Grand Canyon Double-Crossing

I just finished my painting, river, which is a tribute to the double-crossing of the Grand Canyon my husband and I made in September of 2007. I’ve been wanting to paint from this experience for a long time, but sometimes I just need a bit more time to process an experience before expressing it through art. Working on this piece has brought back great memories of the trip and I thought I would share the experience here through words and photos.

river, 40x30, acrylic on canvas

The painting, river, expresses the beautiful colors of the steep canyon walls as they drop into darkness. The Colorado River can appear to be strange shades of green when the sky is not reflected in it. When I follow the path of the river along the canyon it entices me to move ahead and explore each new bend. My mind tells me the journey would be endless, but the longing to explore remains.

Ron at the trailhead, South Rim

DAY ONE: SOUTH RIM TO NORTH RIM

When embarking on a trip like this where all you do is walk and talk and say “ahhhhhh…” it is important to be in good company. My husband and I made this trip one month before we were engaged. We were able to really get to know each other that weekend. As you will see from the photos, travelling to the bottom of the Grand Canyon is and long and diverse trail. The painting reflects more of an impression of the experience and is not from a specific location. The closest reference may have been from an area called the “box” which I actually did not take any photos in. I suppose I was too busy saying, “ahhhhh….”

View from South Kaibab Trail

We started out pretty fresh and the weather just couldn’t have been better. We had left our tent and car at the campsite where we spent the night before at Mather Campground. By staying in a cabin at the North Rim, we would be able to carry only a day pack and stay light. Only about 45 miles or so ahead of us. The crazy thing is, that some people, including a few good friends, actually just run the whole way there and back in one day. After having done this now over two days, they have my sincere respect.

Feeling strong and happy

The river!

Drinking water is soooo important.

Hiking the Grand Canyon is like climbing an inverted mountain. Drinking water is soooo important! As we hiked down into the canyon and lost altitude it started to get hot.You have to remember to drink lots of water. You have to remember to eat, too. Because if you only drink water and do not eat you can get what they call “water intoxication,” which is a common ailment of hiking the Grand Canyon. The effects can be very bad, something like heat-stroke, so it’s nothing to mess around with.

The river!

The colors of the canyon.

A most amazing day! The skies are blue and the temperature is just perfect. This is why everyone and their brother wants to hike the Grand Canyon at this time of year.

Deer getting water

Perfect camouflage!

Many animals come to the river for water. We ran into a small group of deer enjoying the river. We also saw the fresh tracks of a wild cat, possibly a bobcat or small mountain lion. The variety of animal and vegetation that is supported by the river is delightful to discover.

A relaxing rest stop

Even though there are thousands of visitors to the Grand Canyon on any given day during the spring and fall, you can still find times when you are completely alone. This was my favorite rest stop that day.

Still a long way up...

Next time I come to the canyon I want to be able to stay a little while. But on this day we had to keep moving, a brief stop-over at Phantom Ranch for a beer and then we needed to start moving up.

Losing daylight

This is when we realized we would be finishing our first day after dark. The march was on, and the camera was put away, because we had dinner reservations to make that night, and believe me, we did not want to miss dinner!

Soon enough it was pitch black and we needed our headlamps. There was not enough moonlight that night to go without them. The switchbacks were steep and plentiful. I started to wonder who else we might find crossing this trail, since I was positive we were the only human hikers around.

“So what am I supposed to do when I come face to face with a mountain lion?” I asked my husband casually.

Before he could even answer we heard the thumping sound of a large animal emerging from the bushes and landing on the trail ahead. Our headlamps caught the the flash of eyes on the trail about thirty feet ahead of us. They looked low to the ground and my heart started to race. I stopped in my tracks and let my husband bravely pass me to investigate. To our relief, the silhouette of a deer with its head lowered started to emerge before us and then in another instant the deer leaped off the trail and disappeared into the bushes.

Lucky for us we arrived only ten minutes late for our dinner reservations. We didn’t realize we would have to walk the extra three miles of road from the trail head to the lodge. Even when we tried to hitch a ride, no one would stop for us. Needless to say we ate and slept well that night.

The next morning...

DAY TWO: NORTH RIM TO SOUTH RIM

This is the road we walked in both directions to and from the trail head. We missed the shuttle, and again no one would give us a ride, but at least this time we were rested.

So that's the view!

I have to admit, day two came and went with much less enthusiasm, so the photographs are few and far between, but it was still a most amazing experience and I’m so glad we did it.

Ahhhh, Tecate!

Stopping at Phantom Ranch for a Tecate, would prove to be the carrot dangled before us. Then the memory of that sweet satisfaction managed to propel us to the top of the South Rim again.

Crossing the River again

On the return route we took the Bright Angel Trail up to the South Rim. There was just so much to see along the way and the scenery just continues to change that the time really did pass quickly. Only when it got dark did we start to notice every ache and pain and every single switch back.

Again, still a long way up...

Fortunately we arrived at the top of the South Rim just in time to catch the very last shuttle to the campground. We crawled into my car and placed our swollen feet on the dashboard and sipped beers from the cooler we had left ourselves. As we studied our wounded wads of flesh that used to be feet, we discussed whether or not we would ever do it again. I believe the answer then was, “no way.” But as time has a way of erasing the pain, and highlighting the glory, I think now I would do it again.