Sunday, April 22, 2012

Bright Angel Trail

I am down in Arizona giving the Grand Canyon a visit. I could not be prepared for the grandeur that this magnificent wonder has to offer. The are miles of multi-layered, red rock creating valleys, hills and cliffs that are amazing to behold.

After seeing such a beautiful sight, we embarked on our ambitious journey. We quickly found our trail after being advised that we shouldn't take it. Regardless, we were on an adventure and nothing was going to stop us.

The total journey, to our destination and back, was measured at 12 miles. We were headed to Plateau Point, a spot nested in the middle of the canyon with epic views of the canyon and the Colorado River. On the way down, feeling sprite, I stopped for a photo op.

Don't look, mom. I'm being stupid. I promise that I'll come home safe.

Our first six miles to the plateau were a piece of cake. We were there in no time, enjoying the views and our lunch.

This is the view back to where we came from. We started at the top of this ridge. 

The Colorado River. 

The view directly ahead of us.

Full of life and energy (thanks to our lunch) we started making our way back. Since the hike down to Plateau Point was 99.9% downhill, that meant we were in for quite a little workout. Perfect. That's what I came down here for. Summer of the six pack in action!

We cruised through the first mile and a half and realized something quite terrible. The temperature out in the sun was 110ºF. That's pretty dang hot. And about 90% of the trail was in the sun. We continued to cruise along until one of our group members began to feel quite nauseous. We still had 4.5 miles left in the hike at this point.

Eventually, about six and a half hours later, we reached our destination. It was too bad that one of us got a little sick, but in the end, everyone was fine and we were proud of our amazing accomplishment.

The place we went is right by my hip. That's quite a ways.

1 comment:

Julia Parker said...

Nice haircut! ;) And the pictures are breathtaking and so beautiful! I'm so jealous.