From KOA

Day 48: Surprisingly I only wake up a few times during the night and each time I can feel a great accumulation of sweat. However, the last time it is relatively cool, and I pull a blanket over my torso.

When I wake up for the final time the stars are still out, but I have a little over an hour till sunrise giving me plenty of time to break down camp and find a place to watch.

I opt for Zabriskie Point about a 10 minute drive plus a short hike. It’s starting to get light when I arrive and there are only a couple other people there. Perfect. But, as sunrise gets closer more and more people start showing up and the serenity is ruined by the dull roar of conversation that includes at least four languages as well as several screaming children.

However, must of the crowd looked west instead of east. I’m not sure if their goal was to watch light hit the mountains to the west or if they’re just confused, but even when the sun crests they do not pay much attention. Some people had even left before even seeing the sun.

Despite their impatience, it’s a beautiful sunrise.

After sunrise I make my final stop in Death Valley at Dante’s Peak.

It overlooks Badwater Basin and it’s pretty neat to get a perspective from much over 5,000 feet.

I decided yesterday to skip a full day in Death Valley to go to the Grand Canyon. It wasn’t in the initial itinerary, but I’m happy to work it in.

It’s nearly a seven hour drive, so I leave straight from the peak to make my way over. The path skirts me just south of Las Vegas, but close enough to see the strip. It feels like I was there much longer ago than just last month.

I made it to my campsite just before 3 and after setting up walk over to Rim Trail and follow that along the rim to Grand Canyon Village.

I stop briefly to talk to a ranger about conditions for tomorrow’s hike. A fire destroyed much of the North Rim and there is still smoke in the distance. He told me to expect to take 2 hours to get to Havasupai Gardens and longer to get back.

After that I walked back to my campsite to make some dinner. Arizona is on mountain time, so I spent much of the afternoon thinking I lost an hour today, but as I was eating I realized that Arizona doesn’t recognize day light savings time and my 6pm dinner was actually 5pm. Oh well, planning for an early start tomorrow, so an early dinner will help with that.

Day 49: I wake up just before my 4:45 alarm and turn it off, so I don’t have to hear it. Planning to hike into the canyon today and want an early start.

After packing up I drive over to a nearby parking lot, eat breakfast and get my day pack ready. Instead of starting at the Bright Angel Trailhead I park about 1.5 miles away, so I can walk along part of the rim trail. The hike into the canyon is about 9 miles round trip with a 3,000 foot elevation drop on the 4.5 miles down into the canyon and the same 3,000 feet up on the way out. The ranger yesterday expressed how tough it would be, but I haven’t done a big hike in a few days and am excited for a new challenge.

After starting a little after 6:00, I reach the Bright Angel Trailhead at 6:30 and begin the main part of today’s hike.

The trail isn’t to steep compared to some of the others I’ve been on and I can comfortably stride out without any discomfort. Most of my hikes have started with the elevation gain at the beginning, so it is different to have the easier miles at the beginning, but I take advantage and push the pace a little on the way down. I’m interrupted less than 10 minutes in by a group of mountain goats. I yield the trail to them and they walk past.

It’s relatively cool out still, likely in the low 70’s, and there are quite a few people on the trail. I breeze through the 1.5 mile rest area and keep pushing down. It’s not long into the hike, but I’m starting to calculate how fast I can do it if I keep the sub-20 minute mile pace.

The smoke from the fires on the other side of the canyon is getting thicker as I descend, but it doesn’t impact my breathing much and I continue down passing the 3 mile rest area in just under an hour.

There are fewer and fewer people this far down, but some backpackers who camped at Havasupai Gardens are on their way up.

I reach Havasupai before 8, around 1:25 from when I started Bright Angel, and the thought of a sub-3 hour round trip starts to creep into my mind. The trail is closed past this point because of the fires, but if it weren’t I’d be tempted to go farther.

I feel pretty strong as I start the hike back up. A thermometer at the bottom told me it was already 80 degrees, all the more motivation to get out of the canyon quickly.

I’m holding the same pace I did on the way down, although my breathing is certainly heavier and sweat starts to trickle down my face.

I’m back at the 3 mile rest area still ahead of pace and say hello to those taking a break as I trudge past.

There are a lot of switchbacks now and they would be much more monotonous if not for the view.

I make it past the 1.5 mile rest area and quickly run my hat under the spigot. It has the desired cooling effect and I march on determined to finish this part of the hike. It’s got to be in the mid-80’s at this point and sweat is pouring out of me. I know I’ll cool off more at the top than in the hot canyon and keep pushing to the top. The last section drags on, but I’m able to finish out in about 2 hours and 50 minutes, much quicker than the ranger told me.

After taking a few minutes to look at the Rim Trail map I decided to take the Rim Trail west for a 30 minutes instead of returning straight to the car.

There are a few observation points that I stop at before turning around. I want to hike some of the trail east of where I’ve already been and I’m already near 13 miles.

The Rim Trail is flat and paved and the miles tick off much easier. As I near my eastern turnaround point I stop at an overlook with an expansive view of the canyon.

While there I talk to a young park ranger. He has a view finder set up on the fire and explains that low humidity and high winds are continuing to strengthen the fire, which has grown rapidly in recent days.

After talking to the ranger for a few more minutes about the various parks he has worked at I finish out my hike getting in 18 miles in under 6 hours, and am pretty happy with the days effort.

I pack a lunch before heading out. The plan for tomorrow is to see Petrified Forest National Park, but it is only open limited hours and has no camping option, so I have a site booked at a KOA.

I get there around 3:30 and set up my tent, before getting in a wonderful shower, and lounging by the pool for an hour before dinner.

I must have been in a good mood when I booked this site because it is one of the premium sites with a sink, and fenced off from my neighbors. Life is good.