After another restless night – at least for Kevin, because although it was 20°C in the afternoon, it would be about 5°C at night – we got up real early (6h30) and started the Bright Angel Trail at sunrise… That was not just for the nice views but also because we wanted to be sure to be at the top of the canyon before 5PM (sunset).
The first part of the trail up is very easy, as there is no elevation change and you just walk next to the Colorado river, so we advanced quickly. We were at the first stop – River Rest House – around 8AM and had our breakfast with a view over the Colorado river. The second part of the trail was a bit more uphill, with only a few steep parts so again we managed easily. We had hoped to reach the Indian Campground before lunch and we did. It was only 10h30 when we got there, but we had our lunch anyway (early breakfast and all that).
On the bright Angel Trail, this is the stop where you can refill your water. We had brought about 4 liters each into the canyon, but had not even finished ¼ of our supplies by then. So Ann decided to leave some of the water behind (if only Kevin had also been that smart) because the trail would get a lot steeper from that point onwards. By then we had finished approximately half of the distance, but only one third of the elevation change. The second half of the trail started out fairly easy but kept keeping gradually harder all the way up to the top. At first, all was fine and we kept going at a high speed. Those hiking poles turned out to be a huge help again. The last 1.5 miles though were a problem – for Kevin. At a given point his muscles just stopped working properly. He was carrying a (too) heavy pack and was drenched of energy. Good thing we had some granola bars and peanuts left, because he ate them all. After then we had to proceed slowly, with many stops. Especially the last half mile was dangerous: totally exhausted, steep cliffs, no hold and super icy! We ‘only’ managed at half the speed we had kept up before, but we still reached the top before 2h30, a time we felt very proud of. Guess we’re quite fit =). We felt it really bad afterwards though – muscle aces for Ann and an immune system attack for Kevin. Good thing we were only driving the next day!
For more photo's, check picasa
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten