I expected to be exhausted after this trip. I did not, however, expect to be both physically and emotionally drained. I did not expect to be so moved by hiking though the Grand Canyon at midnight. I did not expect that standing in the freezing cold spray of a 200-ft. waterfall would in all honesty be one of the most amazing things I have ever done. I did not expect to want to quit so badly during that last mile of switchbacks I did not expect to feel so discouraged and so triumphant and so exhilarated in such a short period of time. I did not expect any of this, but I am so grateful it happened.
Thursday night was spent hiking from about 10pm- 2am. When we first arrived we were told night hiking was “discouraged” and to not go any further than the first mile of switchbacks. Oh, and we were also told to watch out for Rattlesnakes. Lovely. We listened politely to the advice and then set off, fully determined to hike the first 8 miles that night, sleeping right outside the Indian Village Supai. So that is what we did. I probably did not get to experience to complete beauty of the canyon this way but I am so glad we hiked in the dark. At this point I know I could have done it with the sun out, but I am glad I did not have to.
Friday morning we hiked the last 3 miles through the village to the campgrounds. All of Friday and Saturday was spent hiking to the falls, playing in water, and lying around in the heat, too exhausted, sore, and sunburned to move. It was fantastic. Late Saturday afternoon I started to get extremely worried that I literally would not be able to make it out of the canyon in one piece. My legs screamed in pain with every step. My shoulders hurt even with out the pack on them from careless sunburn. My toe was sore from a giant blister. My head and neck both ached. My body was protesting. If there had been any other way out, I would have taken it. If there had been a big, red, “I quit” button I would have pushed it. Had I been one extremely pathetic D-list celebrity on one pathetic reality show I would have yelled “I’m a celebrity, get me out of here.” If any of this had been an option, I would have done it. Thank goodness it wasn’t.
The hike out lasted me from about 6pm-11pm. Some people in the group took considerably less time, others took considerably more. I did not truly want to give up until I hit the switchbacks, the never ending ascent up the mountain. I was warned they would be brutal, but either I did not take the warning seriously enough or people were sugar coating the experience for me. Brutal does not even begin to cover it. If I ever learn a word that does do the experience justice, I will make a note of it and amend this post.
After we were done hiking one of the boys on the trip remarked “once we got to those switchbacks I just wanted to run up them as fast as possible.”
Funny. I wanted to throw myself off the mountain. To each his own, I suppose.
By the time I finished and sat down, I couldn’t move anymore. I was drenched in sweat, shaking, short of breath, and in more physical pain than I can remember in a long while. I was laughing to keep from crying. I finished by myself, but I could not have been more proud of what I had just done. It was miserable. It was perfect. I am a little beat up, and my body hates me today, but I am no worse for the wear. I’ll be good as new in a few days time.
And now my futile explanation is over, and I present you with thousands of words that might actually mean something.
This is Mooney, the first fall we visited. I did not get any pictures of this one; mostly because I was too busy concentrating on not falling of the mountain on the way down. So I did not take these pictures, but I am sharing them because this is exactly what I saw.
And now we move on to pictures I actually did take, starting at the beginning.
{My smile is deceptive. My shoulders already hurt from the weight of the pack, and I had yet to go anywhere. I knew I had a long trip ahead of me.}
Scenery around camp.
Havasu Falls, the sight of the first jump. It was a small jump, but climbing up those moss covered rocks with the spray of the waterfall pounding in my face, making it difficult to breath or see, made the jump more exciting than it would have been otherwise.
Elyse & I
One of the new falls created by last years flood, perfect for jumping from the top. This was one of the best parts of the entire experience.
The Fourth Waterfall we saw. I did not have the chance to get close to this one, but it was beautiful nonetheless.
I only wish I had a picture of what I looked like when I was finished with the hike. Death, pride, relief, exhaustion, pain, life and joy personified.
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