Grand Designs

Having visited in 08 and only walking around a short distance at the rim, the seed was planted for a return trip to the canyon. When that would take place was anyone's guess. Life has a way of steamrolling dreams into the flatness of time, only to be left with regret. I remember telling Toni on a hot July afternoon that I wanted to hike into the Grand Canyon on my 40th birthday. It seemed like a good way to mark the "summit of life" if you will. I don't really subscribe to the theory of being "over-the-hill" but I took the opportunity to lay the groundwork of this monumental endeavour. Permits had to be secured, routes must be planned, learning about the place is good also, not to mention transforming my 39 year old body into some sort of robust hiking machine (which is still up in the air). For nine months I explored websites, books, and maps; trying to get an idea of what it would take to accomplish this task. Also, not dismissing the physical side, I tried to be as active as possible. It felt as though the day would never get here. I had a countdown on the computer that gradually cut the days down. Then finally, it was here... Kenny and I left about midnight. The usual "what did I forget?" kept rolling through my head. We drove to Dallas to pick up Donald, chatted briefly with the night security guard at DTS, and we were off. Just like that. Quickly into the very early Texas morning, we crossed the mundane landscape of west Texas with the benefit of darkness. I tried to sleep without much success. Seems like roads are noisier than they used to be and I was a tad bit excited. We arrived in Amarillo about daybreak and both car and driver got fueled up and perseveringly went back to the road. There was a scheduled stop in Albuquerque to pick up some rental gear for the trip which also doubled as a stop for a Carl's Jr guacamole bacon burger. Highly recommended. You start to get a sense of space (& time) traveling through the southwest. Distances are vast and the horizon has many curious looking formations to daydream about. Even remote snow-capped mountains appealed to the senses of the imprisoned adventurer in us. Somewhere around the Arizona border, some Cleudus T Judd songs found their way into the player and the party was on. With the knowledge of being in Arizona, our destination felt close (as would become the theme of the trip). We were somewhat surprised to see snow in the shade of a few trees as we traveled through Flagstaff. Eventually we reached the turnoff for the hour-long drive north to GCNP. If you didn't know what lies ahead, you would never expect to find the gargantuan chasm stretched out on the Coconino Plateau. The geography is very unassuming. We finally arrived about 5pm local time. Making our way to the rim, we took some pictures and tried to process the unfathomable sight that lay before us. It is a special moment to view something as enormous and beautiful as the Grand Canyon. It definitely stirs the soul, making one feel very, very small...