Hiking the Grand Canyon

Tomorrow morning I take off with the other Rangers to hike across the Grand Canyon. My pack weights 24 pounds and there’s nothing I can take out. We’re taking four days to cross. First day starting at 8250 feet on the North Kaibab Trail 6.8 miles down to Cottonwood campground at 4080 feet where we’ll camp under the stars. At least I hope it’s stars and not rain. Second day 6.9 miles to Phantom Ranch at 2546 feet where we’ll stay in a Park Service bunkhouse and someone is making us dinner and breakfast. That means less food to carry. Third day up the Bright Angel Trail—not to be confused with the short walk I did yesterday—4.7 miles and 1854 feet gain where we’ll camp at Indian Gardens. The last day 4.6 miles and 3060 feet up to the South Rim.

Then we’ll spend a couple days training with the South Rim Rangers before we return to the North Rim which opens to the public May 15^th.

 So, I’ll be incommunicado for about a week. I’ll try to catch up on reading blogs when I return. And I’m sure to have plenty of stories and pics to post.

 Have a great week.