apAdventures

…and we have a couple stowaways along for the ride. Our friends Dale & Tans from New Zealand are here in Tucson right now, packing their climbing gear and hiking boots into the Sportsmobile, getting psyched for a week of road trippin’ with us.

But before I go there – how about an update as to what we’ve already managed to pack into these two kiwi’s first visit to the southwest. They arrived Friday evening, and in perfect Tucson host style, we greeted them with margaritas, fahitas, and some classic chillin’ out back by the pool in pleasant 80 degree temps. Paul’s father, Regis, was here too – winding down and relaxing after the long Sportsmobile “Maiden Voyage” with Paul.

Saturday morning, unfortunately, Regis had to return home to Pittsburgh. Dale and Tans started the day off with an icy morning swim (the pool is still quite cold!). And Paul and I fixed up some smoothies and coffee for everyone. After some more relaxing by the pool, next on the agenda was a short little morning hike on the Agua Caliente trail.

That was fun, what next? Let’s head to Mexico!! Our friends Jeff and Gina came along too.

And to finish off the night – more margaritas, beer, and chillin’ at our adobe.

So now, here we are packing our gear for the roadtrip. Joshua Tree, Yosemite, maybe a couple of other sightseeing stops along the way….!! We’ll be cruisin’ in style….Sportsmobile-style. 🙂

Today is October 2nd…our wedding anniversary. Paul and I have spent this celebration day hobbling around with sore legs and big smiles. Our leg muscles are destroyed from the last 2 days of strenuous running/hiking. Our smiles are beaming as we discuss and recap the stellar vistas that those tired legs carried us to. We are celebrating for 2 reasons. The first reason, another happy year of marriage together. The second reason, another exciting adventure together.

Saturday morning, at 6:07am, Paul and I embarked on one of our most amazing adventures yet: Run from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon to the North Rim. Sleep. Then run back the next day. The planned route was to take the Bright Angel Trail from the South Rim down to the Colorado River and over to the Phantom Ranch (9.6 miles, 4320 feet elevation loss). From there we would take the North Kaibab trail all the way up to the North Rim (13.8 miles, 5770 feet elevation gain). And then from there, we’d make our way over to the Grand Canyon Lodge (1.5 miles, FLAT!). We planned to return by the same route. We were hoping to run the downhills and the flats, and speed-hike the ‘ups’.

So Saturday morning, 6:07am, here we are. Excited, a little nervous, and probably over packed. We each have a backpack filled with water, some warm layers, and food – a light dayhiker’s pack. The Bright Angel trailhead starts right on the edge of the rim on the paved tourist walkway and heads…well,…straight down. Don’t trip or you might start rolling and not stop. The sun is just coming up and the canyon colors are glowing. I try not to look out too deep into the canyon, for fear that I might get scared at the extremely large task we were about to try to accomplish. Well, let’s do this. And we’re off. Paul and I burn down the trail, a focused, quick pace, staying concentrated on the terrain underfoot to avoid any tweeks or twists on the joints. As the sun rises and the rays creep into the depths, the canyon walls flame up around us. We take a few breaks to take in the beauty and snap some pics.

2 hours later, we’re staring at the massive Colorado River. 2 hours…woo! We’re cruisin’! A couple miles upstream lies the Phantom Ranch and we’re psyched. We trot along merrily through the white beach-like sand that borders the river and soon we reach the suspension bridge to cross. (Little did we realize, we’ve been training our legs all summer for uphills, not downhills, and our legs would scream this at us later for dropping almost 4500 ft in 2 hours).

Upon arrival at the Phantom Ranch, we see that the place is not as dramatic as we had imagined it would be. We were picturing huge, red, vertical walls on all sides – the ranch nestled in between the great massive-ness. Instead, we are quite surprised to see that it’s actually pretty wide open down here. If you woke up in your tent in the morning and looked outside, you might not realize how deep into the earth you were. Oh well, tis the excitement of not knowing what to expect. The ranch is bustling with people. Clean people smelling of cologne, dirty people smelling of B.O. You’ve got the mule-riding cabin dwellers and the backpacking tent-sleepers down here. And every now and then you pass, or get passed by, another rim-to-rimmer. You can tell by their quick pace, small packs, and quaint ‘hi’s”. They mean business, baby, so watch out.

At Phantom Ranch, Paul and I pick up the North Kaibab trail and switch our run to a quick hike. My right knee is starting to say hello so we’ve adjusted the pace accordingly. I momentarily consider whether we should turn back due to some pesky knee pain. That moment is soon gone and we excitedly trot forward.

The North Kaibab trail runs up a spur canyon from the Grand Canyon proper. You can actually see this spur canyon, as well as a faint thread of the trail, from the South Rim – we later find out. Immediately upon departure from Phantom Ranch, the walls close in around us and we’re running alongside a gushing stream through a corridor. The air is somewhat cool and the gushing water makes it feel even cooler. Enjoy it now, because it’s about to get hot, hot, hot.

The spur canyon then opens up wide for probably about 5 or so miles. There is absolutely no shade at this point in the day. The trail works its way up at a gentle grade, and the elevation gain is hardly noticeable, which has us worried that the worst is yet to come. Paul and I speed-hike along, thankful that we’ve grown accustomed to exerting ourselves in the heat by training in the Tucson desert all summer. We pass through Cottonwood campground and a (concerned?) old man offers us his advice on the upcoming water stops to the rim. So far, we’re fine with water. There have been way more water stops than we had anticipated, and we realize we’ve probably been carrying too much! We press on.

Finally, the North Kaibab trail starts to ascend at a steeper grade and we’re psyched. We pass by a group of backpackers and a woman asks, “You doing rim to rim?” “Yep!”, we say. “Nice! You look great!” she says. We’re real psyched.

This next section of trail ranks itself as one of the most amazing trails we’ve ever traveled. The switchbacks cut through sheer rock faces. The massive drop-offs from the trail’s edge are breathtaking. The red, white, purple, gold, black, grey, and brown-colored cliffs shoot up in all directions around us, above us, below us. Yes, this section ranks right up there with the best.

It is now about 3pm and Paul and I are barreling up the last sections of switchbacks to the North Rim. We are starting to see golden Aspen trees and evergreens. The air definitely feels like “fall” here. We’re tired, but not that tired. We feel good. Just a few more switchbacks, and……….

……we’re there. We’ve made it to the North Rim. Actually, we’re not there yet. We hold the pace and continue on toward the North Rim Lodge, only 1.5 miles away…and yes, as promised by our topo, the trail is flat…wooo! It has now been 10 hours and 16 minutes and Paul and I cruise up, finally, to the entrance of the Grand Canyon Lodge. The traveling for Day 1 is complete.

We check into our delightful little cabin. It’s cuter than we expected. We have dinner at the main lodge…..a BIG dinner, stuffing ourselves until it hurt. The Grand Canyon Lodge is situated right on the cliffside of the North Rim. Through the giant picture windows of the lodge, Paul and I look out over the gaping gash in the earth. The Grand Canyon looks HUGE from this vista. “Whoa, look over there!” Paul says to me. He’s pointing out the spur canyon that we came up in. We look, and look, and look, following the contours of the canyon as it stretches further and further and further away from our current position and endlessly towards the south rim. “I can’t look anymore,” I say to Paul. The distance that we had come today, and were attempting to travel tomorrow, was too absurd to look at.

Sunday morning, 5:37am. We step out of the cute little cabin and begin Day 2’s journey. It’s dark and Paul and I make our way by headlamp over to the North Kaibab trailhead. There are some others at the trail head as well. Other rim-to-rimmers.

Immediately the trail plunges down, down, down the switchbacks…and my knee is not doing so hot, to say the least. I tell myself that the pain is a product of all the downhill running yesterday and that it’ll feel better on the flats and uphills. And eventually, around 8 miles into the day, it does. We’re now cruising along, at a grandma trot of a run, on that gradual-grade section where the spur canyon opens up wide. Luckily, the sun is still low and behind the walls. We decide to keep pressing forward with minimal stops all the way to Phantom Ranch. We weren’t sure how long the return trip would take us, with sore legs and my bummer knee and other aches and pains that kept creeping up. “Let’s just bang this section out and rest at the ranch.”

We’re now around 13 miles into the day. The trail is endlessly twisting and turning through the roaring stream corridor before Phantom Ranch. Just around the next bend, just around the next bend. We’ll stop when we get to the ranch…….

….our grandma trot turns into a dying-grandma trot. Then it turns into a walk. Then it turns into practically a stumble. I’m feeling somewhat spacey…lightheaded….I’m getting sick of this stupid roaring stream and the canyon doesn’t seem as pretty as it did an hour ago….my feet hurt…my legs hurt…I can’t WAIT to get on some uphill terrain….give the downhill muscles some relief and turn on the fresh uphill muscles….Paul and I haven’t spoken in the last 30 minutes…is he still behind me?…turn around to look back….whoa, off balance…don’t fall into the stream! Yep, here’s the part of the adventure where you’re like “hmmm, things could be better right about now.” Just around the next bend….just around the next bend….

And there it is. Phantom Ranch. Heaven on earth. The roaring stream corridor is over and Paul and I sit for the first time in 14 miles. We relax, eat, look at the beauty around us, and chat. We’re re-charged.

The final stretch feels great. Our uphill-honed legs thank us for the change in the terrain and treat us nicely all the way up to the South Rim. We cruise at a pace faster than estimated. Wooo!! We’re psyched once again. Seeing the trail go by in reverse is almost like being on an entirely different trail. Vista, after amazing vista….it’s endless.

11 hours. The 49th mile of the weekend. We’re making our way up the last switchback of our Grand Canyon adventure. We can hear cars and people just above us on the South Rim. The trail is packed now with tourists strolling down from the rim to get a better glimpse of the depths below. We stop briefly for one final water break and to savor the canyon interior one last time. 2 older men (from Pittsburgh!) start asking us questions. They slowly pry out of us what we’d been up to over the last 2 days. After much disbelief and serious judgement on sanity, they ask “Well, here’s the real question: Did you enjoy it?”

“Every step.”

And now for the trip report of our 10-day vacation in the Canadian Rockies with Paul’s parents, Marian and Regis. The idea of doing this trip with family originated back when Paul and I were on our honeymoon in the Canadian Rockies. This area of Canada was so amazing to us that we just had to share it with both our families. Unfortunately, my family was unable to join us on this occasion, so it ended up just Regis, Marian, Paul and myself. Overall, the trip was stellar. Traveling with Paul’s parents was a blast and the scenery in the mountains of Canada is, of course, absolutely breathtaking. The four of us hiked up some really incredible (and really strenuous!) terrain. To write about all the fun would take me a week, so I’ll share with you just some of the highlights:

Our trip started off in Seattle, Washington. From there we made our way up to Yoho National Park, British Columbia. Our first hike of the trip was the Iceline Trail. The trail starts off with a pretty steep grade, switchbacking up an avalanche slope and then into an old-growth forest. Immediately, we had fine views of the Yoho Valley, the impressive 833 ft Takakkaw Falls, and the Daly Glacier which feeds the Takakkaw Falls (Takakkaw is Cree for “It is magnificent!”). After the switchbacks, we were above treeline and traversing through rocky, unvegetated landscape. At about 2.5 miles we reached the Emerald Glacier. Paul and I ran ahead a bit to get a closer glimpse of the glacier while Regis and Marian took in the views from the glacier’s forefield. After a rest and some snacks, we turned around and headed back down the same way we came up. Stats: 5 miles, 1815 feet elevation gain, 4 hours.

Our next big hike was in Banff National Park at Lake Louise. Lake Louise is one of the most popular areas in all of the Canadian Rockies. The Lake Louise Chateau is situated right on the lakefront, providing stunning views of the turquoise blue Lake Louise and the massive glaciers above it. We came up with a perfect hiking day plan that allowed Paul and I to get some trail running in while still getting to meet up and hike with Regis and Marian later in the day. Paul and I took off running toward the Plain of the Six Glaciers. The trail runs along the side of Lake Louise and then gains elevation to the glaciers behind it. The end of the trail brings you to the exposed crest of a lateral moraine that overlooks the Lower Victoria Glacier. Above us, we had views of Abbot Pass separating Mt. Lefroy (11,230 feet) and Mt. Victoria (11,364 ft), which marks the Continental Divide. Far below us, we could see the entire Lake Louise and the Bow Valley. From here, Paul and I ran the Highline Junction trail that took us up and over the Big Beehive (steep!) and down to Lake Agnes. Meanwhile, Regis and Marian hiked the Lake Agnes trail up to Lake Agnes and we all rendezvoused at the Lake Agnes Teahouse. Perfect timing! Stats: 11.6 miles, 2243 ft elevation gain (twice, due to having to run up and over the Big Beehive), 6 hours (including a stop at the teahouse for lunch).

Probably our most favorite hike of the trip was this next one. Lake O’Hara in Yoho National Park. Lake O’Hara is THE MOST popular hiking destination in Yoho National Park. And it only takes a quick glance at these photos to figure out why. The area is so popular, in fact, that access is limited to visitors. To get into Lake O’Hara, you have two options: Reserve a seat on one of the 6 buses that travel up there each day (for a *very* pricey fee), or hike the 7 miles up/in. Or, well I suppose there’s a 3rd option: RUN the 7 miles. 😉 Paul and I laced up our running shoes, reserved 2 bus seats for Regis and Marian, and said “see you at the top!” The run in was awesome. The air was cool and crisp and the morning light was casting deep blue shadows across the snow-covered peaks around us. Soon we arrived at Lake O’Hara and met up with Regis and Marian. From here, we walked along the lake together and then split again, planning to reconvene later on the trails. Paul and I decided to take the All Souls’ Alpine Route. Wow, was that trail EXPOSED!!! The trail pushes up through scree and boulder fields to some pretty airy ledges, a couple of which you actually have to do 1 or 2 moves of scrambling (hands & feet) – a few moments of glee for these two rock climbers. 🙂 From the All Souls’ Prospect (the summit point of the trail at 7380 feet) we traversed a couple of small snowfields and then headed over to Opabin Lake where we met up with Regis and Marian again. From here, we all hiked together back down to Lake O’Hara, passing a family of mountain goats along the way. Regis and Marian then boarded the bus, while Paul and I downed a couple sticks of beef jerky and then ran the 7 miles back down to the car. A satisfying day indeed. Stats: 19.5 miles, 2131 ft elevation gain, 7 hours.

After our Lake O’Hara hike, we drove north on the Icefield Parkway toward Jasper, Alberta. Here are a couple of the many, many glaciers and icefields along the way:

The final hiking day of the trip involved a little jaunt out to Maligne Lake and then a walk along Maligne Canyon. Maligne Canyon is an impressive “must-see” for Jasper. It’s a slot canyon and at its deepest is 180 feet, at it’s narrowest only 3 feet!! Stats: 2.6 miles, 345 ft elevation, 2 hours.

From Jasper, we said good-bye to the magnificent Rockies and traveled west toward Whistler, Biritish Columbia. We checked out the ski slopes at Whistler-Blackcomb. The place was packed with outdoor enthusiasts: mountain bikers, snowboarders/skiers (you can ski on the glacier in the summer!), climbers, hikers, zip-liners,….pretty much any nutty sport you can think of….it was there. After Whistler, the highway took us right by Squamish. So of course, as climbers, Paul and I couldn’t resist the urge to stop at look at the rock wall and touch the boulders. It didn’t take us long to regret not bringing our climbing gear, so we high-tailed it out of there ASAP.

Once back in Seattle, we spent a couple days with Paul’s Aunt Marilyn, Uncle Bob, and cousin Chris. The weather was beautiful. Marilyn and Bob gave us a tour of the city…by boat! They also filled our ears with story after amazing story of the incredible skiing and snowboarding up at Whistler-Blackcomb, tempting us to consider a trip up for a visit this winter. Perhaps we will be back in Canada sooner than we think. 🙂

For our 1 year wedding anniversary we decided to start a new tradition that we will now refer to as, The Anniversary Hike. This first annual anniversary hike took us to Yosemite National Park. Following is a brief summary and 1, 2, 3, sets of photos, from the amazing things we saw and did on our trip.

Thursday September 29th:
Flew from Tucson to San Francisco via Las Vegas. Won $23.00 on the airport 25 cent slot machines. Spent $23.00+ on airport food. Arrived in San Francisco at about 1:30AM.

Friday September 30th:
Drove into downtown San Francisco and walked along the Embarcadero from the Bay Bridge to Pier 39 (San Fran. Bay waterfront). Highlight was the Sea Lions. Drove out of downtown San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge to highway 1. Visited Muir Woods (giant redwood forest). As the sun started to set we drove from Muir Woods to Muir Beach so April could see the Pacific Ocean for the first time. It was just like the movies: the sun was setting, the waves were crashing, we were walking hand in hand, barefoot, and all of a sudden as we climbed up on some boulders to get a better view of the ocean April says, “Dude, this beach reeks!…Oh God, it’s a dead rotting Sea Lion.” We quickly did a 180 and continued our love stroll the other way. After the sun set we started our drive to Yosemite National Park. Stopped for some “Chillin’ at da Holiday Innnnnnnn.”

Saturday October 1st:
Woke up late and arrived in Yosemite Valley at about 1PM. Threw on our hiking shoes and grabbed our packs. Paul says, “Let’s do Glacier Point, I think it’s only 4.7 miles one way.” As we started out, the first trail marker showed the distance to Glacier Point as 8.2 miles. Hmmm? Must be that means 8.2 miles for the round trip, right? No……we were going to Glacier Point via the Panoramic Trail, not the Four Mile Trail. Paul then says, “Ok, let’s do a little math. At a a speed of 2.0 mph (pushing it, with a 3200 ft elevation gain) we could potentially knock off this 16.4 mile hike in about 8 hours putting us only 2 hours in the dark (with headlamps). April says, “Do-able, lets go.” The hike was amazing, the views were spectacular, the temperature was perfect. The hike takes you past Nevada and Vernal Falls, and a hidden, several hundred foot waterfall that neither of us had seen before. You get views of Half Dome first from the back side, then the side profile, and then right at the end you see the front side. At a brisk pace we were back at the car by 8:15PM, just in time to get wine and pizza (thanks to our 3 miles of trail running, heh heh).

Sunday October 2nd (Anniversary Day):
Woke up semi-late, with plans of a nice breakfast, leisurely stroll through the village and a short hike. As we lay in bed we get the map out and start looking at options. April says,”Whoa, there’s a trail to the top of North Dome!” Paul says, “Let’s do the math.” Next thing we know we are on our way up Yosemite Falls trail heading to North Dome…another 16 mile day…we’ll save the nice breakfast for tomorrow. 🙂 Again, the trail is amazing, the views are spectacular and the crisp fall weather is perfect. We make our way to the summit of what we think is North Dome (turns out North Dome is the next bump over, probably a half hour more). Hauled the wedding cake up with us and ate it with front row seats looking straight on at Half Dome.

On the way back we stop at the Yosemite Falls junction and decide to hike out towards a generic sign that said, “Overlook.” We get to the cliff’s edge and notice stairs heading down to the top of the waterfall. Yikes this is a little risky for “hikers.” The steps continue down and down until we get to a point where a handrail leads around a corner. The handrail ends above the 2000 ft. void, yet for the brave soul who ventures to the end of the handrail (April), another handrail continues around the next corner with stairs for your feet no wider than 6 inches. “I can’t believe this is a ‘hiking’ trail!” The exposed staircase leads us to an amazing observation deck. As if that little adventure didn’t top the hike, later we had to deviate from the trail to avoid a bear and right before dark we saw a burning red sunset cast on the rock walls of Yosemite Valley. We were back at the car by 7:00PM and enjoyed a fancy dinner at the Mountain Room restaurant all slimy and grungy. This Anniversary Hike will be hard to beat.

Details later….

After having showed April’s parents a great time skiing last month, now it’s part two with my parents. Yesterday we ate breakfast outside, took a tour of Mt. Lemmon and hung out around town. Here are a few pictures of our hike at Rose Canyon Lake and the Mt. Lemmon Rocks Lookout tower.

On Sunday evening we hurried to Sabino Canyon to catch the sunset. Here are a few pictures of the beautiful scenery 15 minutes from home.