Day 7, 8, & 9: Monument Valley, Grand Canyon, & California

It's been awhile. Apologies for lack of posting. Internet access in our Grand Canyon campground was weak. I am currently writing this next post from a hotel in Central California (Bakersfield, CA). A lot has happened since Mesa Verde so here we go.

Joe and I woke up around 5:30am (Mountain Time) at our campground near Mesa Verde and hit the road to see Monument Valley in Utah. We initially wanted to see the valley at sunrise but that would have implied waking up at 3:30am, which was agreed to before going to bed, but was obviously dismissed as we "overslept" two hours. We missed seeing Monument Valley during sunrise, but got over it quickly, packed up the car, and hit the road. After about 3 hours of driving we eventually hit rt. 163 and this is what we saw.

At this moment we were the only car on the road. It didn't last long...

Some of my friends have been poking fun at the fact they have yet to see pictures of Joe and I on this trip. They say I have been posting random photos from google images while I sit at home watching Opra and Jerry Springer. I guess they do have a point. Well, I serve you proof my friends... I serve you proof.

Monument Valley was well worth the trip and after an hour of pictures/relaxing, we jumped back in the SUV and made our way to the Grand Canyon. It took about 4 hours to reach the Grand Canyon from Monument Valley. After we paid to get into the park (25 bucks), we drove 500 feet into the park and had our first view of the Grand Canyon.

We arrived Mather Campground around 3:30 pm which gave us ample time to setup our tent, cook BBQ chicken on an open fire (picked up some tenders and BBQ sauce), and planned out our hike for the following morning. We finished eating and planning by 5pm and decided to head into the Grand Canyon Village where we could see the Canyon from a different perspective. We were also patient enough to hang around for the sunset which was well worth it.

We went to bed relatively early and braced ourselves for a cold night. Cold is an understatement. I slept in huge winter jacket and wore thermal shirt/pants and woke up at 3am in an intense shiver. It was about 15-19 degrees that night, and now I understand the importance of having a good sleeping bag. Joe and I were out of the tent and in the heated car by 5:30am and figured since we were already up, we should check out the sunrise in the Canyon. We were cold and tired, but again it was worth the effort.

After viewing the incredible sunrise, Joe and I stumbled back to the car and blasted the heat on high. During our planning session the previous day, we decided to take "Bright Angel Trail" which was the longest trail possible for a day hike into the canyon and back out. (aprox 9 hours round trip) The trail would bring us from the top of the Canyon (7,000 ft) to "Plateau Point" which was at an altitude of 3400 ft and overlooked the Colorado river. While sitting in the car, which was now a comfortable 85 degrees, Joe and I looked at the trail map and then at each other. We shook our heads with uncertainty. Anyone could tell from the 10 pound bags under each of our eyes that we didn't get much sleep (maybe 3-4 hours). The thought of a 3600 ft decent and the following 3600 ft climb seemed damn near impossible considering our tired minds and bodies. It would have been easy to sleep for a few more hours in the car and take more pictures from the South Rim of the canyon for the remainder of the day... but since when was the easy way out rewarding? The hardest part of any daunting task is getting off your ass and showing up, so we sucked it up, packed our backpacks with food/water/extra clothing... and showed up. Below is a picture of the grand Canyon from the South Rim. In the picture I point out where our trail ended before we turned around to hike all the way back up. It should give you perspective on the sheer size of the canyon, and how far down we hiked. "Plateau Point" is marked in "Green" and it is 3600 feet from the top of the Canyon.

The hike down to Plateau Point was relatively easy and took us about 3 hours. "Bright Angel Trail" is a popular day hike, but not easy by any means. There are no "guard rails" or "safety nets" on these trails. In some areas, if you are careless and trip, you fall hundreds of feat into the canyon. Hiking back up the canyon was much more difficult and was a true challenge. It took us 3 hours to get to the bottom of the canyon (techncally you could go down further another 1000 feet to the colorado river, but it not possible to do in a day hike) and it took us almost 6 hours to get back up. Some parts of the trail were very steep and required us to take many food/water breaks to rest and refuel. Below are a few pictures from our hike.

A few iPhone pictures showing our trail. As you can see, if you fall off the trail, you fall into the canyon. (kudos to iPhone camera. Quality is pretty good)

This is the Colorado river from "Plateau Point". The river was another 1000 feet below us but we were close enough to hear the rapids.

Apparently cactus also comes in grape flavor.

We also encountered some wildlife along the hike. Luckily no rattlesnakes.

As Joe and I reached our last mile back to the top of the canyon, we decided to take our last food/water break before our final push. While resting, an older man probably in his mid to late 70s, who was also hiking back up the canyon, stopped to rest along side of us. We had seen him at the bottom of the canyon and passed him a few times (and vice versa) while we each took our respective breaks. Throughout the hike Joe and I were impressed by the man's physical ability despite his age. While at the final resting spot, Joe had asked the man if it was his first time hiking the canyon. The man admitted it was. In the process of caching his breath, he started to verbally reflect on how "hiking the canyon creates a type of kinship between the hiker and the canyon. It unveils a certain respect that can't be understood or appreciated until experienced first hand. When you take pictures from the canyon rim, you feel as if you own the natural wonder, but when you venture inside, you quickly learn that it owns you." These were wise words from a wise man. He took the feeling of physical and mental fatigue and turned it into purpose and understanding. This guy was "The Man" (double pun intended because he was very cool, and we never caught his name). When Joe and I reached the top of the Canyon, we shook hands in a short celebration (Joe was hoping for a mass standing ovation which unfortunately never came) and recognized a pretty damn cool accomplishment. For some people the hike was routine, but for two guys from Jersey, it was an awesome challenge. I joked with Joe afterwords that we earned the photos we took of the Canyon. I said it jokingly at the time, but as I think about it more, now the photos mean more than just pretty scenery.

After the hike, Joe and I ate dinner at one of the restaurants and decided to sleep in the car so we wouldn't freeze again. It was not the most comfortable sleep, but it was much warmer than the previous night. Below are some pictures of our tent (Which we named "Limpy" based off how it handles strong winds...I'll eventually show you what I mean)

Well, it's time for bed in Bakersfield California. Like I said, tonight we are sleeping in a hotel to catch up on much needed sleep. We were initially planning on staying in the Mojave National Preserve or Death Valley National Park, but decided to drive past them and get good sleep to be ready for the remainder of the trip. Tomorrow morning we will be driving up the Pacific Coast Highway to the Big Sur, hang out there for an hour or two, and then drive to Yosemite National Park. This is a slight change in our itinerary that allows us to gain an extra day for either Yosemite or Yellowstone. (We originally planned to sleep at the Big Sur). Tomorrow's journey should be roughly 9 hours. Expect the next post to be Wed night as I am sure I'll be too tired to post tomorrow night. We shall see.

Note: Forgive any grammatical errors, I am posting this from iPad and don't have the energy to go back and spell check. Time to pass out.

Cheers,
Vin