12.2 miles in 5.5 hours
This past weekend Karlee and I went to Page, AZ so that I could go on a hike with my dad. My mom gladly offered to watch and play with Karlee while I was out walking around. My dad is a hiking fool, he does numerous hikes a year. I was pretty excited about doing this hike with him. This was our pre-canyon hike, 12 miles. (I'll explain later) Friday night we packed our Camelbaks with yummy food for the next day. (no picture, cause I didn't think about it. - next time) Saturday morning when I got up, I was starting to get pretty darn nervous, but just ignored the nerves.
(Our Pre-Hike photo)
We met up with the other hikers, teachers from the school my dad teaches at, and then we (6 of us) were off. When we got to the trail head of Spencer's Trail (Marble Canyon, AZ), there was no turning back, and we were off.
(Our hiking group...Too late to turn back???)
This hike started off with a vertical 2 mile climb of switchbacks. This for me was the most challenging part of the hike. (This part reminded me of the hiking up the North Rim, Grand Canyon) During the climb up I was wondering where my co-parts Pepper and Kaye were! We missed ya. We finished this part in 78 minutes, and then continued on for about 6 miles, just crossing the desert.
(We made it to the top!!!)
What goes up must come down and that is exactly what we had to do. We descended on the Dominguez-Escalante pass. This was insane! On the way up Spencer's trail we had a clear defined trail, on the way down Dominguez-Escalante pass there wasn't a defined trail. Which only tells you that the normal human would not go down this. However we did, which turned out to be quite the experience.
(This is looking for our trail...what trail?)
(Starting the descend - Are you kidding me?)
(Here we are at the bottom...I think?)
At the bottom of the pass we met up with the Paria River. We only had a remaining 4 miles to go. The Paria river had water in it, so we took advantage of it, and took our shoes off. That and we had to cross the river, so it was a win win.
(The water was like bath water, so refreshing)
(This was toward the end of our hike, pretty cool huh)
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What an amazing hike, best part was I was with my dad! I grew up in Page, AZ and never really knew about all the amazing places to hike. I am glad that my dad got the hiking bug, and has invited and encouraged us (his kids) to go with him. Thanks Dad, it was so much fun, and I'll see ya in 3 weeks for the Canyon.
*I will be hiking the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim for the 2nd time on October 11th. I am either Really Crazy or just insane!
12 comments:
Yes, crazy & insane would be the words! Good for you! A 12.2 mile hike is pretty intimidating for myself....I'm not sure I would take that on.
What a cool, beautiful hike! Good luck with the Grand Canyon. You amaze me!
Looks like such a beautiful hike! Those are great pictures. And yea, I can't believe you are doing the canyon again - I thought it swore it off after the first time!
I know... I think it must be like childbirth (not really knowing what thats like) but women go through it time and time again. I guess you forget about the worst parts until you are immediately faced with them.
What a cool thing to be able to do with your dad! But the canyon? Didn't you lose your toenail last time? :0) Karlee does have one EXTREME Mamma!!! Go on with your bad self!! hee hee
Awesome! I have a few memories of Page from that summer I went with Tammy. Is good old Stromboli's still around? That was good food.
Good luck with all the hiking. It reminds me I need to get back into the exercise groove again.
Hope all is well. Karlee sure is sweet and beautiful. Have a great week.
Jinkies! You guys are awesome.
I've sworn off hiking. My knees STILL haven't recovered from Mt. Timp in July.
Looks like SOOO much fun!! Wish I lived closer I'd have been there!! You are going to do great doing the canyon!! Pepper swore she wouldn't do it again but she now says she would...Maybe one of these years we can all do it again.
You are awesome! I can't believe you are going to hike rim to rim. Good luck with your toenails:)
Oh...I'm so jealous!! I would totally do the Canyon again...even w/ the lost toe nails! :) I'm so glad you are doing it. We did both swear it off, but it was such an incredible experience, how could you not want to do it again?! Good luck, and I'll definitely get details from Kaye on how you did. Try taping down your toe nails while going down the trail this time and see if that helps.
Good for you!!! what a great hike. I love the pictures. You are awesome!!!
How fun! Christian and I are only 2 1/2 hrs away from canyonlands! We are excited to be so close to so many outdoor activities!
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