Hobbes's Thoughts....

I stand here accused in the 'Trial of trail' and have been given a fair chance to defend myself; and I do plead guilty. Guilty under insanity - HIS! Evidence? He ran 10 miles in the Vegas desert the day before the hike.

The plot: Now It all started with a phone call. (This part, incidentally, is collaborated by the previous post.) And then everything went awry. The hike was initially planned to be on the first weekend of November. Due to non-availability of permit it was pushed to 3rd week. The "owner" of the blog was supposed to be Phoenix but conveniently moved to Tennessee. A third person was going to join us but could not. And to top this North rim was closed. So what started out as a 3 day rim-to-rim hike, turned out to be a 2.5 day rim-to-rim-to-rim in colder weather.

A 5 hour flight dropped me in Phoenix the day before the hike and I rented a car and drove to Flagstaff and stayed in a hostel on Route 66. The breakfast was a pleasant 2 hr affair due to the fact that Mayur's flight from Vegas was not going to land till 1 pm (and it finally did at 2.30) and I met some very nice folks from Boston and England who were travelling for the last 18 months. I had been reading travelogues but listening it directly from the travellers made it a lot more interesting.

I left Flagstaff at about 10 and reached Grand Canyon airport at 12 only to learn that the dude was still in Vegas giving me a laundry list of items to shop for the hike. For good or bad, his flight was further delayed so he was able to do the shopping himself while I spent about 45 minutes eating a wonderful pizza. (The next time you visit south rim, do stop by at the pizza place opposite the airport. Wonderful pizza). I spent another 45 min in the airport reading waiting for him and hearing stories from the guide who was going to take folks to the canyon. While we were talking someone from lobby dialled 911 so the airport folks came asking both of us if we did it. No, they were not profiling us. It just so happened that we were the only 2 people in the airport.

Anyway, by the time we registered at the canyon office, did final round of shopping and actually started the hike it was 4 pm. A daylight of about 1.5 hrs. Since we were climbing down fresh it wasn't a problem. Both of us did the 5.5 mile hike comfortably in about 3 hours. Pitched tent, had wine and dinner and called it a day. Next day started at 5 am. Breakfast at 5.45 and on the trail to cottonwood, a 7 mile hike. Right at the start of the hike we were told that water was not available in cottonwood campground, so at the last minute we filled a bottle of water for cooking and decided to hang it on my backpack. Not until quite later did I realize this added weight dangling across the backpack at an ackward angle was throwing off my balance making it an effort whenever there was a climb. This aggravated a lot more about the last mile to the ground. The awesome views were heavenly though. This with the unpleasant weight on the back tempted me to take it easy and not do the north rim. But hey, you never know when you are going come back.. and the sweet thought of dumping about 10 pounds.

So we started again and within 3 miles I knew it was going to be tough. I might have probably pushed myself but knowing the fact that I had about 11 mile hike the next day again with a 35 pound backpack and a time deadline of 6 pm to reach south rim (we had to reach Phoenix again by 10 pm for our 12 am flight) made me turn back. And after few minutes I realize that my jacket, gloves, flashlight was with him so it essentially meant that I had to reach back to campground, pitch tent, eat and crawl into the tent before sunset. The alternative was a pitch dark 25 F which wasn't a pleasant thought. And hence, the tent pitching!!! (Attn: Ashwini Tantry)

The third day, after a good night's rest started nicely and in good time both of us made back to Phantom ranch by 12 and after lunch when we were just about to leave got to know that the climb up was not 6 miles but 9. Take that!! That meant 9 miles, elevation gain of about 4700 and time left 5 hrs. So off we set again. Now, carrying a 35 pound backpack is a nice way of being introduced to lot of new bones and muscles. I can't say it was all pleasant. But it was good to know they were all there and working to take me to the top. By now both of us were on our own pace. He was definitely ahead of me (I would later find out that he reached the top about 45 min ahead)

This part of the hike was pure will power. Any climber/ hiker will attest this. There comes a phase were you are tired to think much and all you do is see one leg go in front of other. This is also about the time you decide you are not going to hike anymore for the next x number of days (Never happens). At about 4.45, with Mayur long gone I realize that I had about 45 min of daylight and I just keep walking. At about a mile from south rim, I meet 2 Indian guys who were hiking up from phantom ranch and they tell me that they had met Mayur some time back and he had said that if I don't reach the top by 6 he was going to start down again (Told you he was insane, but insane in a nice way). Normally, I would have liked to pulled out my flashlight but knowing that any delay would make me miss the 6 pm deadline I just kept walking and finally reached the trail head 3 minutes before 6. Finally.

Took a shuttle bus to the car parking area and found Mayur there waiting for me with a veggie wrap (100 bonus points). Drove 4 hrs, returned the rental car and barely had enough time to catch the flight. 3 days of no shower with all the sweat and dust ensured me a seat on the last row of the plane with no one next to me.

So there. A wonderful trip which would not have happened for a little nudge, a little insanity and whole lot of help from the dude. Where next?