Night comes early down in the canyon. I managed to read for awhile, but despite being tired and a bit sore, it took some time to fall asleep last evening.
About 1:30am I stuck my head out of my tent to admire the rim to rim star scene.
It was pleasantly cool in the morning and I was walking by 6:30 am. The next water source was about 8 miles away but the hiking was fast and I covered the distance in less than 4 hours. I don't want to trivialize the seriousness of this area for hiking, but it seems easy and I'm covering distance faster than expected. The current plan is to be out a day earlier and go further, coming out on the Bright Angel trail.
The weather is about perfect, blue skies, nice gentle breezes and not too warm.
I stopped at Lonetree, a gully with water and shade. Rested there for almost 4 hours before making the 90 minute walk to the "Cremation" valley where I planned to spend the night. It was pretty warm when I stopped, one toe was complaining, but I can see the South Kaibab trail from here. Less than an hour's walk should get me there.
My plan is to continue on another 2 hours to Indian Gardens where there is water and an easier trail to the top. With any luck, I could be at the top by lunch.
The sun has gone down and the half moon is above. Should be back on the trail in 12 hours.
The trail continues...
No comments:
Post a Comment