Day 6 - Bright Angel Trail - September 8, 2008

I was awakened before 4 a.m. by two of our dorm mates who were planning on leaving by 4:30. I tried to ignore their noises and shuffling, tooth brushing and peeing and clothes being stuffed into packs and food being removed from the food locker, but couldn't. I knew someone would be walking by soon, knocking on the door, and announcing the 5 a.m. breakfast. It was only a matter of time.

When the knock came, I was ready - got up, dressed, brushed my teeth and out the door into the warm darkness to wait for breakfast. Same as last time - scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes, juice and coffee. I ate a lot and it didn't take long. On our way out, we grabbed our bag lunches, took out the stuff we weren't going to eat and left it there. No sense in carrying it out - we had already carried too much in and out of the Canyon. We were starting to wise up.

We headed for the river at 5:45 a.m. with enough ambient light so we could find our way without headlamps. I didn't feel the sadness that I usually feel on leaving this special place. I felt more of the anticipation of the day ahead, walking out of the Canyon and completing our rim to rim to rim goal. The trail crossed the river at the silver bridge and we stood and took pictures on the swaying structure until we could delay no more. The trail along the south side runs parallel to the river for a little over a mile. It's a great place to say goodbye to the river and the belly of the Canyon. I loved being inside the Canyon. It felt comfortable - it felt like being on top of the mountain with arms raised, yelling, "Yes!"

Before we knew it we turned away from the river to our left and starting up a slot canyon called Pipe Creek. The creek created a mini oasis all along its banks. The trail crisscrossed the creek as we wove our way to the bottom of the Devil's Corkscrew, a set of switchbacks that took us from the river to the Tonto Platform. After reaching the plateau we continued to follow the creek through the slot canyon until we reached Indian Gardens, a camping area where we could get more water. We invited ourselves into a small shelter and sat at the picnic table with two other couples while we all ate and drank before the next push.

As we threw on our packs I realized that I was feeling a bit tired - this was not an easy challenge we had set for ourselves. Despite eating and drinking well and legs that had recovered admirably after the day one descent, I felt tired. I knew I could make it to the top, and that a rest day tomorrow was exactly what I wanted. It was especially hard every time we started to move again after a rest. The Indian Gardens rest was longer than any of the others and I had plenty of time to stiffen up. After 20 minutes I felt fine and was in the climbing zone again. After about 3/4's of a mile we entered the area of the trail called Jacob's Ladder - this is a section of switchbacks that takes the hiker out and up to the rim. It's a long section, about 4 miles long, that just goes up and up and up. The smell of mule piss and dung is strong all along the trail.

We started to meet more and more people coming down the trail on day trips to Indian Gardens. When we reached the Three Mile rest house, I took on some water. The trail actually started to get crowded - some of these folks had never hiked before and had no sense of trail etiquette or that such a thing even existed. Right of way goes to the hiker who is expending the most energy - the hiker who is going up. Even if I didn't know anything about hiking, my first instinct upon seeing dusty hikers breathing hard coming up the trail would be to step aside and them pass. Not these folks - with every language in the world being spoken, these tourists came from Japan, Korea, and Germany, from Mexico, Uzbekistan, and Sweden. I just put my head down when I saw them coming and kept walking - while I moved over to the side of the trail, I didn't stop walking - if they weren't going to move, we were going to share the trail.

We reached the One-and-a-Half-Mile rest house, which was crowded with people sitting in the shade, getting water, or just looking around, and passed on through. We started to catch up to and pass some of the hikers who had left Phantom ranch before us - I guess our pace was pretty decent. Like a couple of horses to water, we could smell the rim. Just as we came around a switchback and could see the rim for the first time, I heard someone yell and made out the word, "Nancy!" I looked up and there was a man standing on the rim opposite the switchback we were on. I knew it was Tom - we waved, shouting and smiling to each other, aware that Tom and Mary had really made it to celebrate our return to the rim and feeling the sense of victory at successfully meeting the challenge we had set for ourselves.

Another fifteen or twenty minutes passed before we finally made it to the last part of the trail that leads up to the rim. Tom and Mary yelled our names and we raised arms in triumph. I could feel the tears and emotion surge inside me. I felt so happy, so complete, and I wanted to feel the whole experience of sharing the joy of reaching the rim and being greeted by Tom and Mary and having done this with Nancy. With Tom snapping pictures as fast as he could, Nancy and I walked into Mary's open arms. We hugged and then Tom joined us, and we all were laughing and talking and crying at the same time. It was great - the circle we had opened when we decided to greet every member of our rim to rim group last summer was closed with this generous gesture by Tom and Mary, who planned their vacation so that they could be at the rim when we came up. Last summer, we greeted and celebrated. This summer, we were greeted and celebrated.

After taking off our packs and guzzling ice water, we walked with Tom and Mary to their rim-side cabin where we dropped off our packs, grabbed some food, and jumped into their rental car. We were going to spend the afternoon exploring the viewpoints on the east rim. I couldn't think if anything I would rather do. We ate almost everything before we had reached the first overlook. Two hungry girls.

The temperature when we left their cabin was in the mid-80's - it didn't even occur to me that it would change. And change it did - with clouds and wind and a huge temperature drop. I was dressed in a tank top and shorts as we stopped and walked out to viewpoint after viewpoint. The views were outstanding and I ignored how cold I felt for as long as I could - finally, after a couple of hours, I realized I was cold deep into my core and dead tired. I needed a shower and a lie down before our 7pm celebration dinner. Tom drove us back to the El Tovar where we were to pick up our luggage, but it had already been brought to our room. Tom and Mary went back to their cabin, put on our backpacks, just to get a sense of the weight we had been carrying, and walked them up the rim walk to the El Tovar.

Nancy was jazzed with the day, the hike, the emotions of leaving the inner gorge, the joy at being greeted, the views we saw in the afternoon, and I was exhausted. I could feel myself wanting to take a break, but couldn't give myself permission and say it out loud. We both got between the bedspread and the blanket and turned the light off and talked for a while. Suddenly the alarm went off and I had no idea where I was or if I had been sleeping. Nancy said I had been - I felt altered, confused, and disoriented. We showered and dressed - one of our promises to ourselves had been to bring something to wear for this dinner that we really felt good wearing. Clothes aren't my thing - at least clothes that aren't simple and plain and practical - jeans and t-shirts, outdoor wear and fleece work for me. I shop at EMS or LL Bean - not Anne Taylor or Macy's. I have always dressed a little defensively - loose was better than tight. The right size was ok, but bigger was better. When Nancy said she had bought some pants and was able to wear a shirt she had bought long ago that had been too small, I felt the pressure.

At the last possible minute, the day before we left, I stopped at JC Penney's and bought a bunch of shirts and pants - didn't even bother to try them on - and when I got home, everything fit except for one item. I had my outfit for the dinner. The pressure was off. Phew. I dressed and waited for Nancy, still basking in the glow of having completed our rim to rim to rim and feeling rejuvenated by our brief nap.

We walked up to the El Tovar and were seated at a table with a view of the Canyon - of course, it was dark out so we couldn't see anything, but we knew it was out there - right there. Tom and Mary joined us a bit later and we proceeded to spend two hours eating, drinking and talking. Talking about the day, talking about the year that had passed, sharing a little bit of what I do and where I live, what Nancy is doing and what her dreams are. I was shocked when we paid and I saw that it was already 10:30 p.m. Not too late to go to bed, right? I was ready and it felt great to slide between the sheets with a tired body and a clear heart.