The Grand Canyon

This is my second time hiking down the Grand Canyon. The first time I hiked it I was just about to turn 19 and now being 22 I must admit I could feel the weight of the years. I was a little bit more tired but I still enjoyed it just as much. The hike down was fun. Met a nice lady in the little hut down the trail. We got to the camp site at the bottom and this is when things started to get weird. There was hiking gear everywhere, it was the beginning to a bad a horror movie. There was a boot almost ripped in half, a sleeping bag with its guts strewn out on the grown and dozens of water bottles everywhere. It just didn't make sense in my head. We tried to tidy up but the packs had to have weighed 80 pounds each. Well no one was at the campsite so we did not pay it too much attention and headed to the stream to cool off. The great thing about this campsite is that there is a little pool you can swim in, the water is still pretty cold but not as cold as the Colorado River a few miles down stream.

Finally after a few hours of jumping off rocks and relaxing we had to me

et up with the rest of our group in their campsite. Which was along the shore of the Colorado River. We were told it was a mile and a half light hike but it turned into a 3 mile hike. On this short hike we passed a couple hikers that seemed a little out of place but they said they were good so we passed them. Finally we reached the banks of the Colorado and the rest of our group. We had a quick

conversation about the river and then relax a little on the sandy shore.

Our conversation was about how much the damming of the river has effected the ecosystem. It was amazing to learn that before the dam 380,000 tons of sediment moved down the river every day. Now because of the dam that load is only about 40,0000 tons. The species in this area have evolved to live with the harsh nature of the river. Now that the ecosystem is changing the species are too. Of the top prolific fish in the river 25 of them are introduced and only 3 are native.

Finally it was time to head back to our other campsite. I agreed to sleep at the campsite on the shore of the Colorado because it was a harder hike out in the morning so

I hiked back to the my original campsite, gathered up my stuff and headed back to the other campsite. It was a sure a lot of hiking in one day. But I think I made the righ

t decision, the sandy ground of the shore was definitely a lot more comfortable then the rock outcrop the other group was camping on.

Also from the stories I heard the night was not too enjoyable. The mystery hikers with the destroyed gear turned out to be the out of place hikers we saw on the way to the Colorado. They were extremely unprepared for their descent and ultimately their ascent out of the canyon. They did the same hike down that we did and it took us 4 hours and it took them nearly 3 days. I do not know why they did not turn around but they also did not have a water filter instead they just brought multiple cases of water down with them. Making their packs impossibly heavy. All of their gear was bought on eba

y. All they brought to eat with them was granola.

So the game plan was to hike out with the children and make sure they got out of the canyon safely. The dad was too dehydrated to hike out and would have to be air lifted out. Where was the mother you might ask yourself? She was the nice lady in the hut. She had been sitting there for three days because she was too afraid of heights to hike and further and would not hike out either. So her plan was to just sit there. This story was too crazy to make up.

All in all the hike was awesome, everyone in our group came out alive. It taught us a lesson: always be prepared and make smart decisions. If you realize you have made a mistake and are in way over your head do not be afraid to back out. Being a little embarrassed is a lot better then being dead.

Picture Citations:

"Grand Canyon Pond." Anthony Sarnoski. 2011.

"Trail to Campsite." Anthony Sarnoski. 2011.

"Top View of the Canyon." Anthony Sarnoski. 2011.