my favorite grand canyon

as i mentioned before, i had the pleasure of accompanying the amtrekker and his pals on his journey to the bottom of the grand canyon (#50 on his list by-the-way). now, most people reading this know the whole story front to back, back to front, and sideways, because it's the only thing i've talked about since i got home. but, i'm starting at the beginning and not skipping a detail until the end for those people who i don't talk to incessantly (yes, they're out there). i was nonchalantly invited on this trip, and kinda assumed i wasn't really going to go until the very last minute. i was secretly trying not to get excited, knowing that it may not happen. at the same time, i was jumping out of my skin with excitement because.....#1 it's hard for me to turn down any fun adventure, #2 i've never even seen the grand canyon, let alone hiked to the bottom, #3 i've been aching for a great backpacking trip, and #4 it sounded like an adventure with some fun folks. i was a bit concerned that i was going to be gone for a whole weekend and unable to get my "training" in.......and a little concerned with the fact that i only knew 2 people out of the whole group, and hadn't seen them in 8+ years. most of my friends said, "don't go, you're crazy". luckily there was the select few who said, "live a little!".......then came the news i was a shoe-in! yay! bags were packed on tuesday! i got up friday morning at 4 am for a quick run before the arduous journey in the car! 9 hours sitting still....? not my style at all. we finally arrived at the hotel brett's parents were staying in.....in the pouring rain by-the-way. i was so worried about the heat that i didn't think twice about thunderstorms! great! in true brett fashion this would be the only day they close the grand canyon! right?! brett and his friends arrive a while later......(still pouring rain by-the-way). we discuss the possibility of all 11 of us piling into the hotel room for the night rather than braving the wet weather at the campground. we got brave though, ran to the cars, and on the way to the canyon itself the weather started looking a bit better. we set up camp at the campground and discussed our plans for watching the sunset (as we still hadn't actually seen the canyon yet!). we quickly gathered our snacks for the show and headed towards the "trail to the canyon". there's a "trail to the canyon" right?.....? we can ask some people right? "hey, is this the way to the canyon...?" uh, huh? well....let's just say we walked and walked and walked...and split up....and walked....and hurried.....and hurried a bit more.......and....then i was running.....we're going to miss it!!! we are going to come all this way and miss it!! running running running...dodging branches....i can't see a thing, and then suddenly i was there...on the edge..........."woooooo hooo! i see it, hurry, it's amazing!!"

and as you can see it was. the group finally reconnected and we spent a while taking pictures and chatting. breathtaking. i couldn't believe i was actually there! that's when it hit me, i was there! back at camp we all settled in as it had been dramatically decided we would leave camp at 4:00...ish to make it to the sunrise at the top of the canyon....for the first group picture of the trip. well, needless to say, a few missing keys later and we all happily got to the trail head in one piece. separated, but in one piece, so there was actually no....first day group picture....but who's keeping track anyways. right. and the downhill began. yuck. i hate downhill. mostly downhill anything. it just hurts! i twisted my ankles a million times...and if i didn't have cat-like reflexes i'm sure i would've been "down" more than once! phew! my pack was no joke either! what can i say, i eat a lot. by the first rest-stop, i was over it!

on and on....down...and....down....ouch my ankles....this can't be good for my training.......down, and down.....story after story........finally! i hiked with erica most of the day. so much fun. we reached the "bottom"....i mean it was flat......we were crossing creeks. we started to get frustrated....really?! i mean we're at the bottom. it's got to be around the next corner! we had been talking all day about enjoying the day...blah blah blah, and the moment...it's so beautiful blah blah blah. our attitude was suddenly. get us there! fo' get this beauty-photo-taking stuff. we want to be done! well, we finally made it. believe it or not. nothing like hiking down-hill for 6ish hours. i was BEAT and really to get in the creek! as it was getting HOT.

we played in the creek for the rest of the day/night. the boys making dams in the river.....sorry fish. it was entertaining to watch and somewhat fun to join in on. we finally called it quits and headed back to camp for some serious sleep sweating. i think i became more dehydrated that night sleeping than i did all day hiking! the air was perfectly still not a hint of movement just the screech of these large disgusting bugs. talk about rest! and it was AT LEAST 98 degrees in my tent. agh! talk about horrible. we all hit the trails the next morning between 3:30am and 5:00 am to beat the heat, and surprisingly climbed up to indian springs (the approximate half-way) rather quickly. i think we are all napping by around 9:00 am. hmmmm. what are we going to do the rest of the whole day!?! luckily this fun group came up with some interesting ideas, ie: hiking...(who woulda thought) out to plateau point (a beautiful lookout point!), group stretching sessions, squirrel chasing, spoons (yep, the card game) which was abruptly stopped by the ranger at 7pm saying we were too loud for her camp. okay...?.

the last day of hiking started nice and early. my legs felt like they were one big knot from my calves to my waist! ouch! it took about 2 miles of hiking to get warmed up! thank goodness for jolt gum to get me started every morning as there was no starbucks in the grand canyon. sucky. the last day was of course bitter sweet. i had soo much fun getting to know everyone on the trip, but getting to the top and taking my pack off was going to feel soooo great. at the last rest area. most of the group was able to re-group. in my mind giving everyone a fair chance at the shot at "being the first to the top" which was a priority in my book. i was planning it all day. trying to run brett ragged early in the morning. just as we are reaching the final switch back to the top of the grand canyon. brett and nate begin to throw down. i see an opening just past them and go for it! i had a solid 25 yard lead and was using my race-walking skills to keep my lead. up ahead about 3 yards from my win, there is a family of about 6 old to young taking up the WHOLE trail and slowly i might add. i thought i could nicely weave my way through the family, and just as i'm planning my attack to take the gold, i hear nate yelling, "katy!!! go!!!". just as i turn to look i see brett coming fast from behind. just as i'm reaching the slow family, he pushes past me (rudely i might add) almost pushes an old lady, and trips a small child...just to get to the top first. selfish. not to mention cody was definitely first, and hiked back down to get us, and rebecca also beat us to the top, but really that stuff doesn't matter. fair and square, i probably would've won. that's all i'm saying....the rest is history. i had a GREAT ride home with my new pals. lots of napping, lots of reading, and a bit of girlie music to top off the drive. gotta love it!

you know you can leave me comments right....? don't be shy!! stay tuned for the "back on track" week, blog. i'm doing SO well!!! can't wait to tell you about it.