Grand Canyon descend

10/6/11

The Grand Canyon is truly a geologists paradise. The canyon exposes over a billion years of history in the different layers of rock as one moves from the top to the bottom. During our stay, we learned a little about the geological history of the canyon. Millions of years ago, the collision of two continental shelves caused the Colorado plateau, location of the canyon, to rise. For perspective, this same event created the Rocky Mountains. After the Colorado Plateau rose to high altitude, the Colorado River began to carve it's path and create the Grand Canyon. This erosion event has taken 6 million years to carve the Grand Canyon as we see it today. Apparently, it carves out a depth each year equivalent to the thickness of a sheet of paper. Today, from the rim to the Colorado River, the Canyon is about a mile deep.

So, we began our two day, overnight hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back out. Our itinerary had us descending the South Kaibab Trail, camping at Bright Angel Campground and ascending the Bright Angel Trail. 

Standing on the ledge at the South Kaibab Trailhead, one cannot see the Colorado River, over 5000 feet below. Apparently, the South Kaibab Trail is one of the most famous in the country. We set out at 11:00. Hiking the Grand Canyon is the opposite of climbing a mountain. You start out going down and finish going up. So, the first day down the South Kaibab trail was relatively easy. It provided a great opportunity to enjoy the spectacular views of the Grand Canyon.

The hike down was steep and we were glad we were not taking this trail back up. A couple other groups were hiking down at about the same time and we saw them periodically during the trip.

We arrived at the Bright angel campground at about 3:30, the hike lasting a little over 4 hours. The campground is located at a beautiful setting along a small creek that flows into the Colorado River.

From this location it is impossible to see the canyon rim or anything outside of the canyon save the night sky. We read that people can feel very claustrophobic within the canyon walls, but for this one night we enjoyed our view.

Soon after arriving, we set up camp. We had a brief crisis when we brought out the tent and realized that we had melted some large holes into it by putting it in the drier earlier in the day. Fortunately the rain fly was intact but our tent was now open to any critters that wanted to join us.

In the camp area there is a ranger station and a small lodge that are kept stocked by daily mule teams. In the evening there was a ranger event that we attended where one of the rangers told mysteries about the Grand Canyon. After that, we went to the lodge to enjoy a cold beer and hot tea before going to bed. When we returned to the camp, Paul noticed a sand trail of footprints of a small animal in the tent. He waited until morning to tell Monica so that she would not lose sleep worrying about more small animals coming into the tent during the night.

Permit, Preparing and Ordeals before GC hike

10/5/11

We woke up really early on Wednesday because we had to be at the backcountry permit office by 8am in order to get one of the permits left for the last minute walk-in people. Only 10 % of these permits are set aside for walk ins. Otherwise you are supposed to reserve your permit with 4 months anticipation via fax. We had tried to get one a month ago but found out on Tuesday we didn't got one (of course). 

We arrived at the office at 7am just to be extra careful. Other people equally desperate for a permit started to arrive.  Luckily, us and the second group that arrived were able to get a permit for the next day. We almost could not believe it, we had a permit yeiiiiiiiiiii !

We were happy we had a day to prepare because after reading Ron Adkinson's GC (grand canyon) hiking book we were a little scare of the prospect as first timers. Basically you have to be somewhat fit, and specially in the summer, have to be extremely well hydrated and eat 4000 to 5000 calories or more. Luckily we are in autumn but still the book scares you pretty well. 

We decided to do the recommended backpacking hike for first timers that are fit. This hike starts at the South Kaibab Trail in the S Rim. This trail is 5 miles long, all steep, all the time going down, with no shade. You hike this trail on day one to the Bright Angel Campsite. You sleep there over night and leave the next day for the Bright Angel Trail. The Bright Angel trail is 8.1 miles and is mostly going up. The hike is described as strenuous in Adkinson's book. The change in elevation is ~5,200 feet. In the picture of the topographic model you can appreciate both hikes. 

We stopped at the south rim scenic turnouts and saw for the first time the amazing Grand Canyon. The pictures don't make justice to such natural marble. We were so pumped to get down to it and connect with such nature.

Next we went to have breakfasts at the GC General Store and had huge breakfast burritos for 3.50$, we were pretty pleased. At breakfast we made a list of food. Conveniently the General Store is also the super market so we immediately got the groceries. We went back to the park and pre-packed all we could for the next morning. While doing that we had visitors (aka, the wildlife) came and entertained us. During the trip we have been able to identify plants and different animals by using field books that Paul got from the Milwaukee's library. Similar to Yellowstone's Mammoth area the Mather campground had Elk roaming around in rut.

Here a Mountain Chicadee, and we also saw various white breasted nuthatchs (not pictured)

Luckily Mather campground has showers so we showered after 5 days, and did laundry. We went for dinner at a awful "Mexican" restaurant and went to bed just in time for the storm that was coming to begin. 

We had predicted our basic tent was not going to stay dry, therefore we used our expensive, super nice, 3 pounder,  backpacking tent to cover the gaps. The fix worked and we did not get wet in the 40 mph wind storm that happened that night. Unfortunately when we woke up the day of the backpacking trip our backpacking tent which we needed to use for the trip down the river, that morning, was completely wet.  Not only that, the storm which was unlike anything I've experience before, (remember I come from hurricane world), kept us awake all night at the fear we had to run for our lives at any point.

We still got up and decided to quickly fix the tent issue by drying it in the laundromat drier. All of this while snowing. We were a little desperate and uncomfortable, therefore, not really thinking through (or so I want to believe). Drying up the tent turn out to be a terrible thing, but we didn't realized until later so, we will tell you about that in another post. 

Finally we were ready to start the hike at about 10am as supposed to 8am as we had planned. We drove the car to the Bright Angel trail parking were we could take the bus to the South Kaibab Trail head. In mid way realized we had forgotten the permit. We had to ride the bus about an hour to get back to our car and recover the permit. We were once again delayed but our spirits were not broken. We finally started the hike at about 11am. The next entry will talk about the greatest hike, I just wanted to mentioned all the really Unusual stuff that happened that morning to leave the GC hiking post to be about all positive. 

Drive and arrival to Grand Canyon

10/4/11
We woke up at 5am and left the Lodgepole camp site to drive to The Grand Canyon. The drive was about 10 hrs but we stopped on the way and it took us close to 12 hrs.  Paul drove the first half. Coming out of Sequoia the road was extremely winding and Monica was trying to read the news, after reading out loud to Paul for some time she got a bit motion sick , but fell well quickly after she stopped reading.  The next part of the road was very boring because we were driving through the desert. We entertained ourselves by reading news, writing the blog and hearing to Latin radio stations. As I mentioned, we passed the Mojave Desert, a barren place, no much of anything there. Hence, we were happy we decided to skip it for another day at Sequoia NP. The mojave desert is within California and Nevada and we found out that although barren, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. You wanna know why? Well, Las Vegas is in it. 

One interesting scene on the road was when we saw a huge wind mill farm, the biggest we have seen yet. It is always great to see green energy projects happening. 

Before arriving to the GC about 20 miles from it, Monica was driving a little too fast and got stopped by the police. Fortunately the policeman was nice and gave her a 79$ ticket instead of a 300 dollar one she deserved.  Ironically the ticket violation given was for -excessive use of gas- so much for driving a hybrid. Later at the park, Monica drove all other visitors crazy by abiding all speed limits. BTW this is the first driving violation for Monica in more than 8 years and first ever in USA.

Since we had reserved the campsite at Mather we were able to arrive and set up camp. We went for pizza in the nearby Tusayan neighborhood and bought beer and milk, the essentials for any good living. Interestingly at many Parks  you can buy an assorted 6 pack of beers.  Surprisingly many Parks have a good selection of micronbrews and even international brews. We are proud to say we have tried beers from Grand Teton brewery, Gran Canyon brewery and many more. 

Sequoia NP 2nd day

10/3/11

In the morning we took it very slow probably because we wanted to let the sun warm up the day since we had promised to swim in the river. We cuddled up. Once awaken we kind of cleaned up camp and changed into our bathing suits. We went to the river and not thinking it twice jumped right in. It was probably the coldest waters Monica has experienced, but she warmed up to it and dove 3 times more. This was certainly a lot of fun. Next, we build  up the camp fire and warmed water for instant oatmeal, thanks to Jhon Mehuler's technique we were able to eat the oatmeal from the pouch without making further mess.  

We then drove to the Sequoia National Park. In between we tried contacting the backpacking office of Grand Canyon to see about our permit without success. In our way we stopped to see General Grant Sequoia tree with the widest diameter on earth. Funnily it is also the USA national Christmas tree. It's diameter is 28 feet at 6 feet above ground. Next we drove to Lodgepole Sequoia info center and got more food and info of trails. We  then headed to the Giant Trees Grove  which houses the world's largest tree named General Sherman. Once there we stopped to admire General Sherman and took the Congress trail hike which advances to the heart of the  grove. The trail name comes from the name of the different trees and of groups of trees. For example, president tree and the senate group. 

Sequoias are extremely impressive. Compared with redwoods sequoias are wider although redwoods can grow taller. The oldest Sequoia tree in the grove is > 3000 years, which led Paul to compare it with the fact that it was here before Jesus Christ had a story. 

Sequoias are able to live so long  due to a combination of advantages. Their bark is thick to resist forest firewood and they produce tannings which repels insects. This, combined with accelerated growth gives the sequoias their long life. Ironically their main reason to die is due to toppling. Their roots are measly 10 feet deep to support a total length of 250feet tall, which renders them susceptible to wind and falling. 

Then we returned to camp and made a delicious corn beef and hash topped with eggs in our trusty iron skillet. It threatened to  rain so we retreated early to sleep.

King's Canyon and Sequoia National Parks day 1

10/2/11

We woke up really early on Saturday after an early night and tidy sleep. Monica drove south to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks which are two separate parks that are managed together. We arrived to Kings Canyon around lunch. Contrary to other parks, finding campground here was not going to be a problem, because this parks is not as popular. We reasoned it is not as popular because  is not as easy to reach and does not offer many activities for the average camper. With this said, it is a spectacular duo of parks that have nothing to envy in beauty and a paradise for serious hikers. 

We headed to inform ourselves about hikes and realized we were really close to the time of planning the Grand Canyon part of the trip. Originally we wanted to first white water raft with the Hualapai outfitters the west side of the canyon and then head up to the south rim to hike in and back. But all of this is very complicated and requires many permits. We knew this and had apply for one GC overnight permit but to this point are unsure if we got it, because the response arrives by mail.  We called the outfitter for white water rafting and realize that although they were happy to take us the roughness of the white waters was not really prime because is the end of the rafting season and water lever is high. We decided to save the 1000 for when the river it's on its prime. Next we reserved campground at Mather just in case and to be sure we have were to sleep in the 4th. All of this ordeal took pretty much all afternoon and we decided to just relax in the campground of The Kings Canyon side of the 2 parks not before getting some beer and food to eat.

 The drive from the Generals Grove Info center to KC was one hour but it was well worth it. The route is extremely scenic and reveals the many canyons created by both, but mainly glacier, and water force that gives KC it's name. The mountains in this part of the Sierra Nevada are different to any other, for some reason some type of moss covers them, giving these rocky mountains their  characteristic green and orange colors.

We arrived at Cedar Grove camp and set up for a lazy day. We explored and walked the river behind it collecting free firewood (one of Paul's favorite activities). After admiring the river we decided to swim in it the  first thing next morning. 

We cooked, drank, stared at the fire and sang. In view of the incoming Grand Canyon adventure we took a good chunk of time to read the Grand Canyon hiker book, we found it extremely useful. We think any person going to the Grand Canyon should read this book. Before going to bed we decided to leave the tent cover off to enjoy the beautiful scenic sequoia rooftops we were camping amongst.
 

Awesome Yosemite

10/1/11

After two weeks sleeping in a tent or on an inflatable mattress on the floor, the king sized bed at the hotel gave us a good night sleep. We slept in a little. When we finally woke up, we made breakfast in the hotel room and prepared sandwiches for lunch.

The campsites in the Yosemite Valley were full again so we decided to drive to a site about an hour north of the Valley called Yosemite Creek. We had attempted to reach this campsite yesterday but the road was closed due to a forest fire. As we made the trip up, we passed the fire which had spread all the way to the edge of the road. For a five mile stretch of the road, the air was filled with smoke and we could see small fires scattered throughout the forest and pieces of smoldering wood. The fire seemed to be restricted to the underbrush and was not active in the trees. The fire fighters and rangers were monitoring the progress of the fire, but were not actively trying to stop its progress.

Our campsite at Yosemite Creek was well clear of the fire and smoke. Our site came equipped with a bear box, where we had to store all of our food and toiletries, basically anything with an odor. Apparently the bears in Yosemite will break into a car to investigate the slightest odor for food. They will even cut down a cord that is suspending food from a tree branch. These bears are clearly different from those in Yellowstone and require different precautions. I wonder how long before they figure out how to open a bear box.

We finished setting up camp by noon and were reading to start a hike. Originally we wanted to do a hike in the valley, but didn't want to take the hour long drive back. We found a trailhead at our campsite that led to Yosemite Falls, a lookout over the valley. Unfortunately, the falls were over six miles away and it was already about 1:00. We decided to start out and see how far we got.

The trail was really beautiful and unlike the parks so far on this trip. We passed  large granite formations and crystal clear rivers. There were beautiful pines among the granite hills, at times they looked like giant bonsai trees. Somehow we lost the original trail a mile or two in and followed a makeshift trail marked by small piles of stacked rocks. This part of the trail became much more adventurous as it required us to scramble along the granite hillsides and tip toe across fallen trees that bridged across the rivers. On the way back, we took the official trail as our legs were tired.

Eventually, we made it back to the main trail and began making good time. We Gave ourselves until 3:30 or 4:00 before we would head back, as it would be dark by 7:00. Along the way we encountered two or three other groups, all of them had turned back before reaching Yosemite Falls. As it neared 3:30, it began to look like we might not reach the Falls ourselves until we came upon a sign that indicated that we had about a half mile to go. At that point we were determined and picked up our pace for the final half mile.

When we arrived at the Falls, we were glad that we had pushed on. We found ourselves at the edge of a tall granite peak with magnificent views of the surrounding peaks and the valley below. If you are afraid of heights, this may not be the place for you. We ate a late lunch while admiring the view and then headed back at a fast pace, hoping to make it to camp before nightfall. After 2:30 of determined hiking, we arrived at camp on tired feet. The sun had already set behind the tall granite peaks and within another half hour, it would be dark. The 12 miles round trip had been our longest hike yet and the views at the end had made it well worth the effort. 

Before going to bed we cooked chicken ramen and grilled chicken drumsticks for diner. It started to hail twice which made us retreat to bed early.

Big Sur and arrival to Yosemite

9/30/11

At the campground at Big Sur, we were outsiders, the only ones without surfboards lying outside our tents. We woke up early to eat breakfast on the beach and begin our drive to Yosemite. The surfers were already up and donning their wetsuits and waxing their boards. When we arrived at the beach there were a half dozen surfers in the water. We watched them catch a few waves and talked with one of them as he was entering the water. He explained that most of the surfers at the camp were part of a group that makes their own surf boards. He explained a little about how they make the boards before we went on our

The drive to Yosemite was a little more than Paul had anticipated. Along the famed Hwy 1 that runs along the coast, there were spectacular views of the ocean. Eventually we turned inland and passed miles of farmland before arriving at the Sierra Nevada Mountains and Yosemite.

Bridal Veil Fall

We arrived at Yosemite around 3:00 and drove through the valley, taking time to observe el Capitan and Half Dome, spectacular vertical granite peaks that surround the valley. Unfortunately, the campsites at Yosemite were all full for the night. To get to the only campsite available we had to wait hours because of road blockings due to forest fires and it was already dark. We spent some time considering our options and eventually had to get a hotel room outside of Yosemite that night. It was a nice place and we got a hot shower in the morning. The small taste of Yosemite that afternoon made us excited to find a campsite in the morning and select a hiking destination.