August 15, 1987
The Grand Canyon to the San Francisco Mountains
What a full morning! When I pulled into the restaurant here (in Hasayan Village) for my last pit stop before Flgstaff I was amazed to be asked if I wanted the breakfast or lunch menu. I was certain that it was well into afternoon but it was still only 11:15.
I finished off the day yesterday sitting on the rim of the canyon with a beer, watching the sundown turn the varied hues of the canyon into ghostly grey-green haze, before wandering into the woods to flop my bag out on the ground. The sky had cleared up completely and it looked safe to go tentless for the night. after about an hour though I found myself wide awake in the very dark forest, listening to a thumping a distance way, wondering what my chances were of getting trampled by a deer. I lay there awhile wrestling with my anxiety, trying to convince myself of the foolishness of my fears; finally though it occurred to me that the real folly was to lose sleep when I could easily erect the tent and find a bit of security.
I awoke this morning at pre-dawn and as quickly as I could pack away my gear and change my shoes I started down the Kaibab Trail. This is the steeper, less frequented of the two trails descending to the river in this area. I wasn't really planning on going too far - it is a 14 mile round trip that drops 5000' (and climbs again on the return, of course), and I didn't think that I'd have anything left over to start off to Flagstaff with if I went the full distance. I just had some vague thought of turning back when I reached some logical spot. As it happened, I made it as far as the dropoff point at the rim of the inner canyon, 5 miles and 3500' down.
It was a wonderful hike - all I could have hoped for from a day in the canyon. It was a hot, dry trip except for the first hour as the sun came up and illuminated the cliffs. There were at least four different signs at the beginning of the trail warning of the dangers of heat, overexertion and dehydration. It is easy to understand the need for the warnings - it is quite difficult when going downhill to resist the next bend in the trail; and hard to bear in mind how much more arduous that bend will be on the return trip. It took a fair amount of willpower to eventually make myself stop and turn back; but I reached the point I had hoped for, and started climbing back out again feeling quite well satisfied with myself.
Everything changed constantly as I descended into the canyon - the type and color of the rock, the vegetation, the weather, the perspective of the canyon. Every aspect of the hike was fascinating. The plant life transformed from pinon-juniper to a stand of agave to the Tonto Desert, complete with prickly pear and mesquite. The major geologic beds became real to me as I passed each one: loking at photographs now, I will recognize the redrock sandstone and recall the many switcbacks traversed down and up its face under the hot sun; and I will be able to see the Bright Angel shale and remember the feel of standing on the precipice at the edge of its desert, staring down into the inner canyon at the Colorado Rier another 1500' below, the roar of its rapids filling the canyon even to this height.
Had I not hiked below the rim I think that I would have left with a distinct distaste for the park. The southwest end is crowded and commercialized to an almost revolting degree. It reminded me more of a shopping mall than of a shrine to one of the wonders of the world. As I watched the activities of the people there and noted their impact on the park environment, it was hard not to feel that it should be much more difficult for people to get here.
Anyway, the balance of my day was spent closing in on Flagstaff. I've been really pleasantly surprised by the day's ride - I had been regarding the 80 mile trip from the canyon to the airport as an anticlimactic necessity for some reason; but I enjoyed it very much. I covered 50 or so of the remaining miles this afternoon, and at sundown tented out in the middle of the attractive San Francisco Mountains. The climb up into these mountains has been a delight - I've ascended through the by now familiar standard progression from desert to juniper to ponderosa, have been treated to an increasingly colorful roadside display of alpine wildflowers, and have gotten to see another pronghorn fairly close up before it bounded off with great speed and grace. The climb was made all the more enjoyble by a well deserved favorable wind for a change. It made a serendipitous last act to what has been a wonderful adventure.
Today's ride: 50 miles (80 km)
Total: 523 miles (842 km)
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