Day 19 (More hiking and rain)

Day 19
July 10, 2006
Grand Canyon

We slept a bit later today than we did the past few days. At about 8:30, we Norm, Frank, Sessy and the kids set out on the Green Line Shuttle to explore the area east of Mather Campground. We rode the bus to the most distant point accessible by bus, Yaki Point. We then caught a bus to Pipe Creek Overlook and hiked the Rim Trail for two miles past Mather Point to Yavapai Observation Station. It was a pleasant walk, mostly down hill on a paved pathway, although the full sun was very strong. We all drank copious water.

This walk gave us more views of the Colorado River, which we learned falls 11,000 feet over its length from the Rocky Mountains in Colorado to its mouth in the Gulf of California. It falls 2,200 feet in Grand Canyon National Park, too. The Colorado varies in width from 76 to 300 feet, with an average depth of 35 feet, and a maximum depth of about 100 feet.

The South Kaibab Trail head is between Yaki Point and Pipe Creek Vista. Although it is not quite as famous as the Bright Angel Trail, the South Kaibab is reportedly more spectacular because it drops 5,000 feet in just 6.3 miles (and 3,600 feet in one 3-mile stretch), and is routed along ridges much of the way, providing more dramatic views. The first 1.5 miles to Cedar Ridge drops 1,140 and is a popular half-day hike rated as “strenuous” by the Park Service.

Frank was sorry he didn’t make more of an effort to get up early this morning and hike the South Kaibab. Perhaps next time…

We ate lunch in the Canyon Café in the Yavapai Lodge. What it lacked in flavor it made up for with convenience and expediency. Add a star to the rating of any restaurant so far from the rest of civilization!

We decided to spend our last afternoon at Grand Canyon shopping in the Village area, including a much-anticipated visit to Kolb Studio. The Kolb Brothers, Ellsworth and Emery, were famous explorers of Grand Canyon. They made silent movies of their daring exploits, which, until Emery’s death in 1976, were shown in a small wood-frame photography studio that they built in 1904 on the canyon’s edge. These popular showings were usually narrated by the Kolbs much to the delight of visitors in the audience. After Emery died, the studio was renovated and is now houses a bookstore and photography exhibit.

We cooked and ate dinner under a clear sky! We then built our first campfire and roasted marshmallows for s’mores. As we retired, we hoped that the weather would remain dry and that our string of eight consecutive rainy nights in the desert would end.