Grand Canyon Hike down

Grand Canyon at Sunset

We arrive in Phoenix on Wednesday and took off to the Grand Canyon, a 4 hour drive. Once we got there, we check in at the Yavapai lodge and brought all of our stuff into the room to pack our backpacks. We had to run into the General store to get last minute items. By the time we got all that done, it was time for dinner. So we went over to the Bright Angel Lodge for dinner. Now the real fun begins, to pack our backpacks so it is not that heavy. We manage to get all of stuff in and still be a bit lighter. My pack weight around 42 ibs or so, Michelle's around 40 ibs and my sister around 28 ibs or so. Since I was carrying the tent and all the cooking ware, hers was lighter.

We took off the next morning around 5:30am to hike down the Canyon. It was a beautiful morning, not too cold and not hot at all. We loaded up with water and made sure everyone was comfortable.

Everyone had to drink even if the water tasted funny, or I thought, until the last 2 1/2 miles when I found my sister was not drinking enough. Rosy started to feel a bit dizzy, and her heart started to race. I was concerned, because of the three of us, she was the least experience and the least in shape or not enough training to do this hike. I was getting worried that I might be pushing my sister to the limit. We stopped and I gave her an aspirin and made her drink and eat something. We waited a little bit until she recovered and I decided that in order for us to get down safely and my sister to recover as we hiked down, I will have to take her backpack and carried it down. I ended up carrying her backpack for about 2 miles until the last stretch where she was feeling a little better and I gave her backpack back to her. We finally reached the bottom and my concern shifted to finding a good suitable campsite near the outhouses. I manage to acquire a great spot and went back to get my sister, while Michelle hiked to the campsite. The one major thing that was bothering my sister was her hiking boots. She bought the exact size of her foot and she should have bought at least a half size larger to compensate for the swelling. Her big toes were killing her and she was pain.
The elevation is almost straight down from 7000 ft down to about 2000 ft.

Here are some stats

Elevation

Elevation Stats

After we set up our tents and my sister recovered enough we cooked our dinner and had Pinot Grigio that I had chilling in the creek for our dinner. It was a perfect evening. Michelle and Rosy turned in early and I was still wired up, so I went over to the Canteen to have a beer.

I met some Mule riders and they were filling me in their adventures. It was fun listening to the other side of coming down via Mule.

More updates to follow......