." They are always very happy and it gives them a good impression of Americans.

I ran into a professional photographer while I was there and we were talking about that guy that almost fell. He saw it too. I told him that if I fell, I would use up the rest of the film in my camera on the way down. He thought that was pretty funny. I attached a picture of me when I was there in 92.

Joel

[Kevin Bowser]

My family was their this past summer. We stayed at a condo in Flagstaff and used that as a launch pad to all of the fun stuff in that area.

Here is one of my favorite photos that we took.

[Marsha Lynn]

Linda and I enjoyed a day of hiking along the South Rim. We enjoyed ourselves.

Some things we observed:
Most people who visit the Grand Canyon never go below the rim.


We were there a few years and went over the rim for a short hike. That was my favorite part. We walked for a ways and were obviously very little closer to the bottom than when we started. Then we looked up and saw how far we had to climb to get back to the top. That really imprinted the scale of that magnificent site in my mind.

Part of the reason people don't climb down may be because they don't know they can do so. I'd never heard of anyone taking a short hike down and back up. I knew it took special arrangements and much time and stamina to hike all the way down and back. I thought staying on top or doing a prearranged hike to the bottom were the only options.

Marsha

[Dave McClung]

Well, Linda and I had a great day. We hiked down into the Grand Canyon and back out again -- 15 1/2 miles in all. I will post some pictures:

1. About 7 a.m. we arrived at the Grand Canyon. These deer were feeding near the trail head. I show them because they are so different from the deer from Washington or Texas.

2. At 7:30 a.m., we headed down the Bright Angel Trail. The Bright Angel Lodge is at the top of the trail and Bright Angel Camp Ground is at the lower end of the trial. This picture is of Linda right after we left the south Rim of the Grand Canyon.

3. The third picture shows our destination. Look way down into the canyon to the Plateau. That is where we hiked.

4. The trial passes through Indian Gardens. It is a plush camp site with large cottonwood trees and a lot of prickly pear cactus. This is Linda at Indian Gardens.

[Dave McClung]

(continued)

Almost from the start of the hike, we were threatened with rain. There was a lot of lightning. I wasn't too concerned because the lightning stayed up on the rim. However, when we got out on the plateau, one of the stoms started moving our way. I decided that we shouldn't be out in the exposed area with lightning in the area.

1. About 1/4 mile past the place the Tonoto West trail joined our trail, we decided to turn around. The first photo shows what the area was like. This was almost 8 miles from the trail head.

2. On our way back through Indian Garden, we passed the first of three mule trains.

3. Linda took a picture of me in Indian Garden.

4. When we were still about 2 miles from the trial head, a strong thunder storm passed over. It went from no rain to a strong down pour in an instant. I scrampled to get my poncho out. Just as Linda and I got under the poncho, it started to hail. In about 10 minutes, the trail was turned into a stream. As the storm moved off to the north, I took this picture.

[Marg Shurtliff]

I have seen the odd picture of the Grand Canyon over the years but have never seen it up close and personal . I was amazed by how immense it is and the colours are so beautiful. Thanks for taking me along on your hike . I really enjoyed it . And I didn't miss the wild purple flowers ! Thanks for those , too.
:fav18

[Dave McClung]

Here are some pictures from today. All are pictures taken from the South Rim.

[Dave McClung]

Here are some pictures from today. All are pictures taken from the South Rim.



Here are six more.

[Joel Merrill]

Absolutely Beautiful!!! The dramatic clouds and weather really add to it. What impressed me the most about the Grand Canyon was the shear size of it. It almost doesn't seem possible. You look across miles of open space to see the different formations and cliffs. There are canyons inside the canyon that would make a spectacular park by themselves. Thanks for the pictures.

Joel

[Hans Deventer]

Very good shots indeed, Dave!! As Joel wrote, the light really adds to the beauty of the canyon. But the photographer isn't bad either :basic03
I'd love to have seen Bryce Canyon with that kind of light. Any chance you are going there as well?

[Dave McClung]

...I'd love to have seen Bryce Canyon with that kind of light. Any chance you are going there as well?

We won't be seeing Bryce Canyon on this trip. Today, we are headed back toward LeEtta's place.

We are hoping to visit Bryce Canyon and several other places during this winter -- more details later.

Dave