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Grand Canyon "Adventure" turned Survival on my road trip across U.S.

I read most of this story on the blog. I can't even imagine what you were thinking or feeling waiting for him to come back. I'm glad you are all ok.
 
Glad you guys made it out! The Grand Canyon is an amazing place, but it is also very dangerous.

My sister and I backpacked the GC about 3 years ago. We did it in Febuary, which was much cooler than what you guys experienced. We actually hit the trailhead when a blizzard was blowing in. I know what your saying , "Snow in the Grand Canyon?!?", yep there was, and there was a ton of it. Since the rim is at a higher altitude, the snow melted as we progressed down the trail. It went from snow, to slush, to mud, then dry dirt. We went down the very same trail you guys did. We took the South Kaibab down to Bright Angel campground, day hiked up to Ribbon Falls the next day, and then hiked back up the Bright Angel Trail over the next two stays, staying at Indian Gardens along the way. We seen a high of 50* and a low of 30* during the trip.

Here are a couple pics.

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232323232%7Ffp5383%3B%3Enu%3D3366%3E%3B86%3E286%3EWSNRCG%3D344%3A575253336nu0mrj

My sister at the base O'Neill Butte

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rkmoore said:
Ya but it's a dry heat so it's not really all that bad, right?
:D

Just kidding...

I've lived in Texas pretty much my whole life and learned at an early age to respect/fear what the heat will do to you.

Glad y'all are ok and I hope you can keep in touch. We need a little more Captain Airyca around here.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I hate the heat, and have little experience with it. The part that I was unprepared for was being totally unaware how much water I was loosing through sweat because of the wind. And yeah, I'm gonna try and get on here more often again :)

tman038 said:
Glad you guys are ok. Great thread. Some good info there. I think its so cool about finding the water. I wonder if it was rangers or other hikers that left it, knowing someone, someday could really need it to save their life.
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It was definitely left by rangers, thank goodness. It really changed the ball game for us.

Tdhurl1103 said:
Critical Thinking pays off. Nice job to the both of you.

I couldn't help but laugh when Cameron said, "...there was a gallon, we drank half of that. Well, we drank a third of it, well some of it, then filled up our water bottle."

Glad you two are ok.
Click to expand...

Yeah, He likes to tell an accurate story but his brain was tired.

Goose_52 said:
Glad you guys made it out! The Grand Canyon is an amazing place, but it is also very dangerous.
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Agreed. It's easy to get complacent about things when you're accustomed to them. For example. I enjoy being outdoors, and spend a lot of time out in nature. I feel comfortable outside and know I'm capable of taking care of myself. Even though the desert made me a little nervous, I still don't think I was as careful as I should have been because I'm just more comfortable outside. It's very different from being in a big city, like when I've been in Vegas or L.A. or NYC, I am pretty uncomfortable being around people I don't know and very "aware" I am out of my usual environment.

Love those pics Goose! I wish we would have been a little more prepared. it would have made exploring the canyon much more fun.
 
Even if you spend a lot of time in the "church of the open sky", canyon hiking is a thing unto itself. Hiked down South Kaibab like 20 years ago, but being from the east coast, we always go up, then down. My brother and I were lucky; at the junction of the Tonto trail when we were considering trying to get to the river, we met some rangers who pointed out the difficulty of that route and suggested taking the Tonto trail across the plateau to Bright Angel and back to our lodge, an option we had not considered but decided was a good idea. Great hike, but even so I had quite a bit of difficulty with dehydration and temp control on the way up and out. This was in April; snow on the south rim, high 80's on the plateau. Still......you always gotta be careful.
I'm happy to hear you made it out OK - but remember: discretion is the better part of valor. It sounds as if you both learned something, at least. Great book of what happens here in NH every year - "Not Without Peril" how people underestimate their circumstances and overestimate their abilities.
Alright, no more preaching. Enjoy the rest of your trip.
 
Glad y'all are ok, had fun and learned something. Hey, at least nobody had to cut their arm off!
 
Glad you guys made it out!

"Blazing the sun" Might have a whole new meaning to him now!!!
 
Glad it worked out Airyca, and kudos to you for having the guts to post this up so that we all can learn from it. Some folks wouldn't have posted it. Glad you both are ok. :thumbup:
 
I have absolutely NO experience with the desert. Thank you very much for the details of this trip. One of the things on my bucket list is to spend a week hiking the GC, you just gave me some valuable insight.
 
Busheagle said:
Glad it worked out Airyca, and kudos to you for having the guts to post this up so that we all can learn from it. Some folks wouldn't have posted it. Glad you both are ok. :thumbup:
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Thank you, I definitely hesitated to post it at first.

bsmith_shoot said:
I have absolutely NO experience with the desert. Thank you very much for the details of this trip. One of the things on my bucket list is to spend a week hiking the GC, you just gave me some valuable insight.
Click to expand...

Oh gosh, I hope you get to go! It's totally awesome, and if you do it right, it'd probably be way more comfortable than our way >.< All I can say is water is life!!

(i've been compulsively drinking so much water since we got back....)
 
Wow!!! So happy to hear you both survived this experience unharmed. The desert is absolutely merciless, there's no such thing as too much water when you're out there. Extreme heat and the humidity levels are single-digit quite often. You don't appear to sweat at all, it just evaporates right out of you.

Thanks for sharing.
 
Glad you guys are OK! It is crazy how fast you can turn into a prune and not feel it until it gets dangerous. Honestly I think I would be the same way if I was hiking in your neck of the woods though. I have lived in south central Texas for 44 years so I know the heat very well, but I would probably freeze to death trying to camp in the fall in Oregon.

My wife and I drove to the Grand Canyon for our honeymoon, it is an amazingly beautiful and awe inspiring place.
ikqc.jpg

20w.jpg
 
Great story, glad it turned out OK.
That is the stuff that turns a hike into an adventure.
 
I tell the truth, I do not lie,
I'm really glad you did not die.
The canyon taught a lesson learned:
Drink a lot or you'll get burned.
It's best to see tomorrow come,
So tell trail blazer he is dumb
When he sets out in dryest heat,
Without hydration's safe retreat.
Thank the rangers, thank The Lord,
Liquid bounty they afford.
And when you next put foot to trail,
Pack more water dammit.
 
Guyon said:
I tell the truth, I do not lie,
I'm really glad you did not die.
The canyon taught a lesson learned:
Drink a lot or you'll get burned.
It's best to see tomorrow come,
So tell trail blazer he is dumb
When he sets out in dryest heat,
Without hydration's safe retreat.
Thank the rangers, thank The Lord,
Liquid bounty they afford.
And when you next put foot to trail,
Pack more water dammit.
Click to expand...

'Tis beautiful, I'm weeping.
 
Glad you guys are ok, and like said before, Great on your part to share this. I know many people would not be able to, me being one of em. Again, glad it worked out and you made it out under your own steam. Water isn't that important....... till you run out :).

Thanks for sharing
 
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