Day 4 - Monday, July 3, 2017

Our Route Day 4

Our plan today was to drive from Flagstaff to the South Rim of the Grand

Canyon. It was about a 90 minute trip. Once on the interstate, we ended up behind this guy... I felt like we were one of those fighter jets getting ready to connect to the fuel tanker in the air... just a little closer... Must. Have. Coffee. LOL

We made it to the park entrance without issue. So did ten thousand other people... there are five entrance lines; all were lined up for a long stretch. From the entrance station it is several miles of a drive to reach the visitors center. It is a very large, well developed area. We used the restrooms, grabbed some IMAGE sandwiches and trail mix and decided on what hike we'd do. We decided on the red route which took us the furthest west in the park, Hermit's Rest. We took a park shuttle bus to this stop. It's really nice because on this particular red route, private vehicles are not allowed from March through November.

The Canyon. There is no way that pictures can do it justice. We would just stare with our mouths open. An incredible sight to behold. We began the hike from Hermit's Rest hoping to hike all the back to the Village- it would be a 7 mile hike. Because it is only shuttle bus traffic the roads are single lane. Next to the road is a black topped trail for hikers to use. Between the paved hiking path and the rim of the canyon are man made trails through the brush so to speak. We were not a fan of hiking on the blacktop so we opted for the trails through the brush.

Side note- The smells were incredible. Lots of wildflowers, pine, juniper, and sagebrush. I would purposefully brush up against the sagebrush to get the smell in the air. 

So while we are hiking through the brush, this trail is on the rim at some parts. When we first started the trail, we had at least a few feet between us and 'the edge'. This did not hold true in some sections of the trail. Here is a video of some of that. I could not look to the left. I kept my focus on the trail just ahead of me. Exhilarating to say the least!


As the miles and hours passed, we enjoyed the water in our camel back bag. We put five bottles of water in it when we left for our hike. It was a beautiful day- very few clouds and bright sun. Very low humidity. You are warned numerous times about dehydration and being sure to bring enough water with you. Hiking through the brush gave us shade that was not an option on the blacktop so it was an easy choice even with the fear of dropping 5,000 feet to the Canyon floor.

During the hike there is a lot of time to think when you aren't concentrating on not falling into the abyss. I reflected on a year ago at this time, we were hiking in Glacier National Park with Becky & Steven Landry. The main warning delivered by the park system in that park is bear safety. You are recommended to bring bear spray (looks like a mini fire extinguisher), you are told to make loud noise so that you scare away any bears in the area, (Steven brought a cowbell, I brought an extra iPhone with a playlist and a portable speaker) etc. I remember that hike having an elevated sense of anticipation. We were anxious to make it to Hidden Lake but also being very alert every step of the way (even with my heavy breathing lol). How different this hike was proving to be, I thought. There must not be bears in Grand Canyon. I like not feeling like I'm prey. That brings us back to the hike today. At one point, I was leading. Dean told me to stop, which isn't unusual, it means he's shooting pictures and doesn't want us to separate. So I stop and see him focusing his camera. My first thought, a snake, we finally get to see a snake! I wasn't afraid, just excited. To this point we'd seen elk and various birds, a rattle snake would be a cool site! He shoots a few, I don't see anything in the direction that he is shooting. Then he says, come back here. He wants to show me the snake! I walk back towards to him and he says walk back this way. He points in the direction where I was standing and tells me to look close. Then I see it.... a bobcat! Holy cannoli! She was sitting about fifteen feet off of the path but had been watching us the entire time. We back tracked and hiked back up to the paved path. I moved rather quickly... our hearts were pumping.

Can You Spot Her?

After that incident we stayed on the paved path for a while. However, there is no shade. We moved back into the brush when the heat got to be too much. So now, while walking along the rim on the Canyon I'm playing through scenarios about what could happen that might make me jump and fall into the Canyon. What is the bobcat came at me my right and pounced on me? Would that knock the two of us into the Canyon? LOL- too much time to think...

As we got to mile 3.8 of the hike, we stopped for a breather and a quick sip. Dean noted that we were at the end of the water. The direction that we were heading in did not have water opportunities. We really wanted to make it at least to Mohave Point which we had been looking at throughout the hike. It was 1.1 miles away. We pushed on and made it to Mohave. The hike was just under 5 miles and we completed it in 4 hours. We were not going to attempt another 2 miles without water. We stop a lot for pictures, video, and just breathers. We took the shuttle back to the visitors center and made our way back to our car. We had iced waters in the car waiting for us. We were both parched. Cold water never tasted so good!

We left the park and were heading to Page, Arizona where we had reservations for the night. Google was not keeping up and I was not focusing on navigation as I was trying to get information from home on different things going on. Long story short, we should've turned left instead of right at one point. After a while, Google finally made connectivity and told us to 'turn onto Farm Road 303'... we get to so said road and it is a gravel road. Right through the middle of a pasture. 'Turn now' she says. We turn. 'In one mile turn left onto Farm Road 255'. We turn onto even less of a road that the one before. I applaud Google for getting us where we need to go regardless of the road, but we opted to turn around and back track. This added an hour or so to our travel time but at least we didn't tip any cows along the way LOL.

So now we are traveling east and then north to get to Page. Along this route we come upon the Little Colorado River Canyon. Holy cow! It's a much smaller canyon than the Grand, but it is right up and close on the highway. Of course, we find a pull off and Dean shoots pics. Then he gets out the drone to capture some footage there as well. It was a beautiful evening and he was doing what he loves. Life is good.

Our plan for Day 5 (Happy Birthday America!) is to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We will be closer to this destination being in Page. Looking forward to it!

Day 4 Pictures