Noah doing his best "Spaceman Spiff" imitation on his ride home from the hospital.
Our trip began with a flight to, and a stay in Phoenix on Thursday which made me nervous as the temps hovered around the century mark. I
don't function well in the heat. However, I had been watching the weather and knew that the previous week saw lows in the mid 20's at the
canyon rim. This risked other challenges since I knew the temps would be considerably higher by late afternoon and needed to be prepared for
a huge fluctuation in temperatures which we never see in the east. We drove to the canyon from Phoenix with a stop for several hours in
beautiful Sedona for lunch and a short hike.
Members of a local Navajo tribe performed at our Friday dinner before the hike. They had a drummer/chanter and several feather dancers and hoop dancers. It was a remarkable experience. They paid honor to our efforts and gave us some neat insight into the canyon culture.
The canyon was amazing. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to venture into it on my very first visit. We were extremely lucky to have a professional geologist as our main guide. What a wealth of information he brought to the experience! Our group consisted of 11 hikers with two professional guides. There were 4 of us from our local Leukemia and Lymphoma Society chapter on this particular trail. Overall, there were 120 LLS hikers there for the weekend (spread across many groups on various trails). Together, well over a half of million dollars was raised for research and patient services by those represented that weekend! Considering that there are 5 such weekends at the canyon as well as other destinations, this is one GIANT drop in the bucket to funding research and patient services!
We were very fortunate to start our canyon hike with temps in the mid 40s and end in the mid 90s. It truly was a dry heat and very bearable tho I did consume 4 liters of water during the day! We didn't see much wildlife other than the pesky kaibab squirrels (which will chew their way into any pack left unattended), many ravens (which will actually unzip your pack and make off with shiny objects such as small digital cameras!) and a few lizards.
The views were spectacular (of course!). We started out by meeting just after 5 am for a quick breakfast and gear check before boarding a
bus to take us to the trail. We ended up with a short hike to the trailhead since our bus driver had made a wrong turn and we didn't want to delay other hikers on the bus. We started down the South Kaibab trail from Yaki Point. Our geologist guide taught us about the canyon history, plant and animal life, and pointed out fossil remains and geological formations as we made our way down. About a mile and a half into the canyon, we arrived at Ooh Ah Point, a place aptly named for its spectacular panoramic views.
Just below that, we stopped for a break at Cedar Ridge. From here we could see the trail below us but could not make out people on the
trail, dramatically underlining how distances are deceiving in such a vast space. After our break we continued down past O'Neill's Butte and
stopped for lunch just below Skeleton Point. It was here that we saw a mule train hauling packs from the Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the
Canyon. From our perch, we could also view the Colorado River below, responsible for the formation of the canyon.
After lunch, we began our ascent out of the canyon. It's amazing how your body adjusts to something and really needs to shift gears.
After 3 hours of walking down a very steep incline, legs, backs and lungs needed some time to alter their usage. Our hike out took
comparable time to our hike in so I guess that we weren't rushing too much either way!
After our hike, our group from PA still had enough energy left to hike a short way down the Bright Angel Trail to observe the petroglyphs
preserved beneath a ridge on the cliff above.
Our day ended with a celebration dinner back at the hotel and a very good night's sleep for everyone. By 5 am we were up again for our
lengthy trip home.
I truly want to thank everyone for the support that you have shown in so many ways. This was a wonderful experience, with the hike
being just icing on the cake. As Noah's mom, Dani always tells me, this experience has truly allowed her to see the best in people. I can
surely relate to that sentiment. I have seen remarkable things from my friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, and strangers. I thank you
all for this uplifting experience as well as your contribution to help eliminate blood cancers for future generations.
Thanks to you all from the bottom of my heart!
