SEDONA, GRAND CANYON, AND LOWER ANTELOPE CANYON

When I am not traveling, one of the things I enjoy doing is hiking with a group called H.E.A.T. (Hiking Every Available Trail.)  This fall, we took a group trip to Arizona to hike the Grand Canyon and other trails in the surrounding area.

October 2-3, 2019

The Guest House I Rented in Needles

The Interior of the Guest House

I left home late in the morning and began driving to Arizona.  I hadn’t known what time I would be able to leave, so I had rented an AirBnB in Needles, CA in case I didn’t have time to drive to Arizona that night.  As it was, I arrived in Needles about dinnertime.  I had rented a small guest house at the rear of a property near the railroad tracks in Needles.  The space was small and dark, but comfortable.  There was a kitchenette stocked with food items available for purchase.  I had brought a cooler full of food with me and ate dinner in the rental.  The train tracks were very close and the tiny house shook whenever a train passed which seemed to be every twenty minutes.

Train Passing the House in Needles

It wasn’t the most restful night I had spent.   Long trains rumbled by every few minutes, including one with screeching brakes at three in the morning.  I didn’t have a terribly long drive left to get to Flagstaff.  I couldn’t check in before our trip organizer arrived, so I tried to time my arrival to coincide with his.  I spent a leisurely morning eating breakfast in my room and then practiced the guitar.  By checkout time at 11:00, I was ready to complete my drive to Flagstaff.

It wasn’t as long a drive to Flagstaff as I had thought.  I got there by 14:00.  Stan had said he’d be there by 16:00, so I settled down to wait.  Gradually, the members of our group began to arrive.  There were three women who planned to carpool with me while in Arizona.  They were due to arrive at the airport at 17:30. Stan hadn’t arrived by the time I needed to go get them.  I didn’t have room in my car for everyone’s luggage, so I left mine in a friend’s car.  When we returned to the hotel, my luggage had gone to dinner.  We, too, decided to go out and find food.

October 4, 2019

We got an early start on Friday morning and drove to Sedona.  Our first hike was 6 miles down and back along a valley to the Devil’s Bridge where each and every one of us needed to be photographed on the bridge, itself.  Hot air balloons filled the sky across the valley when we first arrived and the scenery was spectacular.

Broad View of the Devil's Bridge Area

Our Crazy, Multicultural Group of Hikers

H.E.A.T. on Devil's Bridge

Our second hike was a four-mile circumnavigation of a rock formation known as the Courthouse.  It was warm, but the hike was mostly level and we made good time. 

The Courthouse

Hiking Around the Courthouse

Cathedral Rock in the Distance

Kwame Hiking Up Fay Canyon

 Our third hike was up Fay Canyon to some sort of overlook.  The only trouble was that we missed the overlook and kept picking our way up the streambed after the trail quit.  Eventually, we realized our mistake and reversed our course.  We found the lookout on the way back and the view was incredible.

Kwame, Suli, and Tarsha Where We Turned Back

View from the Overlook

H.E.A.T. Descending from the Overlook

Tired and satisfied, we drove back to Flagstaff and a large group of us ate dinner at a steakhouse where singing waitstaff entertained us with selections from musical theater.  Then, it was back to the hotel to get as much sleep as possible before our 4:30AM start time for our hike down into the Grand Canyon on the following morning.

Singing Waitstaff in Flagstaff

October 5, 2019

Early Morning at the Grand Canyon

We left the hotel early, as planned, but the freeway was closed and we somehow messed up the detour and ended up driving for miles on a dirt road before we got back on track.  We got to the Grand Canyon Visitor’s Center parking lot just after 6AM, but there were so many people opting for so many different hikes that it was 7:00 by the time we actually got organized. 

Out of a much larger group, thirteen of us set out to hike to the bottom of the canyon and back in one day.  Actually, only nine of us started out to do it, but we picked up an additional four when we got to the trail that cuts across from the South Kaibab trail to the Bright Angel trail.  We convinced them it wasn’t that much further.  None of them had any trouble keeping up.  I left my car keys with the three women who had carpooled with me, since none of them had opted to take the long hike.  I hoped they would drive around and pick me up at the Bright Angel Trailhead.

Young Buck Facing Off with H.E.A.T. Men

Elk Drinking from the Water Fountain

We walked from the Visitor’s Center to the South Kaibab trailhead, a distance of a couple of miles.  When we got there, elk were begging for water at the filling stations.  People were holding the faucets on so that they could drink.  There was one young buck with two skinny prongs for antlers.  He tried to attack the male members of our group but left the women alone.  We had to keep a sharp eye on him.  No one wanted to hold the water on for HIM.

Hiking Down the South Kaibab Trail

Cedar Ridge

The hike down South Kaibab was steep.  I had hoped to be able to run, but it was too rocky and there were too many stairs.  I had to be careful not to fall, since it was a long way back up if anything happened.  I made good time going down, staying towards the front of the group.  We paused at Cedar Ridge to regroup and again where the shortcut to the Bright Angel trail diverged.  We met a group riding mules down to Phantom Ranch who had also paused there to use the restrooms.

Mules Resting on the Way Down

Later Stretch of the South Kaibab Trail

Bridge Over the Colorado River

Pack Mules Headed Uphill

When I finally reached the Colorado River, I started across the bridge to meet the few people who had arrived before me.  Halfway across the bridge, I was told by a mule wrangler that I would have to retreat to the other side of the tunnel before the bridge so that the train of pack mules

bearing luggage back to the rim could pass.  Apparently, mules have the right of way no matter who starts across the bridge first.

The Colorado River

We spent an hour or so beside the river, resting and eating our lunch even though it was only 10:30 in the morning.  By 11:30, we had walked along the river to the second bridge, crossed back over to the south side, and started up the Bright Angel Trail.  I had started to feel a twinge in my knee as I approached the bottom of the canyon but never felt it again once we stopped descending.

The Lower Section of the Bright Angel Trail Was Not Steep

The Last Four Miles Were Straight Up

In the beginning, the Bright Angel Trail was not as steep as the South Kaibab.  It was a couple of miles longer but ascended more gradually.  It was warm, but not excessively hot.  I had plenty of liquids and there were places to refill water bottles along the way.  The trail was quite moderate as far as Indian Gardens where there was a watering station for the mules.  Past there, it got steeper.  The last four miles switch backed steeply up the face of the canyon.  It was relentless.  Fortunately, that area was in shade as the afternoon wore on and the temperature was pleasant.  There were two rest stops with cute stone huts offering shade and water.

Selfie Near the End

Most of the way up, I had been in the rear with two other women.  As we started up the switchbacks, I was surprised to come upon our leader, Stan, walking slowly with another woman who was suffering from altitude sickness.  I had begun to outpace my companions and, knowing they would be safe with Stan, I left them behind and proceeded at my own pace.  I reached the rim of the canyon at 17:20.

There was no sign of my car or my friends, but I met another member of our group who was waiting for Stan.  When I told him Stan was probably half an hour behind me, he was kind enough to give me a ride back to the Visitor’s Center.  There was a red Kia Niro plug-in hybrid parked in the space where I had left mine.  However, it was not my car.  Another carload of women from our group reported seeing my friends at the Visitor’s Center, but it was closed when I limped over there and they were nowhere to be found.  I was wearing shorts and it was getting cold.  My cellphone didn’t have good coverage.  It was a chilly hour until, via messages relayed through others with different carriers, I was reunited with my car and passengers.

We started driving back to Flagstaff.  It was apparent that the restaurants in Flagstaff would all be closed by the time we returned.  We stopped in Williams to eat dinner at the Route 66 Bistro.  We had to wait for a table, but the food was excellent and went a long way towards rejuvenating my weary body.  Fortunately, one of the other women who had not hiked as far was able to drive.  It was 23:00 by the time we reached the hotel and we were supposed to leave by 5:30AM the following day, which would have forced us to skip breakfast.  Since none of my passengers had an early flight, we agreed to visit Horseshoe Bend AFTER Antelope Canyon , which allowed us to sleep an extra hour and enjoy the breakfast buffet at the hotel.

October 6, 2019

One of my passengers needed to get to Phoenix, so she switched to a different car.  The remaining three of us left the hotel at 7:00 and headed straight to Paige, AZ, where we were scheduled for a 10:15 tour of Lower Antelope Canyon with Dixie Ellis Tours.  It was a long drive and we had a moment of panic when we realized that the Navajo reservation time was an hour ahead of Arizona.  Fortunately, the tour companies observed Arizona time and we arrived in plenty of time.

Navajo Hoop Dancer

Our tour began with a demonstration of the Navajo Hoop Dance.  The dancer competed regularly and put on quite a show.  He danced in and out of the hoops and rearranged them to form patterns such as baskets and butterflies.  After his presentation, we were divided into groups of ten, each with our own guide.  Our guide was a young Navajo woman who was very knowledgeable about both the canyon and how to set our phone cameras to capture the best images.

Woman's Face

We descended six flights of metal stairs to the bottom of the narrow slot canyon.  Our guide showed us a video of the last time the canyon had flooded.  It was completely filled and water was splashing out over the rim.  The flood had torn some of the stairs from their anchors.  Fortunately, there had been enough warning to get everyone out of the canyon before the water arrived.

H.E.A.T. in the Canyon

The Light Was Incredible

The Seahorse

Even I Wanted a Photo in the Canyon

Stone Arched Above Us

The canyon was amazing.  Every view was captivating.  It was impossible to stop taking pictures.  I generally eschew selfies but even I couldn’t resist having my picture taken in that lovely reddish light.  Our guide graciously took dozens of photos for us.  We gradually worked our way uphill along the 1300 feet of the canyon, watching for the more famous of the rock formations.  By the time we emerged from the earth, we were only a couple of flights down.  The tour was one of the most worthwhile excursions I had ever taken.  It was well worth the $54 entrance fee and advance planning necessary.

Emerging From the Slot Canyon

Trudging Through Sand to Horseshoe Bend

 Once we regrouped at the car, we headed back down the road to visit Horseshoe Bend which we had passed on the way.  At Horseshoe Bend, the Colorado River makes a more than 270-degree bend.  We paid the $10 parking fee and slogged half a mile or so through sand to the edge of the canyon.  It was warm and there was not a scrap of shade.  We took a few quick photos and returned to the car.  We still had two hours of driving to reach Flagstaff. 

Horseshoe Bend

Once we got to town, we dropped one woman off at what looked like a very nice hostel in downtown Flagstaff and then I took my remaining passenger to the airport.  Once free of my riders, I turned west and headed down Highway 40 towards Kingman where I would catch the road that would lead me to my friends’ home in Meadview, AZ.

I again got stuck in the freeway closure in Flagstaff for over an hour, which put me behind schedule.  My friends were waiting dinner for me and I had hoped to arrive by 18:00.  As it was, I didn’t get there until 19:15 and had to make the drive from Kingman in the dark.  Cattle frequently wander across the road but I luckily didn’t encounter any.  Jan and Ramona served me a delicious dinner of chicken mole and then we were all ready to call it an early night.  I was exhausted after many days of early mornings.

October 7, 2019

My friends lived in the Grapevine Mesa Joshua Tree Forest.  Their home looked out at the red sandstone cliffs of Grapevine Mesa, on the other side of which ran the Grand Canyon.  We didn’t do much on Monday.  Ramona had luncheon plans with a group of women friends.  We met them for lunch at the dining room of a local dude ranch.  A guitarist entertained us with humorous songs.

The View from My Friends' Home

Later, we strolled around the neighborhood at sunset and then Ramona fed us again.  It was a nice, relaxing day.

October 8, 2019

Pierce's Landing Where the Grand Canyon Ends 

Tuesday, Jan and Ramona took me on a drive around the area.  First, we drove out a long dirt road to Pierce’s Landing where all the rafters on the Colorado River pulled out before reaching an impassable rapid.  We parked at the landing and then hiked a mile or so along the river to get a view of the rapid.  Both sides of the river folded towards the center where they smashed into a large rock in the center.  I could see no path through that rapid.  The force of the water breaking over that rock was tremendous.

The Impassable Rapid

Jan & Ramona

Once, Lake Mead had extended all the way to that area and the river had cut a channel through the thick layer of sediment left behind when the lake level dropped.

Lake Mead

After leaving Pierce’s Landing, we drove to the current shore of Lake Mead.  The launch ramp had been extended as the lake level dropped but the rumor was that it would be extended no more.  Extended drought had let it’s mark on the region.

The Launch Ramp at Lake Mead

After seeing the sights, we returned to the town of Meadview pick up mail and take a swim in the homeowners’ association pool.  As warm as it was outside, the water in the pool was freezing.  I dove in but couldn’t stay.  I leapt out of the water as fast as I could to lie in the sun and warm up.
After our aborted swim, we stopped by the Chamber of Commerce where local artists sold their crafts.  I bought a beautiful pair of silver and lapis earrings for a fraction of what similar ones had sold for at Antelope Canyon.  I also picked up two sets of ceramic coasters to replace the rather scruffy ones I had been using at home.

After another nice dinner, we sat down to a game of Scrabble.  It was relaxing to spend time with friends after dashing here and there with my hiking group.

October 9-10, 2019

Grapevine Mesa Joshua Tree Forest

We got up early and took a walk before breakfast.  The Joshua Trees were lovely in the morning light.  I left Meadview by 9:00 and began my drive to Seal Beach to visit my friend, Diane.  It was a long an uneventful drive.  The weather was quite pleasant, unlike the 112 degree temperatures I had seen the last time I passed through the area in August of 2018. 

I arrived in Seal Beach by late afternoon and had time to take Diane out for a birthday dinner at the Claim Jumper.  I spent the night in her place at Leisure World.  The next morning, we walked to a café just outside the gates and had breakfast.  Then I hit the road again.  I had to get home in time to greet some AirBnB guests at my house.  It was a quick trip up Highway 5, stopping only long enough to buy gas and lunch.  My summer of travel was complete.  It was time to spend a few weeks at home before heading back to Mexico in November.