What goes down must come up!! Hee Hee
Hubby had a miserable night - he was really congested. He is a trooper though! The day was stunningly beautiful - could not have planned for nicer weather. In fact it was almost hot. Upper 60s to 70 degrees and sunshine.
We reached the park and found, like in many other areas during this off-peak time, that there is construction. Oh well - - We also found lots of people. I can't imagine being here in the middle of summer.
Our first glimpse of the canyon was breath taking. Again, pictures just don't give it any justice.
We packed up water, trail mix, granola bars, had a bathroom break and headed out to discover the canyon up close and personal.
Our chosen path Kaibab Trail, thanks for the recommendation Pastor. It is National Parks week - which means entrance into all parks are free (we bought our pass the day before not realizing this event). I am not sure but it seemed like it is drawing people - maybe it is always that busy. I have no way to judge as this is my first visit.
Our goal - - Cedar Point, the second vista on the trail. It is listed as 1,140 feet down and 3 miles. We were to allow 2-4 hours round trip. As we entered the trail head, a group of Asians were coming out...some rather elderly. I figured if they could do it - so could I. :)
We began our descent - I wondered if we were mistaken in leaving our sweatshirts behind. A cool breeze off a few patches of snow. As we descended we were met by hikers going up, huffing and puffing, red faced. Hmmmm I began to seriously wonder if we should stop at the Ooh Aah Point - the first point about a 1.5 mile round trip. A little further into the canyon I was thankful we left the sweatshirts behind, they would have just been added weight on the hike. Without the wind, it was quite warm.
The views were spectacular. A whole different perspective as you go down. Early spring - the greens are just popping. The canyon looks covered in a fine green grass. Being mid-day the sun was quite high and warm. We took a slow pace but I could feel the altitude affecting me.
We continued to meet hikers coming up - huffing and puffing. But some who looked as if they were in (or out of) shape like me, and others - more couch potato. Well... I encouraged myself, they can do it, so can I. We continued along the limestone, stopped and oohed and aahed at the first point. Looked down to see the path continue - looked up to see the path we had come. The top looked far away and the people were starting to look small.
We stepped aside a couple of times for mules to pass on their way up. Those creatures covered in sweat, continued their pace.. slow and steady. Down we went, my anxiety about returning up starting to creep up. We entered the red area of the trail. By the end our shoes, socks, and pants turned colors as well.
Step by step down we went and we reached our destination - Cedar Point. Wow! A very different perspective from lower in the canyon. Through the binoculars we could see the top of the trail head - oh those people looked like ants even through the binocs! Drinking water, eating trail mix and granola bars, we rested under a few small trees. We viewed the canyon, took our pictures... then began the trek back UP! What goes down must go up :)
DD#1 set a nice slow, steady pace. It was quite warm down in the canyon and we appreciated any shade we could find along the trail. We made a few acquaintances on our way up. Finally we reached the upper third - out of the red dust and cooler air. More shade too.
We made it to the top!!! Hubby was amazed that we did the round trip in about 3 hours. At the moment we could not decide if it was worth it. But it was worth the effort!! Our water supply was depleted and were were anxious to return to the visitor complex to find some more fluids.
No comments:
Post a Comment