Into the abyss

For the past 3 days I've been "testing" my Achilles tendon by hiking down Bright Angel to 3 mile rest house, which is 2000 vertical feet below the rim. But last evening as I walked along the rim I could see flashlights 3000 feet down at Indian Garden campground, so I decided that it was time for me to take the plunge.

This morning (Thursday) I got to the Bright Angel trailhead at 7:30 am, and scampered down the trail. To go easy on my legs I tried being light on my feet, i.e. taking short fast steps instead of my usual big strides. I wound up reaching Indian Garden in about an hour and a half, and at 9:30 am I was overlooking the Colorado river from Plateau point:

One surprising thing near Plateau Point is a drinking fountain in the middle of the desert. Reminds me of a Far Side cartoon where two guys crawling across the desert find a fountain: "Hey, let it run for a while to see if it gets cool."

NPS keeps busy choppering supplies to Indian Garden.

It is a long slog to the Rim, but at least you can see where you are going.

Though of course you have to watch out for tarantulas!

Last year I hiked from the rim to Plateau point in 2.5 hours, then back up to the rim in 3 hours. This year the hike down took just 2 hours, and the hike up less than 2.5 hours. Imagine how fast I would be if there wasn't all this distracting scenery.

Grand Canyon grandness

I know this is a hiking blog, and I did get in a couple of hikes today at the Grand Canyon. But today's topic is not hiking but grandness. Somehow I think that the grandeur of the canyon affects people in a very positive way. What I notice at the Grand Canyon is that most things are way better than they need to be.

For example take the Rim trail. By all means if you get to the south rim, take this trail. As expected the route is spectacular and wheelchair accessible. But there is an unexpected extra: the "trail of time" where in roughly a mile hikers walk through 2 billion years of geologic history, followed by the (relatively) brief 6 million year period in which the canyon was created and subsequently inhabited by humans. The dozens of rock samples are amazing. And I finally understand the concept of the Grand Canyon supergroup.

Then there's the Bright Angel trail, which I've already hiked three times this week. It's a well designed "super highway" trail that can accommodate thousands of hikers and dozens of mules daily. Again there are extras. The 1.5 mile and 3 mile rest stops feature spectacular views, welcome shade huts and solar ventilated toilets -- and the water spigots dispense natural water from Roaring Springs. This cool, delicious water is available all along the Rim, and the park encourages use of refillable water bottles. Of course the trail requires ongoing maintenance, and for the past couple days I've watched a hardworking Americorps crew armed with trail tools: spades, rock bars, pick-mattocks, Pulaskis and Mcleods. They are in the Canyon for 9 days, then moving on to other projects.

Another example is the Market. Within walking distance of Mather campground the Market is a four-in-one store combining a surprisingly well stocked grocery, deli, camping equipment store (think mini REI) and souvenir shop. Markup at the grocery was unexpectedly low for the national park location. Some items such as ice cream were roughly double supermarket prices, but most items were only 20 to 50% higher. And a few items such as onions, mushrooms and potatoes were actually cheaper. The grocery had everything you would need to make a gourmet camping dinner: fresh fruit and vegetables, spices, rice, pasta, good bread, cheeses, even Brown Cow and Chobani yogurt. In fact I found all of the ingredients to make fresh hummus! And since this is Arizona there's also an extensive selection of liquor, wine and microbrews. The latter were a bargain since you can buy single bottles for about $1.50. I can't speak for the deli since I didn't try it, but they do make veggie sandwiches and even veggie breakfast sandwiches.

Lastly most people at the Grand Canyon are super friendly, both park employees and tourists. Hikers ask questions and sometimes make amusing comments. Today I noticed an Italian couple pointing at some mule poop on the Bright Angel trail. "Myoo-lay," the woman observed. "Orss?" asked her companion. "Ay don-kay," she replied. Near sunset I took a long walk on the Rim trail, and on the way back a woman named MacKenzie asked me if I had seen her parents. I wasn't sure but I offered her my phone to call them. She said,"It never occurred to me to borrow someone's phone. I'm just not used to people being kind. In Illinois people can be brutal. Here everyone is just so nice."

Obligatory hiking notes: my Rim trail walk took me from the Village east about 2 miles to Yapavi lookout, which I reached just in time for a spectacular sunset. Dusk lasted for the 45 minutes it took me to walk back, during which time a crescent moon and Venus shone in the darkening sky. Just amazing... and tonight the stars will be incredible.

Devil's Garden

Arrived at Arches NP on Saturday around 5:00 pm. As I pulled in I could see several rainstorms a few miles apart. One was over the Devil's Garden campground, which got a good soaking. But 20 minutes later the rain was over and I was able to set up my tent. Site #53 was perfect.

Since I was tired from the drive I turned in early. Next morning I fixed breakfast including home roasted coffee, mmm-mmm good. Then I took down the tent and drove to Devil's Garden trailhead. I had planned to get in a short, quick hike before heading to the Grand Canyon. Well the hike was short but not quick, as I wound up hiking with a woman I met a half mile from the trailhead. Laura is a biologist from Aurora CO, who was in Moab for a century (100 mile) bike ride. She completed the ride the previous day, and was unwinding by doing a hike. She kept referring to herself as a "wimp" because she isn't a fast hiker, but then she mentioned that she's training for an Ironman triathlon in Cozumel. Some wimp!

Back to the hike, Devil's Garden is an unusual trail that traverses several rock fins. If you don't pay attention (and I wasn't) it's easy to lose the trail, but the tricky terrain is worth it as the arches are amazing. The first arch is the longest, Landscape arch.

Achilles heel

I spoke too soon when I said that my Achilles tendon was mostly better. The hike to Lion lakes (or at least the downhill slog) caused it to swell and become sore. So for now I'm on a hiatus from hiking, as I need to allow this injury to heal before I take off for the Grand Canyon in 6 weeks. Unfortunately tendons heal very slowly...

Lion lakes

This may be the first time I've hiked to Lion lakes, which are in the Wild Basin region of RMNP. Previously I've hiked to nearby Thunder lake. The trail starts at the Wild Basin ranger station, following N St Vrain creek west up a gentle grade. At 1.8 miles the trail crosses Cony creek at Calypso Cascades, then at 2.6 miles it crosses Ouzel creek just below Ouzel falls. This 40' waterfall (sorry, no pix) is a popular day hike/picnic destination.

Early in the hike a chipmunk stopped by to say hello. He was so sociable that I had to shoo him away. I suspect that he was after my chocolate brownie Clif bar.

After the Lion lake/Thunder lake junction the trail gets steeper and passes through a spruce forest. The trail is well marked and easy to follow, so I really didn't need the teeter totter cairns.

Below Lion lake the trail levels off as it winds through a marshy meadow. All the vegetation was lush and green, with a few wildflowers and even one big mushroom near the trail.

Lion lake #1 is nearly 7 miles from the trailhead, and when I arrived the waters were calm and crystal clear. Postcard quality mountain peaks frame the lake. The orientation of these photos is: south (Tanima peak?), west (Mt Alice), north (Chiefs Head peak), and down (H2O).

A faint trail continues along the eastern side of  Lion lake #1, leading to Lion lake #2. Here the cairns were genuinely useful as there are several paths to the lake. Below the lake are some rivulets, a small sheltered snowbank, and the world's most relaxed marmot.

To reach Lion lake #2 I needed to bushwhack through some willows, but it was well worth the effort. The lake looks like a gemstone, and the south slope of Chiefs Head peak boasts many striking rock spires.

Heading back to the trailhead I saw a rather shy mule deer, who hid behind a tree before ambling away.

Even with the bushwhacking this was a moderate hike, 14.5 miles RT with 2900' elevation gain. Once again I wore trail running shoes, which worked out pretty well though they're marginal on rocky sections.

Never the same hike twice

I've hiked the Mesa trail more than a dozen times this year, but the experience is always a little different. For today's hike

• By arriving early I scored a coveted parking space in the hikers lot at Chautauqua.
• The foothills were wrapped in low clouds, with the top of the Flatirons peeking out.
• Squirrels were busy gathering pine cones, and chattered noisily when I passed.
• A trail runner with a running blade artificial leg powered his way uphill.
• BTW female trail runners seem to outnumber male runners two to one.
• Near S Mesa trailhead a guy was flying a large drone quadcopter. His dog barked at it.
• For the first time I took the Upper Big Bluestem trail, which has great views of the foothills including S Boulder Peak and striking rock spires.
• Mesa is never a difficult trip, but man -- after hiking Pikes peak it's super easy.
• Elapsed time for 13-mile round trip hike: 4 hours, 10 minutes

Did you know that trail runners post the "fastest known time" for popular trails? FKT for the Mesa trail round trip is 1 hour, 34 minutes.

Easy hike

Because my stoopid Achilles tendon is not yet 100% I did an easy hike today, just the Mesa trail from Chautauqua to the south trailhead and back. The weather was mild and overcast, so a good day to hike a lower elevation trail. No wildlife sightings today, just a boatload of trail runners.

I blame the tendon injury on two things: First overuse from hiking Pikes peak and Bear peak back to back. This caused the tendon to swell. Then further aggravation due to my fairly new Oboz Sawtooth hiking shoes. The back of the shoe is higher and stiffer than I'm used to, and it rubs the tendon when I'm hiking downhill. So for now I'm hiking in Saucony trail runners.

As for the tendon, I'm continuing with rest, ice and Ibuprofen. Hike stats: 13 miles, 1600' elevation gain.