The Desert Sun and ...
...the most difficult terrain in the world for hikers. The Grand Canyon, the abyss that is a mile deep and about 277 miles wide, is truly the natural wonder of the world. It is reverred by all the hikers as well as non-hikers. This was apparent by the number of tourists we saw at the Grand Canyon. Well we were fortunate to be one of the 1% of 5 million tourists that visit Grand Canyon. Why?
We decided to hike from the North Rim to South Rim via Phantom Ranch. A total of about 24 miles of hiking across the rugged terrain and steepest of the trails, presents with an unimaginable views of the canyon. The hike from North Rim to Phanton Ranch was about 13.8 miles (via North Kaibab Trail) and Phantom Ranch to South Rim is 9.5 miles (via Bright Angel Trail). We did it in 3 days 2 nights but some people did it in 2 days and even 1 day. Well doing it in 1 day in Summer is strictly not recommended by the Park Rangers. We are not that experienced (may be now we are...) so we decided to take it easier (not easy :)). Phantom Ranch was a nice surprise as there was a canteen that was air-conditioned and had food to buy and the aab-e-hayaat (nectar of immortality :)), lemonade. This was heaven for us who had been in temperatures well in 40s (deg celsius) for the past day and half.
Hiking in the Grand Canyon is a lot of fun, only if one wants to make it so. It requires a lot of preparation to come to terms with this humbling desert gorge. Along the way, as rangers suggest, we soaked ourselves with water which cools the body as water evaporates in the heat. We ate twice as much and lots of salty snacks to replace the salt lost. One ranger mentioned that we loose on an average 500 calories in 1 hour while hiking in the Canyon. Along the way we met a lot of people from around the world. In fact as one gentleman pointed English was not the primary language on the trails. We met a very nice couple, Joe and Nicole, along the way and they helped us quite a lot by attending to my blisters and adjusting our backpacks and really became friends in the few hours we spent with them. Lots of lizards (during the day) and scorpions (during the night) just stroll across the canyon. We used to start really early in the day waking up at 4 am so we got a change to see the canyon during the sunrise and the sunset. There are many things that amazed me about Grand Canyon. One of the most notable ones was the history of human establishments inside the canyon and the names of certain peaks. Yes, some of them were named after Hindu Gods like Brahma, Vishnu, Krishna etc. The trail map we bought shows it all.
I am glad I did this, not as much for accomplishing a daring physical act but more to know closely the power of nature and experience a landscape that I have never experienced before. The colors of the Grand Canyon changing with the depth, the force of the Colorado, the muddy, River and the different minerals (mica is the only one I could recognize) we saw. We were just awestruck by the beauty of the God's most amazing sculpture.
We decided to hike from the North Rim to South Rim via Phantom Ranch. A total of about 24 miles of hiking across the rugged terrain and steepest of the trails, presents with an unimaginable views of the canyon. The hike from North Rim to Phanton Ranch was about 13.8 miles (via North Kaibab Trail) and Phantom Ranch to South Rim is 9.5 miles (via Bright Angel Trail). We did it in 3 days 2 nights but some people did it in 2 days and even 1 day. Well doing it in 1 day in Summer is strictly not recommended by the Park Rangers. We are not that experienced (may be now we are...) so we decided to take it easier (not easy :)). Phantom Ranch was a nice surprise as there was a canteen that was air-conditioned and had food to buy and the aab-e-hayaat (nectar of immortality :)), lemonade. This was heaven for us who had been in temperatures well in 40s (deg celsius) for the past day and half.
Hiking in the Grand Canyon is a lot of fun, only if one wants to make it so. It requires a lot of preparation to come to terms with this humbling desert gorge. Along the way, as rangers suggest, we soaked ourselves with water which cools the body as water evaporates in the heat. We ate twice as much and lots of salty snacks to replace the salt lost. One ranger mentioned that we loose on an average 500 calories in 1 hour while hiking in the Canyon. Along the way we met a lot of people from around the world. In fact as one gentleman pointed English was not the primary language on the trails. We met a very nice couple, Joe and Nicole, along the way and they helped us quite a lot by attending to my blisters and adjusting our backpacks and really became friends in the few hours we spent with them. Lots of lizards (during the day) and scorpions (during the night) just stroll across the canyon. We used to start really early in the day waking up at 4 am so we got a change to see the canyon during the sunrise and the sunset. There are many things that amazed me about Grand Canyon. One of the most notable ones was the history of human establishments inside the canyon and the names of certain peaks. Yes, some of them were named after Hindu Gods like Brahma, Vishnu, Krishna etc. The trail map we bought shows it all.
I am glad I did this, not as much for accomplishing a daring physical act but more to know closely the power of nature and experience a landscape that I have never experienced before. The colors of the Grand Canyon changing with the depth, the force of the Colorado, the muddy, River and the different minerals (mica is the only one I could recognize) we saw. We were just awestruck by the beauty of the God's most amazing sculpture.
posted by Yogita Bhalla | 10:36 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home