Six Motorola Hiking Club members – Dawn Lavigne, Paul Chiavacci, Machell Short, Bill Short, Russell Kuhn, and Chuck Parsons – arrived at Mather Campground on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon on a beautiful Saturday afternoon for the start of a five-day adventure trip into Arizona’s crown jewel and one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, the magnificent Grand Canyon. After a bit of preliminary sight-seeing, dinner, and for a couple of us a great preview of the Canyon via a remarkable IMAX presentation at Tusayan just south of the Canyon, we were all ready to settle in for a good night’s rest before the start of tomorrow’s trek into the Canyon.

The temperature was dropping fast as Russ and I were trying to get some shut-eye in the reclining bucket seats of his Nissan pick-up. Just as I was about to nod off, a thunderous, window-rattling roar that sounded vaguely like a cross between a mating Bull Moose and an enraged hippo jolted me awake. Glancing around, I was somewhat relieved to find that we were not under attack after all by some alien force – it was only a certain un-named individual sawing logs big time. Giving up on any thoughts of sleeping in the warm truck cab, I reluctantly dragged my sleeping bag into the cold, quiet solitude of the open truck bed, eventually drifting off beneath the fantastic night sky of the South Rim, with its dazzling array of sparkling jewels lighting up the heavens above.

Dawn broke cold and clear (+28° F) early Sunday morning, with a sharp bite of Fall in the air as the six of us, comfortably cocooned in our vehicles for the night, eagerly awaited the Sun’s warming rays to loosen cold, stiff muscles and joints for the day’s hike that lay ahead. After a quick breakfast and last minute gear check, we caught the shuttle to Yaki Point to begin our descent into the Canyon. At precisely 8:50 AM we started down the first of 7.3 long steep miles of twisting, tortuous, knee-busting, muscle-tearing trail known as the South Kaibab. Our destination was the mighty Colorado River and Bright Angel Campground, almost a full vertical mile below us and unseen from the Rim in the infinite vastness of this Canyon.

The River! Near Skeleton Point we caught our first glimpse of the Colorado River, a slender silver thread coursing its way through the Canyon far below us, yet close enough that one could just hear the muffled roar of its distant rapids and realize that, despite man’s attempts to tame and dam it at several places along its journey to the sea, this is still one powerful river that demands – and receives – respect from all but the most foolhardy.

This would be only the first of many great views of this awesome river, which would grow progressively larger as we made our way down the South Kaibab to our ultimate destiny of meeting it head-on at the Canyon floor.

At about 11:00 AM we limped into a convenient rest stop known as the Tipoff for a well-deserved lunch break, where we shared lunch with a couple of young women from England and Australia who just happened to be trekking their way around the world, and encountered a couple of pesky squirrels who were bound and determined to dine with us. One begins to wonder if this area is called the Tipoff because at this point your body may just be tipping you off to make a decision to continue on, or do the sane thing and turn back. Apparently we were all insane, as we ignored our aches and pains and blisters and proceeded onward and downward and downward and downward into the very bowels of the Canyon, more accurately known as the Inner Gorge.

By this time the sun was beating down pretty intensely, and it was getting warmer and warmer as we dropped in elevation and got closer to the Canyon floor – we had set our course and there was no turning back now. Weak-kneed and wobbly and now sweating bullets, I was about a half-mile short of the Colorado River crossing at the Kaibab Suspension Bridge when I was shocked back into reality by the sound of Russ’s voice crackling over the Motorola TalkAbout, announcing his arrival at the Bright Angel campsite. How had I fallen so far behind the rest of the group – must be the heat; yes I will blame it on this blasted heat and the nasty blister on my right heel that I somehow managed to pick up back at the Tipoff. Eventually I round a bend in the trail and see the black steel suspension bridge crossing the long-awaited River. What a welcome sight this is! A short walk through a cool, dark tunnel, and you are walking across the bridge looking directly down on the cold, swirling waters of the mighty Colorado – the River of Legends! Navigating the Colorado was certainly never this easy in years past.

With the rest of the group safely at the campsite by now, I bravely march on through the now intense heat, nearly blinded by the sweat dripping into my eyes, when I see the strangest mirage ahead of me – Machell and Bill Short, feet dangling in the cool, clear waters of Bright Angel Creek, reeling in a fat trout! Must really be losing it now.

Heat exhaustion? Finally arrived at camp to be cheerfully greeted by Dawn, Paul, and Russ with the news that Machell and Bill are down at the creek catching trout by the bucket-full. Unbelievable!

After a while, Bill and Machell return from the creek with six nice fat trout and offer to share them with the rest of us for dinner. Nah – think I’ll just stick with my freeze-dried rice and chicken dinner in a bag. Really, thanks to both of you; we all appreciate it. Nothing like fresh-caught trout after a hard day’s hike, or anytime for that matter.

What a great campsite this is, with a sheer cliff on one side and the swiftly flowing Bright Angel Creek on the other side, all surrounded by a lush canopy of trees and shrubs providing much-welcomed shade. Actually, we are situated so deeply in this Canyon, surrounded by sheer walls stretching endlessly toward that amazing azure Arizona sky, that the Sun never really seems to reach our campsite. After a great dinner and then an interesting lecture by one of the park rangers on the topic “Creatures of the Night”, we retire to our tents for the night to enjoy pleasant dreams of deadly poisonous Bark Scorpions and blood-sucking Vampire Bats.

Hey! – What was that scratching on my tent?

The Intrepid Six splits up with Dawn, Paul, Machell, and Bill (the youngsters of the group) departing for a twelve-mile round trip jaunt to Ribbon Falls (see following report), while Russ and I (the oldsters of the group) settle for a more mellow and shorter River Walk and Phantom Ranch Overlook hike. Apparently the South Kaibab to Hell trail just wasn’t punishment enough for some people, because at this point leg muscles are really behaving strangely. Hiking uphill is not too bad, but downhill is another story altogether, with calf muscles begging for mercy with each downhill step. Boulder hopping downhill is a definite no-no, with muscles twitching spasmodically and threatening to put you horizontal to the ground at any moment. The two-mile River Walk Trail sits high atop a bluff at the river’s edge and provides spectacular views along its full length.

I wave goodbye to Russ as he bravely makes his way up the final steep, boulder filled approach to Phantom Ranch Overlook, which by now bears a remarkably striking resemblance to the Matterhorn. I wait around admiring the view, looking at my watch from time to time, wondering if he is ever coming back. After about an hour passes, I begin to seriously think about contacting one of the rangers at Phantom Ranch to send in a search and rescue chopper to pull poor Russ off some cliff face, where he is no doubt hanging over an abyss holding on for dear life. Just as I am about to hobble to the ranch to report this ominous situation, I catch sight of Russ gingerly picking his way down the hillside. I would ordinarily have run up to shake his hand, but I could no longer run anywhere and hobbling up just didn’t seem to fit the bill.

We all report back to our creek-side campsite to share our adventures of the day and rest up a bit before dinner. Bill and Machell had fished along the creek on the way to Ribbon Falls but did not find any more nice fat dinner trout. Apparently word had spread among the creek’s trout population that six of their brethren were reported as Missing-in-Action from yesterday. This will definitely put an end to fishing for some time, as I can attest from personal experience. At least it makes for an interesting excuse for coming up empty-handed. Dawn and Paul did have two trout left from yesterday’s catch, which they graciously shared with me for dinner. (Correction: Bill and Machell did indeed catch four trout, but returned them to appease the creek’s remaining population.)

After dinner we head out once again for the evening ranger presentation, this time on a less nightmarish theme – “Geology of the Grand Canyon”. A thumbnail Geology 101 version of the Canyon’s formation goes something like this: The seas came in and the seas receded, leaving billions and billions of tons of sediment behind. The land uplifted. The Rocky Mountains were born, giving birth in turn to the Colorado River. The land uplifted again and the river slowly started cutting its way down through the Colorado Plateau to its present-day level. Time and erosion did the rest, and the Grandest Canyon of all was formed. And you thought Geology was tough!

After a leisurely breakfast, we break up camp and bid a fond farewell to our home of the past two days and nights at Bright Angel Campground and slowly begin our two-day journey back to the Rim via the Bright Angel Trail. Our destination: Indian Garden – 4.7 miles and 1400 vertical feet above us. Legs, muscles, joints, heart – all systems are reporting ‘good to go’. Let’s do it! Things go pretty smoothly until we reach a devilish series of rather steep switchbacks appropriately named the Devil’s Corkscrew. (Little did we know what lay in store for us tomorrow). Finally coming out of the corkscrew, the trail eventually begins to thread its way through the Tapeats Narrows alongside Garden Creek before finally reaching the lush, green oasis known as Indian Garden.

Our campsite sits under a massive, looming canyon wall that seems to stretch to infinity in all directions. After lunch and a well-deserved rest break, we begin to plan our last hike of the day, an easy 1.5 mile trek to Plateau Point with its great view of the Inner Gorge and the Colorado River, some 1400 feet below. Dawn and Paul head out to the point early to enjoy a cozy dinner and sunset over the Gorge. The rest of us arrive later to share the beautiful sunset over the Inner Gorge of the Canyon, no doubt one of the greatest of all sunset locations.

After a quick breakfast, we again break up camp (didn’t we just do this?) and bid farewell to Indian Garden to start the final leg of our ascent back to the Rim – 4.6 miles, but this time with an elevation gain of 3100 feet. This is going to be a challenging climb to say the least. As we slowly struggle (at least some of us anyway) back to the top, mastering one series of switchbacks after another, we discover a startling new law of physics.

As actual pack weight decreases, due to prior consumption of most foods and a gradual depletion of water reserves, phantom pack weight actually increases as the journey wears on (more so if it is uphill), to the point where a 50 pound pack becomes a 100 pound pack near the top. Absolutely amazing! Just when you think you have seen the worst that Bright Angel can possibly throw your way, a horribly fiendish torture device called Jacob’s Ladder looms ahead in the distance, a steep, tight series of switchbacks that goes on forever and ever. Were it not for the fact that we were obviously ascending, one would swear this must be the Pathway to Hell.

Three and one-half hours into this final leg of our five-day journey, Bill and Machell cheerfully announce to the rest of us still-struggling poor souls that they have reached the summit. Behold – they have seen the light! Dawn’s voice comes over the TalkAbout and it sounds something like “I hate you!”, although I’m not really too sure of anything at this point. But it isn’t too long before she, Paul, and Russ are all standing on top of the Rim wondering “What in the world is taking Chuck so long, is he taking the rest of the day to get up here?”

I continue to struggle on, cursing Jacob and his blasted Ladder all the way – just who in the world came up with this idea anyway? Whatever you do, don’t look up to the Rim under any circumstances. The more you stare at it, and the closer you think you must be getting to it, the further it recedes into the distance! It’s almost as if we are on some kind of strange backward-running escalator – one step forward takes you two steps back. Or it may also be that I am just hallucinating at this point. Finally, by High Noon I too am standing on top of the Rim, looking smugly down on the rest of the poor shmucks struggling up Jacob’s Ladder – that is, after I finally catch my breath and my heart settles back into its normal place, having jumped ship earlier somewhere along the trail.

Somewhere along Jacob’s Ladder you may swear that you never want to see this Canyon again – at least you never want to even think about hiking it again.

But when it’s all over, and you regain your composure and realize the magnitude of what you have just accomplished – what a hike, what an absolutely incredible experience this has been!

To backpack into the Grand Canyon all the way down to the Colorado River and back up to the Rim is without question one of the most rewarding and gratifying experiences in the world of hiking and backpacking.

This up-close-and-personal type of exposure to the full scope and grandeur, to the sheer size and breath-taking beauty, to everything this Canyon has to offer – what mere words and pictures cannot even begin to adequately describe – is surely for most of us an almost religious experience if nothing else. We are all the wiser for this experience, all the richer for this opportunity. If you have never taken on this challenge before, give it some careful consideration and make sure that you are physically and mentally up to the task, for this really is one of the greatest experiences that this life has to offer – and it’s all right here in this very special little corner of the world called Arizona.