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Life is Grand

This is going to be more of a photo journal than a blog post. Clare, Patrick and I just did a 3 day backpacking trip off the South Rim of the Grand Canyon at Grandview. We hiked and camped with a guide and a father and son from Oklahoma. It was an amazing experience. The Canyon is massive in scale. That point is driven home as you hike down into it. The hiking was strenuous but we had been forewarned. An email from Wildland Trekking Company 4weeks ago asked how our training was going. That caught my attention but still wasn't enough to move me to perform the suggested training of 2-3 hours of stair climbing with a loaded pack. In retrospect it would have been wise. On day one we hiked off the South Rim to Hance Creek, a five mile hike that lost 3,500' in elevation. When someone tells you it's all downhill don't necessarily think that it will be easy. We camped under some Cottonwood trees and were serenaded by a choir of frogs as we Cowboy camped under a clear star filled sky. The next morning we broke camp and hiked up to Horsehoe Mesa. We set up our camp in a juniper break and pondered the potential Gin production of the Mesa. The entire area of our hike also showed great potential for Tequila production as Agave plants were everywhere, many with their seed stalks probing skyward. We cooked dinner out on the western arm of the horseshoe and watched a beautiful sunset. We made our way back to camp under headlamps and then collapsed onto our sleeping pads. The wind picked up and sent us into our sleeping bags and we watched the constellations above as we fell asleep. Day three saw an early start as we climbed back up to the South Rim at 7,200'. We were in the Suburban by 11am and headed back to Flagstaff. I can already feel the soreness coming on but it was so worth it. We missed Abbey and Amy but we shall return no doubt.


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