Day 5: South Rim, Down and Up: The Trail is Calling (Off Bikes)

May 22, 2015

When I originally planned the route for the expedition from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon, I anticipated the ride would continue for another day or two on Highway 180 from the south rim back to Flagstaff where the car(s) would be parked. However, our wives—they've known each other since about 1975, but they don't do bicycle touring—decided to accompany us to Arizona—an excellent plan, because someone in a position of responsibility always needs to keep a watchful eye on RJ and me—which meant we had no cars left behind in Flagstaff and thus no particular reason to pedal back to where we started.

Instead, after their own excursions and adventures, the ladies ended up meeting us at the south rim on Thursday. RJ and his wife needed to head back to Illinois on Friday morning. My ace support crew and I decided to spend the day hiking in the canyon.

Actually, my wife had already been hiking in and along the canyon, including a 14-mile expedition on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, under clear skies, Deb hiked solo down the South Kaibab trail, along the Tonto trail, and back up the Bright Angel for a total of almost fourteen miles.

(Photo by another hiker on the trail)

At that point it had been more than twenty years since I'd trekked all the way down to the Colorado River and back up—in an entirely different part of the canyon—so I was looking forward to retracing part of Deb's 14-miler with her. While she had perfect hiking weather on Tuesday, Friday we encountered a mix of sunshine, clouds, thunder, lightning, rain, sleet, snow, and gusty winds—everything except a rainbow, for which we searched futilely—with conditions changing radically every few minutes. We even had a dose of "thunder snow" with booming thunderclaps while snow flurries fell from angry dark clouds.

Fortunately, we were fully prepared for inclement weather conditions, and Mother Nature's capricious attitude just served to make the day even more interesting. The constantly shifting patterns of sun and clouds and shadows and light also showcased the dazzling scenery and produced some splendid photographs.

Here are some photos from our bike-less Friday.

Deb leads me down the South Kaibab Trail on Friday morning.

You need to step quickly in order to keep up with the Queen of the Trails.

Down the trail we go.

There's Deb, surveying her domain.

Hey, where's my bike?

(Photo by DJW)

Looking back toward the south rim.

Deb takes a break on Cedar Ridge on the South Kaibab.

Sermon on the rocks.

(Photo by DJW)

You can just trace the thin line of the Tonto trail far below where Deb hiked earlier in the week.

Deb carefully peeks over the edge.

By now some clouds and heavy weather are starting to blow into the canyon.

Another look down before we start up the trail in sprinkles and showers.

Old Grumble-Face and his ace support crew finish the climb back up to the rim as more inclement weather closes in.

(Photo by lady from Tennessee)

We hiked back to Mather Point and the visitor center where the sky let loose a deluge and the temperature dropped like a rock, so we decided to drive to Desert View, only to discover snow squalls at slightly higher elevations.

This slushy road is the same one RJ and I were pedaling yesterday.

This shot taken right along the rim road on the way to Desert View.

RJ and I definitely did not see any snow here yesterday!

The afternoon turns colder and windier, and wind-blown Deb cradles her cup of hot chocolate at the Desert View overlook.

Deb and the watchtower at Desert View.

On the way back to the visitor center from Desert View, the canyon was filling with billowing clouds as it snowed on us along the rim.

More clouds billowing through the canyon.

Sometimes the clouds would suddenly thicken and the canyon would disappear entirely.

Despite sunshine in the distance, while these clouds were swirling through the canyon we were experiencing rain, sleet, and snow.

A little farther along the south rim we were back in sunshine for awhile, but more clouds spilled over the north rim.

Looking from the south rim as more clouds spill into the canyon.

Deb enjoys the dramatic changes in weather conditions.

I think someone had a memorable visit to the South Kaibab trail and the rim of the Grand Canyon today!

(Photo by lady from Tennessee)

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