Michelle and Marie will forever be saints in my book. We were setting up our tents on the second evening in the Grand Canyon and I was focused on getting my tent perfect for some photography that night. I kind of lost track of my surroundings. I glanced over at John, Michelle, and Marie and asked how their tents were coming along. They were doing great, and then they asked about mine. I told them I needed some help. They looked at me puzzled and I replied “I sat on a cactus.” They quickly came over and pulled the spines out that they could see and one of them said “I think we got them all.” I replied, “thank you but there are more”. These two ladies proceeded to pull cactus out of my buttcheek for what seemed like an hour with my pants around my ankles in the bottom of the Grand Canyon without complaint… We joked about our first impressions of each other just two days before that bonding moment. They were amazing!
Day 1: Fly from Billings, Montana to Las Vegas, Nevada
Day 2: Bus from Las Vegas, Nevada to Flagstaff, Arizona
Day 3-8: Hike Grand Canyon from Rim to Rim to Rim
Day 9: Bus from Flagstaff, Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada
Day 10: Trade show for work in Las Vegas (with vacation brain)
I travel to Las Vegas, Nevada every year in January for a tradeshow for work. I thought this would be an opportune time to fly down early, bask in some warmer weather for a bit longer than my scheduled week, and get a good bucket list trek in. I flew into Las Vegas and jumped on a bus over to Flagstaff, Arizona. Movies make Greyhound buses look so adventurous; like you’re breaking away from your mundane life but I honestly wouldn’t recommend it. Or at least the one from Las Vegas to Flagstaff. I wasn’t in danger or maybe I was and I was just unaware. The unenjoyable part was just the smell, a mix of stale urine and sweaty bodies that had gone days without bathing. Also, the bus just takes a while with all the stops, and it’s generally slow pace. But it was a successful bus ride from A to B so I can’t complain too much.
I met my fellow adventurers the night I got into town. My guide’s name was Ryan and my hiking companies were Michelle and John (married) and Marie. It was a pretty low-key meeting going over our gear and game plan. The next morning, we made the hour and half car ride from Flagstaff to South Kaibab Trailhead. It was snowing and cold. Ryan made the decision that we should do the hike in reverse of the original plan because of the weather. Both of these trailheads are on the south rim but the Bright Angel Trailhead starts at a little lower elevation than the South Kaibab Trailhead so it was a little warmer weather. We drove to the Bright Angel Trailhead and started from there. It warmed up gradually as we lost elevation and by the time we made it to camp, it was a comfortable 55-60 degrees. Ryan told us stories from summer treks and I am so glad I chose to go in the winter because of the mild temperatures and the lack of crowds even if we did see some snow. It sounds miserably hot in the summer. There was a lot of downhill trekking and beautiful landscapes to take in. We passed through the Indian Gardens (gorgeous) and watched the sunset from Pipe Creek Beach (everyone should do this at least once in their life) before crossing the Colorado River (don’t worry, there is a bridge) at dusk and strolling into the Bright Angel Campground near Phantom Ranch at dark.
The next morning, we started toward Cottonwood Campground. We stopped along the way at Ribbon Falls and hung out underneath it for a good while taking photos and chatting. At this point, we had all gotten pretty acquainted with each other. I remember Ryan asking me why I booked a guided hike. I seemed outdoorsy enough, I could do this on my own. I love package deals when traveling. When I travel, it is my break from being responsible for everything. I know I will have food, transportation, gear, permits, etc. when I pay an expert to arrange. I know I am spending some extra money to travel this way, but it is worth it for the 100% stress reduction when I am taking a break from being responsible. Additionally, I get to meet new like minded friends and focus on taking pictures and having a great time!
It was this evening that I decided to test our newly formed friendships. Well, it wasn’t really a decision to sit on the cactus, it was an accident but my new friends stepped up nonetheless. The boys offered some moral support from a distance, but these girls handled my porcupine-looking buttcheek like pros.
Day three marked our assent to the North Kaibab Trailhead on the north rim. As we gained elevation, it got colder once again and we bundled up with some extra layers as we approached the top. We took a few photos and returned to Cottonwood Campground. There are a lot of amazing views along this whole trek. Hopefully my pictures do it some justice.
On day four, we traveled back to Bright Angel Campground. You can send mail from the bottom of the grand canyon and it is the last/only part of the United States Postal Service delivery system that is still operated by horse. I did my best to try to remember some addresses and bought some postcards. Some of my friends have yet to receive their postcards because I butchered their addresses. I would suggest you take your friends’ addresses with you if this is a fun memento that you would like to successfully partake in. On our way back to Bright Angel Campgrounds, we veered off our path to a Ribbon Falls overlook. We sat along the rim looking down over the waterfall that we were playing around just a few days prior. Additionally, we also stumbled upon an owl pellet which is a pretty rare find.
And on our last day, we made the long steep hike up to the South Kaibab Trailhead. It always feels good to work up a sweat on a slow and steady hill climb. We met a friendly bighorn sheep along the way as well! I felt pretty fortunate to have that opportunity. I have seen quite a few bighorn sheep but it seemed a bit special and kind of iconic to see one in the Grand Canyon.
Once we made it to the trailhead, we were picked up and started our drive back to Flagstaff. On the way, we stopped at a restaurant, not to eat, but for Ryan to show us a photo that was on display that his deceased father (Owen Seumptewa) had taken of a Hopi child dressed as a Hopi clown. He had the same photo tattoo on his calf.
It is interesting writing about these trips years after the adventure. I completed this hike back in January of 2017, over five years ago! On one hand, I get to reminisce as I dig through old emails from planning the trip and facebook photo albums wishing I had documented the journey when it was fresh. On the other hand, the important moments stand out the most. The moments that I didn’t even realize were that important when they were happening take the center stage. This was the group that I bonded with the most out of any of my adventures so far. I have enjoyed and learned from all the people that I have encountered but this was the group that still kept tabs on each other for years afterwards. I love meeting new people, forming friendships, and sharing experiences. Sometimes it takes a little cactus or other mishap to forge a stronger friendship. Sometimes it takes trekking for 5 days with what started as strangers hearing about life stories, struggles, and successes. It might be naive of me to imagine that everyone that I embrace when our paths cross moves forward constantly living their best life, but I like to envision it that way. I was caught off guard when Michelle posted about Ryan passing while mountain biking years after we met. Maybe it is still naive of me to think this, but I hope he is still living his best life as it continues in heaven, biking, hiking, and rafting. Ryan Seumptewa (August 12, 1983-December 1, 2020)
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