September 18 Mexican Hat to Denver

On our return to Winnipeg we spent a couple of hours in Arches National Park. Another very enjoyable park, very different than any of the others. We could have spent a day or two here but we only had so much time.

From here to home we will be mostly driving. For now this will be our last posting.

The triumphant hikers! 

 Balancing Rock

 One of many arches.

Day 4 Indian Garden to the North Rim

Wake-up at 4:00 am with hiking beginning by 5:30. Many people suggest not hiking in the heat of the day. Just under five miles to go but a climb of 3,000 feet. This meant many rest stops. For the most part we would be short of breath before our legs forced us to stop. There were many switchbacks along the way but persistence paid off. We all made it around 10:00 am and were so glad to be greeted by our support team at the top. 

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

In the afternoon we began our journey home with a nice drive through monument valley.

 Our accommodation in Mexican Hat

Day 3 Bright Angel to Indian Garden

We left camp shortly before 7:00 so we could avoid hiking in the afternoon sun. The hike was 4.7 miles with a rise of 1320 feet. We increased that by about one mile by hiking via the “Black Bridge” and a section of River Trail along the Colorado River.

After the Black Bridge we had to pass through this tunnel - reluctantly. That is brown water in a place it does not rain, but many mules pass through. 

Another beautiful, warm and sunny day for hiking. Fortunately, the majority of our hiking has been in the shade. Today was definitely tougher with a lot of uphill. The plus to that was that it was easier for John P’s knee.

We arrived at camp shortly afternoon and set up our camp. The creek here was so shallow we had to dig a hole to get our feet into water. In the afternoon we heard an enjoyable talk by a Grand Canyon artist.

  

 In the evening we took a 1.5 mile hike to Plateau Point. From here we could see where we had come from.

We also saw that this was the mountain we needed to climb the next day.

  

  Day 2 Cottonwood to Bright Angel

The hike on day two was also just over two miles but the net drop was only 1600 feet. John P’s knee was noticeably a problem but the uphill portions provided some relief.

About 1.5 miles into our hike we took a side trip to Ribbon Falls. This added to our hike but it was well worth the effort. More “Wow!” moments.

Getting lower into the canyon brought us considerably warmer temperatures. We arrived at Bright Angel campground early afternoon. After setting up our tents we went and sat down in a refreshing cool stream of water for an hour. A few of us even lay down. Unfortunately, my (Dave) camera was not there to capture the moment so you might need to wait until we report to see that.

Bright Angel campground gets a lot more visitors and activities so we were able to hear an interesting talk about the California condor.

By now we realized we had taken along a lot more food than we would need so we all tried to give our food away, with little success. We were told we would need one package of dried food each for supper. The first day we only prepared five packages for the six of us, today it was four (tomorrow it will be three). One of our neighbours helped by accepting ONE piece of flatbread. We’ll need to carry a lot of food out.

After supper we went for a short walk to see some suspension bridges and again, we were all in bed before 8:00.

Along the way we were often asked about our project - Eden Mental Health.

Day 1 North Rim to Cottonwood

Our first day was in some respects the most difficult physically. We hiked over 7 miles with a drop of 4080 feet. The steep descent was tough on the knees. About halfway through the day John Pankratz’s knee became quite sore. With some tensor ibuprofen and tensor bandages he managed to make it.

Heavy rains had washed out a short section of the trail leaving us with a ledge of less than a foot to cross. That was not an easy feat with 30 - 40 lb. backpacks. John Unger, our most experienced hiker braved it first and then helped the rest of us. Repairs were being made but they would not help us.

As Bill Martens had promised, we had one “Wow! Amazing” moment after another. The views were simple gorgeous and pictures cannot fully tell the story.

  

 We arrived at Cottonwood around 4:00, set up our camp and had our supper. It was dark early, we were exhausted and there was little to do so we went to bed well before 8:00.