Dear Ben,
Thank you so much for the backpacking suggestion in Zion and
for the parks pass! We spent last night in campsite #2 with a spectacular view
of the cliffs. It seems like it would be a great place to sleep out, but we
were glad for a tent as the gnats were terrible! I think the recent rain was at
fault. This also means that the wild flowers are super pretty.
After hiking out, we drove over to the Grand Canyon. The
majority of the drive is through the Navajo Nation. This meant that towns with
services were non-existent as you might expect and there are random art booths
along the highway manned by sleeping Navajo women.
We stopped for lunch in Fredonia and ate at the one
restaurant in town. Emily and I greatly enjoyed well-earned hamburgers, but
neither of us was willing to try a two-patty burger smothered in gravy on Texas
toast knowing that we’d be sharing a tent. The hamburgers were good but the
‘slaw was unimpressive. We enjoyed listening to a conversation held by eight
ladies who had probably lived in Fredonia for a combined 500 years at least!
Betsy and Patsy talked about who was teaching grade school and how 250lb Jim
Bob stopped the neighbors from having any more beer parties.
Continuing towards the Grand Canyon we came to the Navajo
Bridge, and took this as an opportunity to scope out the Colorado River before
we would need to hike down into it!
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| A view of the river from the bridge |
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| On the road again! |
By the time we made it to the east entrance to Grand Canyon,
it was approaching five o’clock by our watch. We stopped at the Desert View
visitor center and Emily got her first glimpse of the canyon. Sarcastically she
remarked that it was in fact grand and a canyon. After a few pictures, we
headed to Lipan point to try to find the Tanner Trailhead. Unlike trails in the
corridor (Bright Angel or the South Kibab), the Tanner Trail is significantly
less popular, less patrolled, unmaintained, and without water until the
Colorado River 7.8 miles and approximately 4800’ below. We were nervous to say
the least! It wasn’t until we drove out that we found the trailhead. Nowhere at
the point was there any mention of the trail…
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| Grand Canyon National Park! |
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| Wow! |
Wanting more information, we decided to head to a visitor
center or the backcountry office and time the trip to our campsite some 25
miles away. As I looked up in the guide the location of the permit office, I
learned two things: 1) that Arizona is currently on Pacific Time so it was only
a bit after 4pm and 2) that the visitor center and the back country office both
close at 5pm. We made it to the main visitor center at Grand Canyon Village at
5:06pm and sure enough the doors were closed and the lights were off. We
noticed signs about hiking below the rim warning of heat exhaustion and about
the dangers of drinking too much water without taking in enough salt as well as
predicted temperatures for Phantom Ranch. Knowing the Tanner Trail passes through
an area typically hotter than Phantom Ranch, we knew we’d see temperatures
above the predicted 97°F! Still there was no information or mention of the
Tanner Trail increasing our unease. Back in the car, I saw that Verkamp’s
Visitor Center was open until 7pm. We figured it was worth a shot.
Verkamp’s is not a visitor center but a store manned by well
meaning, but uninformed, elderly volunteers. Not helpful! Frustrated, we did
find a National Geographic hiking guide to the canyon. The continued use of
“strenuous,” “steep,” “for experienced Grand Canyon hikers only,” and its
recommendation to take three nights did not put us at ease. In addition, we
were becoming more aware that we would likely be the only ones hiking to the
bottom. These were not comforting realizations.
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| Outside the not so helpful visitor center |
While checking into our campsite, we tried one more time for
info from the attendant, who was the only ranger we could talk to. He asked if
we had any Grand Canyon experience, did we have a map, did we have all the
quadrants we needed, and did we have a rat sack. No, yes, yes (Emily didn’t
know what this meant, but we had a topo of the full length of the trail), and
no (we didn’t even know what this was). He informed us that a rat sack is a
wire mesh bag for food storage required for overnights (it did not mention this
on our permit) and that it would be very hot, we would be very alone and we
should be very careful; all helpful advice, but not for our nerves. He also
advised seeking shelter between 10am and 4pm if we weren’t to our destination.
Thankfully the general store was open until 9pm and we were
able to rent a rat sack for $7 per night including tonight (trekking poles were
a mere $2 per night). What a scam, but we rented it anyway. We probably won’t
need it but at this point we wanted to do anything to help our chances. One
girl working at the store comforted us when we asked her about the Tanner
Trail. She said the saddle was spectacular and that we’d be fine as long as we
were slow and careful. Her enthusiasm did little to ease our fears.
We have sent texts to our parents explaining where we are
going and when we should be back and who to call if things go wrong. We won’t
know if the texts ease their worries or terrify them more as we have spotty
service at best… We need to pack our bags and try to get some sleep before our
4:30am alarm so I should close.
I think we will be fine, but I’ll admit I’m scared.
Aidan
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