Saturday Feb, 7
Today I
smoked some chicken breast and made bbq pulled chicken for dinner. Tonight we
decided we were going to hit the bars, so mike got a babysitter for the kids.
Their friend Ashley came over then she drove us all to mill ave. where we went
to a new bar, near where Mike used to live. We grabbed a drink and waited for
Ian and his wife Kaitlin to show up. Ive know these people sense I first
started traveling and it always a pleasure to see them and have some time to
catch up.
Sunday Feb, 8
Everyone
was in rough shape this morning, except the kids. Mike and I spent a good part
of the day playing old school Donkey Kong on super Nintendo. We finally had to
do something with our day. Every year Mikes plans a project for us to do while I’m
around. And by planning I mean fix something that is broken, there is no
planning involved. This year it was the roof over his awning by the pool. So we
made a few trips to the store and finished up after dark. Coming back from the
store on the final trip, mike blew a tire a few blocks form his house. And
apparently WE decided I would take care of it tomorrow, along with any
finishing touches with the roof.
Monday Feb, 9
So in the
morning I drove mel to school and took mike to work. Then I had to fill mikes spare
tire.(why would you carry around a flat spare tire?) and swap it out with the
popped one. I also realized all his tires were shot and needed to be replaced.
After that I finished trimming and sealing up the roof. This got done just in
time to pick up mike from work and take him home. Now off to the tire shop and
drop him back off at work. With everything finished I packed up and headed
north. It has always nagged at me that I never went fishing at the bottom of
the Grand Canyon. I would see rangers walk by with stringers full of trout
after fishing for 20 minutes. Then I decided I could just go do it. I had to
pick up a few things in flagstaff but I was pretty much ready to go. So I drove
to a town just south of the park and called it a night.
Tuesday, Feb 10
I slept
kinda bad and woke up later then expected. But I knew I still had plenty of
time to hike down. I drove to the backcountry office and planned out my trip. I
thought were more options for trails to get down to bright angle creek, but the
only one that really makes any sense is the one I’ve already done twice. South
Kibab down and Bright Angle up. So I packed up in the parking lot and drove
over to the shuttle. I think all the people and tourists really get to the
workers here, just about every shuttle driver has a serious chip on their
shoulder. I took the bus to the trail head and started down. This was the
clearest view of the canyon I have ever seen. I made it down in 3 hours and
found a camp site. The only tent I have is a 4 person full dome summer tent,
and I have always had issues with it. Wind breaks it, too windy to set up, its
big and heavy. So I have been going without. I just put my ground pad and
sleeping bag right on the ground. I talked to the ranger about fishing and
walked by the creek to scope it out. I talked to another ranger who was
checking the fish trap near the mouth of the river. Ever sense the first year I
have been down here they have been trying to kill off the trout and
re-introduce the native humpback chub into the creek. I knew about this, but I
did not know the extent they have been working on it. They electro shock the
entire creek every month and the mouth of the river every night. My hopes were
fading fast. But I still had some time before dark so I tied together some flies
and started casting. I didn’t have any luck but I wasn’t to worried. I was in a
rush to get a little fishing in before dark, I’m sure I’ll have better luck in
the morning. Back at camp I made some dinner and waited around until Phantom
Ranch opened up. The moon has been coming out very late at night, so the stars
are amazing for the first part of the night. I laid around staring up for about
an hour. When the ranch opened I bought and adult beverage and played solitaire
for the night.
Wednesday Feb, 11
I slept like shit and woke up with a headache.
I realized I was sick mel had a bad cough and headache that I must have caught.
I went right to fishing today. I spent hours walking up and down that creek,
and I didn’t so much as see a fish. I took a break during the day and went to
phantom to read a book for awhile. Then I was back at it. I tried using a lure
instead of flies this time. Results, same. I finally gave up around dinner time
and went back to camp. While I was cooking I watched my neighbor try to set up
a hammock. It took him about an hour to tie it from a tree to a pole in his
site. When he finally got it all set up, he sat down. It was like watching a
cartoon. Just as the look of contentment came over his face the whole thing
collapsed and he hit the ground. When he started to set it back up I had to say
something. I told him you can’t tie anything to the trees down here, and if the
ranger sees he will make you take it down. We got to talking and he was a first
time backpacker. He packed some very strange stuff, a tarp but no tent ground
pad or sleeping bag, canned food but no can opener or stove, but he had some
beers. The best thing he brought was those beers, he gave me one while I let
him use my stuff! After that we hung out for a while talking about our travels.
He has been on the road for about a month along the east coast then cut across
through Denver. After that I walked up to the dorms to take a shower. With that
taken care of I headed to phantom ranch. I sipped on some wine while playing more
solitaire until my camper friend came in. we played some cards and I told him
my plan. I planned on just sleeping in the dorm bunk bed. I checked it out when
I took a shower and there were 2 beds open. I told him he was free to take the
other one. He wanted the full “camping experience” so turned it down. But as
the temperature dropped he finally saw the light.
Thursday Feb, 12
I still
slept like crap in the dorm, and I woke up realizing I had to hike out. I
talked to a guide that was staying in the dorm also and he had some medicine
for me. That made it a little better but I still packed up and headed out. The first
half of the hike brings you to another camp ground called Indian Garden. This is
only the first half in overall distance, it’s only a quarter of the elevation. The
last half, especially the last mile is a grueling grudge to get to the top. Only
made worse by seeing all the smiling day hikers passing by. I made it out and
took the shuttle back to my car. Then I started the drive back down to Phoenix
but I had to take a nap soon after starting. I got back to mikes house and hung
out for the night.
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