Go West Young Man! Part One: Near Death

My first encounter with the West has been quite an
eye-opener. In all my dreams, I never imagined something so huge and
immense. Land for miles and miles stretching to meet the horizon.
Rocky cliffs that send long shadows across the warm roads (and Yukons
driving on them) while ridges just seem to bubble with colorful stones
in the midday heat. The storms out here are pretty incredible too as
we seem to have one almost everyday so far. Lighting sparks across
the mesa charging huge black clouds which sidle across the land.
Dennis already has a few photos of lightning striking the road ahead
of us from the car (or so I like to imagine).

The land surrounding Willams reminds me of pictures of Northern
California. Almost 8000 ft above sea level, the land ripples for
miles with green pines, adding a beautiful fragrance to the air. I
would have never suspected Arizona to house such scenery though.
Naively thinking the land dry and dusty much like northern Texas and
sections of New Mexico which we drove through, I never expected to
find such a reservoir of color and life.

Currently, we're back in our room nursing our blisters, bruises, and
general out-of-shape pain from two days of exhaustive but rewarding
hikes. Now before I go into the details of our trip, let me say that
in no way can I describe the wonder and grandeur of this place. The
Grand Canyon really defies every attempt to confine it to a few nicely
turned phrases or descriptions. I have pictures which you're welcome
to see, but none of them do justice to this place. Come see it. Then
you'll know.

Anyway, the first day involved us hiking about two miles across part of
the Southern Rim and then one and a half miles down into the canyon along the
Bright Angel Trail, which twists and turns along the side of the
canyon wall through arches, red iron-rich dust, and mule droppings.
The trail continues further onto a Plateau and eventually down to the
Colorado River which the park rangers strongly advise not to attempt
to visit and return in one day. It doesn't seem far, but perceptions
change constantly in this place. Case in point: what appears easy
walking down is in fact a real pain in the neck to walk up. Choosing
this trail was a decision of impulse rather than design. We saw the
sign and decided to give the trail a try as we had planned to attempt
it eventually although Tuesday had been slated for an easy walk
around the outer rim to Hermit's Peak. But our backpacks were filled
with water and snacks so with that thought in mind we descended into
the canyon.

I learned two things yesterday: running shoes are not equivalent to
hiking shoes and I cannot hike uphill to save my life. Looking back,
I think it was more fatigue, and a good long rest at the one and half mile stop
would have saved me much embarrassment later. Anyway, my muscles just
couldn't take the uphill climb without stopping every turn or so.
Obviously, I got back and all, but it was a tough climb, one that I'm
glad to have made; however long it may have took me.

Today we're coming back from a hike across most of the outer rim which
encompasses about eight miles up and back. Added to the seven mile hike
yesterday, we hiked fifteen miles in two days. I doubt a hardcore hiker
would be impressed with that, but I'm quite proud of the amount of
hiking we did. The Canyon really invites you to test your limits and
I think we left feeling we gave that we gave the big hole in the
ground everything we had. One day, I think (perhaps when I'm in
better shape or in possession of a llama), I'm going to give the
trail another try and maybe even hike down to the river. There's so
much here to see outside the normal tourist trails that you inevitably
miss waterfalls, caverns, rapids, and valleys if you cannot camp
overnight. I don't want to grow old and say I've missed out on that.

For now though, I'm preparing my mind and soul for a few nights of
debauchery and recklessness in Vegas. Pray for us over the next few
days . . . we may need it.