The retired life of Greg and Dona: Greg and the The Grand Canyon..... in his own words

12Mar14 ---- Up at 4am, drove Dona to Sky Harbor Airport (Phoenix) for a 6:30am flight to Jacksonville FL. I drove 3+ hours to the Grand Canyon. Did a little sight-seeing, then pulled into the trailer village with hook-ups. I drained the holding tanks and filled the fresh water tank. I went over to the Back Country office to see what camping spots were available down in the canyon and snagged spots for the night of the 13th at Boucher Springs; on the 14th & 15th at Granite Rapids. Back at camp, I packed for my 3 day hike and ate left-overs from last night (grilled chicken thighs, stuffed poblano peppers, brown rice).

South Rim Grand Canyon

The Rig at campsite

13Mar14 ----Thursday am, up at 5:00, ate breakfast then drove the RV to Hermit's Rest trailhead. Hit the trail at 7:15. Hiked until around 11:30, stopped to eat lunch and assess the situation. My pack was around 50 lbs.and was kicking my butt! I had already fallen once onto some cactus which then took me a while to get up and then pull stickers out of my arm and back and out of my shirt. I was concerned about managing my heavy pack. At Yuma Point, about 6 miles down (3 to go) I pondered carrying the pack for the rest of the hike then decided that was pretty stupid so I walked back out to the trailhead....scratching the idea of hiking for 3 days. I made it to the trailhead at 5pm, drank a cold beer, drove back to the campground. Needless to say I was completely shot!!!

14Mar14 --- I slept for over 10 hours, that is completely unheard of for me. I obviously needed it to recover from yesterday. I spent most of the day working on downsizing my pack and recovering. I picked up a steak and potato for dinner. Went to bed at 8:30.

15Mar14 ---- Saturday, up at 6:30, went to the general store and rented one of their 1-man tents. Drove to Hermit's Rest trailhead again. Headed down the trail around 8:20 with a much lighter pack (30 lbs.). Made it to Granite Rapids (9 .3 miles from the trailhead) at around 3pm. Pitched the tent, filtered water from the river, and rested. Ate Mountain House stew for dinner with a little tabasco sauce for added flavor. Beautiful sunset and at 7:30 the full moon lit up the canyon like a flood light. It was absolutely stunning!

campsite at Granite Rapids

Greg at Granite Rapids

16Mar14 ---- Sunday--- up at 4:45 with the moon still lighting up the canyon. Ate oatmeal and had coffee for breakfast. Headed out at 6:15 (back up the 9.3 miles to the trailhead) just as the sun was lighting the trail. I made a couple of wrong turns but corrected and passed by Monument campground at 7:23 (1.3 miles from Granite Rapids). After 7.5 hours, 9.3 miles, 4600 feet in elevation, I made it to Hermit's Rest trailhead at 1:45. Celebrated with a cold beer at the RV. Drove back to the campground. Bought another steak and potato and poblano pepper for dinner and cracked open a nice Merlot (to boost my red blood cells). My body aches even after a hot shower, but I'm elated that I made the hike.