Day 21: A Giant Hole in the Ground

Day 21: A Giant Hole in the Ground

We woke up this morning frozen. Well we didn't freeze but the water in our water bottles did! Brrrr!! Lots of frost and maybe a little new snow on the car. Because it was so cold we decided to seek more heat in our sleeping bags and sleep in an extra hour.

When we final dragged ourselves out of our warm beds we quickly gobbled breakfast and went in search of the sun. Luckily it was not hard to find and we warmed up quite fast! We were only 2 miles from the Grand Canyon. So we stopped at the visitor center on our way over.

Rammy Climbing on the Grand Canyon Sign

We then headed to the amazing Grand Canyon. We first parked at the visitor centre inside the park and walked along the Rime View Trail for our first view of the Canyon! And it was spectacular, albeit a little covered in snow which Joel and I did not expect!

From there we headed to the Grand Canyon village where we did not see much of anything. So back to Yavapia Geology museum we went. From there we hiked/ walked about 1.4 miles to a trailhead that lead into the canyon. This was a slippery slope! There was still plenty of ice and mushy snow and it was constant switchbacks! We decided to hike to the 1.5 mile rest stop and then back up again. It was tough going and we almost quit a couple times and also almost fell and died (well maybe that's a little drastic but it was very icy!)

We did make it to the rest point and found a nice sunny patch to rehydrate and eat some trail mix. After a nice break we headed back up the trail! We were worried we would be stuck down there after sundown but the hike up went so much smoother than the one down! In no time we were at the halfway point and then before we knew we were at the top! And this was quite a climb not some little stroll!

We headed back to our car, another 1.4 miles on already tired feet. The sun was starting to lower in the sky which was amazing because the shadows being cast on the rocks became stunning. The contrast of the red of the rocks and the black of the shadow was so sharp!

After hoping into the car and seeing some nice elk and deer we ended the day at McDonald's for some food and Internet. All in all a successful day. With full tummies and sore legs we head back to the same campground for another cold spring night :)

When we got there we decided that we would attempt to make a campfire with just the sticks around us and the snow covered firepit. After lots of attempts and working very hard we did eventually get it to work! One of my proudest moments on this trip! The pit was wet, the grass was wet, and the sticks were wet yet we made fire!!! Good stuff :)