So Excited!

The time has come. After a year of anticipation, my grandson and I will attempt a rim-to-river-to-rim hike. 

A little history. Our original/first plan was to hike rim-to-rim, meaning down North Kaibab and out Bright Angel. After considering the needs of all involved, we went with the second plan, rim-to-river-to-rim, meaning down South Kaibab and out Bright Angel.

A couple months ago, we discovered the Bright Angel trail closure for the water project, which raised a red flag. The website said the project would be completed May 15, 2025. No problem, right? Well, is a project deadline always right? No. The Bright Angel trail is expected to be completed but the River Trail that connects Bright Angel to Phantom Ranch/Silver Bridge will now be completed in September/October. So...

Plan #3. We will still visit Phantom Ranch, and join the rest of the hikers detoured onto South Kaibab. Down and up the same trail. The good news is we can go and the weather forecast looks about perfect. Here's our plan:

TRAIL POINT	ELEV	DIST	GRADE	DOWN	UP
South Kaibab Trail Head	7,260	0		5:00a	4:00p
Oh-Ah Point	6,575	0.9 mi.	14%	5:40a	3:00p
Cedar Ridge	6,060	0.6 mi.	16%	6:00a	2:30p
Skeleton Point	5,200	1.5 mi.	10%	6:45a	1:30p
Tonto Trail Junction	4,010	1.4 mi.	16%	7:40a	12:15p
The Tipoff	3,870	0.2 mi.	13%	7:50a	12:00
South Kaibab Bridge	2,600	2.1 mi.	11%	9:00a	10:30a
Phantom Ranch	2,480	0.9 mi.	.03%	9:30a	10:00a

Blooms Abound!

The weather has been wonderful! I remember many years when the start of May meant triple digit temperatures. Fortunately, this year is still relatively cool, The forecast high for today is only 70 degrees. A rare treat.

Papa and I took advantage of the mild temperatures to explore Boyce Thompson again. Yes, it is a favorite destination. And it did not disappoint. The spring flowers are blooming. In fact, the rose garden seemed just a few days beyond it's peek. Next year, an earlier April visit to see the Wallace Rose Garden.

The excitement, if it can be called that, was waking up one morning to find a weight used on the patio curtain had been an overnight meal for a critter. After investigating, it seems a mouse or rat had gnawed the ONE sandbag that had rice vs. sand. Why? It was my test bag to see if they would weight the patio curtains. Once I obtained sand, I filled the remaining bags, but didn't replace the rice with sand. My fault.

The day I found my mistake, I repaired the bag, replaced the inner bag and filled that with sand. Problem solved, right?  Nope. The little vermin returned, gnawed a new hole and discovered the sand. A couple other bags had small teeth marks as if the critter had to double check for possible rice, then gave up.

An electronic mouse deterrent has been added to the patio (I do not want to deal with traps or dead rodents). The potential entrance points have been secured. New low curtain rods have been added, better securing the curtains in the breeze and allowing for easier cleaning.  We have enjoyed a few nights with no evidence of nocturnal visitors. People are welcome visitors! Dogs, too. Little critters with long tails are definitely NOT!

Final Preparations

Less than a month until my grandson and I descend into the Grand Canyon. This will be his first trek and likely my last. He is excited. I am a bit nervous. The Camelback hike reminded me that I'm not as young as I was. 

When Papa and I hiked the Canyon before, I put together a table with the various waypoints along the route and estimated arrival times. That is still a reference point for us, but this graphic was posted online. Unfortunately I did not grab the source, I apologize. It was a hiker who is planning rim-to-rim-to-rim. That is a much longer/harder hike than we will do. Our plan is to go down the South Kaibab (1st column) and out Bright Angel (4th column). This graphic provides a better visual.

Outside of last minute details, and continued training, I believe we are set. We're prepared to send mail from Phantom Ranch, the only place in the U.S. where the post mark reads "delivered by mule." It is also the only place to purchase a Phantom Ranch (PR) souvenir t-shirt. That's a definite to-do item. The sack lunch is ordered, and we will toast the midway point of the hike with a lemmy (that's lemonade folks) during our lunch break at the PR cantina.  The anticipation builds.