Grand Canyon!!!

 We made it to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon Monday evening. We found a good place to eat where everyone could order what they wanted, plus we could get some food for the hike the next day. And then we tried to get some sleep. Paul dropped us off at the South Kaibab Trailhead at 4:00 am Tuesday morning.

Since we couldn't do the usual Rim to Rim hike, we found a South Rim to South Rim trail instead. It went from the South Kaibab trailhead to the Bright Angel trailhead. It was only 17 miles, so we decided to take a detour along the base of the canyon to match the miles of Rim to Rim. We were still able to hike 22 miles that way. :)

I love these pictures where you can see the trail down below.

And it was fun to see the sun rise over the canyon wall.

The kids went down the trail much faster than Gary, Julie, and I did. :) They would stop every now and then and wait for us to catch up.

This is one of my favorite pictures from the hike! That scenery behind Julie & me is just stunning!

Jake doesn't mind showing us how strong he is. :)

We made it through the tunnel and down to Black Bridge and crossed the Colorado River.

It's a very pretty area at the bottom of the Canyon!

Gary wanted picture proof of the only time we were in front of the teenagers. Haha!

Once we crossed the bridge, we took our detour along Bright Angel Creek on the North Kaibab Trail for a couple miles.

We had lunch in the shade next to the creek, and then made our way back to the Bright Angel Trail where we crossed the Silver Bridge.

There was a really hot and steep mile after this bridge before we came to a nice, sandy spot to get in the Colorado River. We were all very excited to cool down in the water! It was so refreshing!!

Then we made our way up out of the Canyon. The rest of the trail was crazy hot and crazy steep. I'm so glad we planned it the way we did, because there were water stops every mile and a half the rest of the way up. (There weren't any water stops on the South Kaibab Trail until you got over the Black Bridge.) 

This part of the canyon was very green and lush though, which was very pretty.

I love this picture too. You can barely see Ashley and me hiking at the top left. :)

Between the 4.5- mile and 3- mile water stops was the hardest part of the hike. We all felt like that stretch kicked our trash. Rockwell and I stuck together for that part, and Rockwell was able to let his exhaustion and frustration out to me. I was so impressed that that was the only time he complained the whole day. Once we got to the 3-mile Resthouse and used the bathrooms, refilled our waters with fresh, cold water, and drenched ourselves in the cold water, we both felt like new people.

From that point on, Rockwell and Ashley hiked together and I followed them out. I wasn't able to keep up with them, but they were within sight the rest of the time.

Rockwell, Ashley, and I didn't want to stop at the 1.5- mile Resthouse for long. I just poured cold water over me and we kept on going. I was so excited to see this tunnel because I knew that meant we were basically finished.

Jake and Ammon had gone ahead of us at the 4.5- mile Resthouse and were waiting at the top for quite a while. Then Ash & Rockwell made it, and I followed a couple minutes behind them. Gary, Julie, and Lindy were just a few minutes behind me, and we were all very excited to make it out!!

Our wonderful photographers. Haha :)

Man you feel accomplished looking back over the sheer size of the Canyon and knowing you just walked the entire thing!!

I had quite a bit of trouble getting my breathing to slow down once I got to the top. Looking back, I probably should have rested at the 1.5- mile water stop and let my body adjust to the altitude better. The climb is no joke out of the canyon, and I think I may have done too much too quickly. I've never felt anything like that and it was a little scary. I just had to keep moving. I couldn't go from such extreme climbing to a dead stop. I tried not to use my breath for talking, and as soon as we got back to our hotel room I took a really steamy shower. That got me back to normal luckily.

We wanted a picture with the one who started it all...Grandpa Ham. :)

Paul had a cooler full of healthy snacks and drinks waiting for us in the van. That was amazing!! We devoured those pretty quickly. :)

I'm grateful I could hike the Grand Canyon with Rockwell and Gary's family. I loved the time with each of them, and the beauty and challenge of the Canyon. It was way harder in my late 30s than in my 20s, but I'm proud that I did it!

Tessa and Damon were excited to swim while we were hiking.