September 26, 2018
Introductions: So in about 72 hours, Brenda, Donna & I will be stepping off a plane, gathering our packs, meeting our new friend Kay, climbing in the RV we rented from her through Outdoorsy, waving good-bye, and heading off to the Grand Canyon.
I’ve been there before. The others have not. It was when Daughter #2 and I stopped at the North Rim for a quick overnight on our way to California 8 years ago that I first heard the term “Rim to Rim.”
People actually hike from one side of the Canyon to the other. That’s down from 6000′ on the South side across the Colorado River and up 8000′ on the North/ or down 8000′ on the North Rim and up to 6000’ on the South. Either way, some folks do it all in one day. Heck, some people do it and back in one day. That’s pretty much the equivalent of 2 marathons in one day. No matter how it’s done, though, they say the Rim to Rim is a nice walk with 2 REALLY big hills.
And it’s that nice walk that we’re going for next week. Want to come along?
Brenda’s in charge of geology, biology, and random facts like “Do you know the Desert tortoise eggs have hard shells to prevent them from drying out?”
Me, I’m the voice of reason (or so we say.) That means that sometimes I’m in charge of logistics—like, now that our surprise miraculous mule trip has been cancelled because the mules have a virus, how can we make SURE we get to do the whole trip?
And Donna? Oh, she is SO in charge of humor. Her first response when she heard the mule trip was cancelled? “I’m sending my mule both a get well card and a thank you card. He deserves it!”