The other day, Ken mentions to a friend that he wants to hike down into the Grand Canyon. I wondered if he was serious, but let the thought go because it wasn't a good time for a "deep" conversation. A few days later, having completely forgotten about Ken's comment, I read my friend's blog where he mentions that he'd like to hike into the Grand Canyon someday, and it reminds me that I still haven't talked to Ken about his interest in hiking into the Canyon. I'm thinking he can't be serious; after all, we've already planned to hike to the top of Arizona's highest peak, Mt. Humphries, this summer. Did he really want to hike to the top of the mountain and to the bottom of the canyon in one summer? But then I start thinking - maybe he really wants to go . . . and maybe I want to go. I've seen pictures from inside the Grand Canyon, and they're just as grand if not grander than pictures from the rim. And this summer is probably the best opportunity we'll have in quite awhile - we actually live very close to both locations and we're in relatively good shape (I definitely need to prep for climbing hills, however). I figured, if Ken wants to go, I did too. After a brief discussion (it's tough to have lengthy discussions about anything lately - what with finals approaching and the Portland Trailblazers in the first round of playoffs), I concluded that yes, Ken was serious about hiking into the Grand Canyon - not camping overnight, just a day hike into and out of the canyon. Sounds good to me, so I start researching hikes.
I found this website http://www.grand.canyon.national-park.com/hike.htm and started to get a bit concerned about our idea of hiking into and out of the canyon. In big, red, bold letters, are the words: Do Not attempt to Hike from the rim to the river and back in one day. So, I'm thinking this is just a caution, but it's on the webpage multiple times. In some places, it even suggests that death could occur from attempting to hike from rim to river and back. Yikes - death is not what I was looking for in regards to a summer hike. Perhaps we should just do one of the trails that are recommended as do-able in one day.
But then I got to thinking - if hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon can be so treacherous, what kind of warnings might we face hiking to the top of Mt. Humphries? Thank goodness the websites I found about that hike weren't nearly as "hazardous" as the Grand Canyon hike.
Down? Up? or Both? . . . stay tuned!
4 comments:
That was my first thought as I read your post. 'But you can't do it in one day!' :) I vote for both. Can't wait to see pictures.
I think you can do them both! You'll just be really sore! We have some great photos to inspire you!
Both, but done safely.
Two years ago we hiked into Supai, 12 miles one way, then we woke up the next morning and hiked out, needless to say I couldn't walk for a week after. Good luck no matter which way you go!
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