Our Crazy Insane Grand Canyon Adventure, Part 2

Part 1, Part 3, Part 4

I'm not sure how many times during this trip I said to myself, "I can't believe we're doing this. This is crazy!" But I really enjoyed it at the same time. And for much of the day, I was able to let go and just experience it all.

As I said before, I wasn't really "supposed" to go the whole way with the guys, but I had pretty well determined that if I was feeling okay I didn't want to miss out. I was not prepared for this sort of thing physically, but I wanted to prove I could do it anyway. But I also didn't want to do anything stupid. Rick had said it was about 7 miles to our goal, and that didn't sound too bad, but of course this was over a major elevation change, and you had to do those same 7 miles coming back up. So I decided to play it by ear.

I carried Ethan during the first section of our hike, which ended up being about 5 miles. I moved along at a pretty good pace, almost a run, because I wanted to cover as much distance as I could while I had a good amount of energy. But Terral got talking with some people about our sandals at one point, which slowed us down a little. We didn't even think to bring our business cards! *facepalm* I didn't worry too much about the time though, because Rick was still barefoot at that point and couldn't go very fast anyway. Yes, I just wrote that he was barefoot. And yes, Terral and I wore our Unshoes.

I was surprised by how sick I got of the downhill. The endless jarring as you go down those terraced pathways. . .oi! (Anyone else notice how those "steps" are always just the right distance apart that you are always using the same leg on the rise?) Lots of people we met said they think the downhill is the hardest part. I certainly noticed the extra weight I was carrying. But I'm glad that I had Ethan for most of the downhill, because as it was, Terral's knee was really bothering him by the end.

If I'm remembering correctly, this bridge kind of marked the end of the red sandstone section. I thought it was pretty cool. You can see Rick's son on the bridge in this picture. He would always run ahead and then wait for us.

Our turn on the bridge!

While I had Ethan on my back, I pretty much always held up the straps with my hands because I felt like the weight was pulling be back. When it was Terral's turn to carry him, I realized that Ethan's back rest was kind of broken, as you can see in this picture. (This is likely the result of our using the backpack to prop up our broken driver's seat in the car.)

The guys. (Told you he was barefoot.)

And just off the pathway. . .

There were some pretty awesome plants along the way. I especially liked the yucca plants.

Ethan really did so awesome on the whole trip. He loved it! He loved being outside, and he loved all the interesting sites. I was amazed at how well he did in the backpack all day. Here's some proof of his enjoyment.

So many people would comment on how happy he was, and how he had the best way of "hiking". It was fun to see their reactions when they saw him. Apparently it's not a normal thing to bring a baby down into the Grand Canyon. Who knew? We sure loved having him with us, though.

You might notice that in the picture on the bridge, Ethan is wearing a hat. He did fine with the hat for a while, but then he would not keep it on. We were worried about his fair little head burning, and as the day wore on I certainly didn't need to wear two t-shirts, so Terral tied one of them on Ethan's head. Next time we'll bring a handkerchief or something. But the t-shirt did the job!

The brochure tells me that Roaring Springs is 4.7 miles down the trail. This is where we had planned to have lunch and where Ethan and I would wait for the others.

What the brochure doesn't tell you is that to get to the little picnic area (with bathrooms), you have to take a little trail that veers away from the main path. I'm not sure how long this little trail was, but I think all in all it added at least a quarter mile to our journey.

We had a nice little break, and let Ethan out of the backpack for the first time. In case you were wondering, yes we brought his cloth diapers along. Even though there are bathrooms and places to refill water along the trail, you have to carry out all your trash, so I don't think it would have made much of a difference to bring disposables. Plus, that's just how we roll.

I think we had opted for simple pb&j's. We also brought along fruit, granola, and some homemade crackers. The crackers were an experiment, and most of them ended up inedible because the wax paper stuck to them. But we really liked the edible ones!

Here's a picture of my lovely dirty feet. I was surprised by how well I did hiking in my Feathers (our lightest/thinnest model). But it did feel nice to take them off for a rest. After all that downhill, the strap between the toes was starting to bother my right foot a bit. I think I had that sandal a little tighter than the other.

This wasn't a super kid-friendly spot, but Ethan did enjoy running around a bit. Here he is playing a rock game with Rick.

I was pretty tired by the time we reached this spot, and I was leaning towards waiting here for the guys. But after we refueled, I found I had some more energy, and as I said, it wasn't a super kid-friendly spot. Rick thought it was only a little over a mile more to our goal, and he said that it was really beautiful. All things considered, I decided to push on.

To Be Continued. . .