Our GRAND Adventure!

DAY 1

Still clean and smelling good

Mom and Dad in front of a lookout point

How vast! How grand!

Looking for condors

Enjoying the fire up on the rim

Singing campfire songs

My family (Mom, Dad, Jacob, Sebastian, and I) had been looking forward to our Grand Canyon trip since last year - and it has finally come and gone. The sore muscles and mosquito bites are still here, though! My mom likes to call the whole experience "Torture Camp" - a cross between Survivor and Fat Camp - but we did make it out alive with memories we'll cherish forever.

We left for the Grand Canyon early Saturday morning and spent the afternoon doing all of the touristy things - checking out the views from above, buying souvenirs, and saying "Oooh!" and "Ahh!" We picked out a campsite near the South Rim and spent the evening roasting marshmallows, telling scary stories, singing songs, and adjusting to life without electricity.

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DAY 2

Agh! Elk in the campground!

An elk chowing down on a tree

Putting on our backpacks

My cute matchy-matchy parents

How much do those honkers weigh?

Hitting the trail

Spectacular views!

One wrong move and I'm dead!

We hate these rail road tracks - ugh!

My mountain man father

PYT! PYT!

Father and son enjoying the outdoors

Mom bonding with the squirrels

Ow ow!

We began to feel so tiny in this great, wide world!

Matchy-matchy Jess and Seb!

What a stud!

The next morning, we were pleasantly suprised to find a herd of elk walking through the neighboring campsites, eating the trees for breakfast. We had a pricey breakfast at the lodge and then most of us took advantage of the $2/8-minute showers. Then, we weighed our packs. Seb's weighed about 120 lbs and mine about 90 lbs! Okay, okay - so the scale was broken, but I like to think it wasn't. (I think mine was actually about 40 and Seb's maybe 60?)

I reluctantly said goodbye to civilization as we headed towards the shuttle that would take us to the trailhead. What majestic views! It was inspiring! The pictures cannot do the canyon justice. The colors of the cliffs ranged from red to purple to green to yellow to orange to brown! The canyon spreads across the horizon, filling the entire landscape.

As we headed down the cliff side, the temperature changed from breezy and cold to warm. At one point, a California Condor swooped down, right above us, close enough that we could read the number 80 clipped to his wing. Seemingly out of nowhere, another condor swooshed past from below us, with his 9-foot wingspan spread in all its glory. It was amazing! My mom also got the chance to feed a few squirrels - one of her favorite memories from last year's trip!

The trail seemed to be never ending. We'd finish a mountainside of switchbacks and turn the corner to find another mountainside of switchbacks awaiting us. When we finally reached a suspension bridge crossing the Colorado River, we knew the day's journey was almost over. We set up our tents at Bright Angel and enjoyed freeze dried meals for dinner. We went to a fun ranger show in the evening and learned some history about the Canyon. We also got to see the Iridium Flare - a communications satellite in space reflecting the sun for a few seconds.

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DAY 3

We crossed eleven bridges!

We also crossed a few rivers and streams

My dad and Seb and I went inside a waterfall!

Isn't that gorgeous green moss?

Can you see Jacob?

Dad inside the waterfall!

The following day, we packed up camp and headed towards Cotton Wood campgrounds. The hike was beautiful, running along a babbling brook, weaving through the towering canyon walls. At one point in our journey, we took a shortcut to save 1 mile, by crossing a stream. Seb and I agree that anything involving water was one of our favorite parts of the trip. We took a short detour to Ribbon Falls, a gorgeous waterfall flowing over a mossy boulder. It was a refreshing adventure climbing into the boulder behind the waterfall, but it smelled like poo!

When we arrived at Cotton Wood it looked like we were the only campers there. I think there may have been one other person camping there, but it was nice feeling like the only people on the planet. I especially loved looking at the stars at night - there were so many of them!

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DAY 4

The swimming hole Seb and I swam in

Holy cow . . . a helicopter! I want that guy's job!

Seb going crazy with all of the flies and gnats

I was super glad that we were going to spend two nights at Cotton Wood because we didn't have to put our tents away in the morning. Instead, my dad planned for us to hike all the way (without our huge packs) to the North Rim! Insane! On the way to the North Rim is a ranger station that was empty and unlocked when my parents visited it last year. It had a basketball hoop, a helicopter pad, and hot running water inside. They thought it would be empty this year, so we all planned on washing up there. Unfortunately, the doors were all locked!

We decided to wash our hair near the front porch with a hose. While I was laying on the front porch, hanging my head off the side, preparing to wash my hair, a helicopter flew in and landed yards from us on the landing pad! We all had to hold on to our hats and things because the wind from the blades was so strong. What great timing! The helicopter was dropping off a ranger, who let us in to use the bathrooms. Jacob even took a shower! Ha ha. It was insane!

After cleaning up, I was so sore and tired that I didn't want to hike to the rim. My dad and mom and Jacob continued on, but Seb and I headed back to camp. We had a wonderful, relaxing day! We ended up playing in the river, freezing our butts off in a swimming hole, and napping in the cool shade. My parents and Jacob marched into camp as the sun was setting and they were tired, exhausted, and miserable! Seb and I were amazed at their strength and endurance, but sure glad we stayed behind!

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DAY 5

Our future home!

Crossing the Colorado River

Day five was the most long and grueling for Seb and I. We woke up while it was still dark, ate a huge breakfast, packed up camp, and headed towards Indian Gardens. No one seemed to know how long this trail was, and everyone kept telling us different lengths - "It's just around the corner!" "You still have seven miles left!" "Three more miles!" "Four more . . . " It was driving us absolutely crazy!

And my poor husband - I had packed our lunches, and I definitely wasn't thinking manly portion sizes. For each day, I only packed a half sandwich bag full of nuts, berries, M&Ms, and other trailmix-type treats. By the time we made it to camp, Seb was absolutely famished! To top it off, we were almost out of food and didn't have enough for dinner and the next morning's breakfast. Luckily, my mom saved us all by scavenging for some food at the ranger station. She found some oatmeal, a packet of chicken, and some noodles. Thanks, Mom! We liked Indian Garden campsite the best. It was really busy with a lot of people, and there were pretty trees, brooks, and squirrels everywhere!

That evening, we had a little devotional and talked about what we had learned on our trip that tied in with the scriptures. Everyone gave really wonderful thoughts. We also played In the Manner of the Adverb and Thirteen. While we were sitting there, a mouse crawled across my foot!

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DAY 6

We're done!

My inspiration and final reward? A Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger, large fry, and a frosty!

Our last hike was the shortest - only 4 miles or so - and I was extremely grateful for that. The main thing that kept my feet moving was the thought of pigging out at Wendy's. My mom said she'd treat us and that we could order ANYTHING on the menu! Woo! It felt triumphant to finally reach the top. The car smelled like an armpit for the entire trip home, but we all felt like heroes!

Backpacking the Grand Canyon is something I never imagined myself doing, or even being able to do, but it has taught me that I can do anything one step at a time.