Life On Top Of The World

Or so it feels like at 7,000 feet. I didn't think too much of elevation change until yesterday when a fellow member of the safety office took me on a grand tour of the Grand Canyon. We took a detour down a little trail out East called "Tanner Trail" and I was done. Doing simple things like running up a flight of stairs here takes way more effort than I'm used to. I was so embarrassed to be huffing and puffing after not even a quarter of a mile up a trail! It's important to note that this trail was literally on a cliff face facing out toward the East side of the Canyon by Desert View and had no signage on the trailhead because it's for "experts only." I never hit the expert part.


(the view from the trail right before it steeply descends down into the canyon)


(the steeply descending part)

We went all over in our government vehicle, place where codes were needed to open gates only our vehicles and shuttle buses could enter. Yes, I now hold government secrets! The code to open the gate at Hermit's Road! Speaking of Hermit's Road (which leads to Hermit's rest), we took quite a few detours on the way out to get some good views of the canyon's west side.

(You can see Bright Angel Trail here, just one of the trails I'll be hiking in the canyon)




(You would never even know the canyon was there from the road, it's obscured half the time by these trees)

We spent all morning on the South Rim doing tourist-y type things. At Hermit's Rest--the end of an 8-mile hike/walk on the rim trail--there's bathrooms, a gift shop, and yes, food. We walked around here for a while, taking in the sights and the tourist activity. Before we left, we went down to the Hermit Trail--strictly for advanced hikers because it has steep rocky trails and no water.


Hermit's Rest! Aka the end of the Road


You can sort of make out the "you are here" label


The rest used to be a bare-bones rest stop and they maintain the fireplace there still

It's strange to think I'm living here. On the ledge of a giant hole in the desert. I'm still adjusting to the elevation here, and on a side note my nose has been bleeding for about three days now. That can't be healthy. Today, I am going to attempt some form of a hike. I'm saving Bright Angel Trail for tomorrow morning because peak hours with tourists are horrible. I have also been informed I'll be doing a week down at Phantom Ranch (totally awesome), however getting back up from there (oh, say 10 or 11 miles) is going to suck. Big time. So today I think I'll attempt the south rim corridor trails out to hermit's rest. It'll be about 16 miles roundtrip right on the edge, but it's relatively flat.

Here are some more pictures from my tour day:

Colorado River--rapid and all


You do not know how far in I had to zoom to get these Colorado River shots!


Home, Vast, Home.

Last night I was laying in bed, looking up through the slats in my blinds at the sky. (My bed is up against a window.) With my glasses off, I thought that there were a ton of planes up there so I had to get a better look. I put on my glasses and lifted the blinds. They weren't planes, they were stars. Huge, bright stars like I have never seen before. So every night when I go to sleep and don't put my blinds down, it's under an amazing view you could only get here, 7000 feet up.