So I am currently in Utah, on a new adventure traveling in the direction of Zion National Park. And I’m not traveling alone, I’m with my wife (that was a different kind of adventure). We are on our honeymoon. We flew into Vegas on Saturday.
Sunday we took a helicopter tour over the West Rim of the Grand Canyon starting in Las Vegas. It was the first time either of was in a helicopter and we really enjoyed it. I especially liked when we lean one way or another and made dips. We went over the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead on the way, which was also cool. The Grand Canyon was spectacular and the helicopter gave us a unique perspective from above it. Flying through Las Vegas being even with the skyscrapers and hotels was neat as well.
From the tour we had to stock up on supplies so we stopped at Walmart for all the essentials: brownies, cake, muffins, and double stuffed Oreos (among other things). We were on our way to the Grand Canyon and ride was smooth for the most part, just a little traffic.
After we stopped at our AirBNB we stopped at the Grand Canyon and found the Bright Angel Trailhead. This is what we needed for the next day.
On Monday we woke up bright and early around 5:45a. Packed our gear and got going. Today was the day we were going to hike the Grand Canyon.
We were able to start around 7a at Bright Angel Trailhead. There were very few people. The first mile and half had some icy spots which was nerve-wracking to pass them. At one point we were able to just crouch low and slide down the ice. There were lots of switchbacks and it was very fun on the way down. We felt pretty good as we made it to the Indian Garden campground 4.5 miles down. We kept going after a short break.
As we went further on we began to wear down. My feet got sore and my toes were getting jammed from the downhill walking. Finally we hit the Colorado River and there is a little beach there. We were so happy to see the rushing water, but we still had more to get to the Phantom Ranch camp area, actually it was around 2 miles more and it was more uphill than we thought. It was thrilling to reach the Silver Bridge going over the Colorado River. We had made it there!
Another short break and we were back on our way up. When we got back to the Colorado River we stopped at the beach and dipped our feet in the river. It was freezing and we could only keep them in for a minute or two before needed to pull them out, but it felt good as we started to blister. The rest of the way was a little more exhausting, we took a lot more breaks, ate and drank much more, and we encountered more people, but surprisingly we made it back in almost the same amount of time. Thankfully a majority of the ice from the morning had melted by the time we got bsck. The entire hike with breaks took us about 9 hours 23 minutes and was an estimated 20 miles. The views were spectacular and it was well worth it overall.
Today, we woke up pretty sore, but still able to move around. After a late start, we got up to the road going to the park and there was an hour+ long line so we decided not go back. So, we headed in the direction of Zion National Park. On our way we stopped at Wupatki and Sunset Crater Volcano National Monuments which were pleasant surprises. We stopped in Page and got some food/supplies and went to Horseshoe Bend. Despite our soreness we still climbed some rocks and had a good time. Continuing on we got some pictures at Glen Canyon Dam and we found this little nook of a slot canyon called Stateline Canyon. It was off of a residential development and was another cool stop. Now, we are on our way to our AirBNB for the night.
newtravelerfromcle 