I hurt.
For me, hurting and the Grand Canyon go together like Ham and Swiss. In this case I hurt in many places: bruised feet, stiff quads, funky shoulder, left ankle a bit odd, and the lower back – of course. Unfortunately, this was BEFORE we headed into the Big Ditch, having spent three days with the Unbreakables Ram and Jenny the previous week. But it was Alicia’s spring break and she was a bundle of enthusiasm, so off to the Grand Canyon we go.
My hope was for a ‘mellow’ Grand trip (words not usually used together), being into the LITTLE Colorado River, and doing a canyon called BIG, on a relaxed 3-day schedule. The vert was ONLY 2800 feet, about the same as starting Heaps from Zion Canyon floor; and also on an actual trail, though not a Park Service trail and still rather steep by anything-other-than-Grand-Canyon standards.
Malia was in too. Carol had spoken highly of the canyon, but included dire warnings about drinking water problems. Malia carried down 6 quarts of water so we would not have to pump the minerally Little Co River, which was running silty in flood anyway – too thin to plow, too thick to drink as they say.
We followed Todd’s directions to the Tee, and parked early in the morning at the trailhead. Well, not early. Not in the morning either. A break-of-4 pm start gave us pleasant temps for the whole descent, and we made it close to the bottom as the sun set, giving us only the last 45 minutes by headlamp. We pulled into camp to find three dudes relaxin’ around the fire, a variety of relaxin’ type fluids on display, along with chairs and pack-guitars. The dudes could PLAY, even though obviously quite relaxed by the time we pulled in.
Campable spots in the area are few, even here, at the bottom of Salt Trail Canyon where it meets the flooded Little Colorado, so we set up our camp next to our three new friends, made a quick dinner then joined them around the fire for tales of the outback, singing songs and perhaps a few bottles were passed around…
“swapping lies, swatting flies…”
Morning we got going reasonably early. Stage one was to climb back up through the Redwall. Stage two was to traverse the top of the Redwall to the next canyon up-stream, which would be BIG canyon, our target for the day. We climbed up. We traversed. It was a fine day to be out in the wild. The traverse took longer than expected… as expected. We dropped into Big Canyon and walked downcanyon a few minutes to the first pools. Carol had warned us about the mineralized water, so at the first pool we pumped our containers full (turned out to be a good idea – no, a GREAT idea, especially since Malia carried it).
Down the canyon we go, and it got good quick. One nuisance rappel (Todd and Rich probably downclimbed it), then the bottom dropped out. We built a new anchor to avoid the incredibly-scary-rap-start. Nice rappel, then a beautiful swim. Downcanyon, more good raps, now with mineral built-up fans. Anchors were pinch points, and we replaced some. Final anchor was junky, so we found a super knot chock a bit off to the side. Totally beautiful. Drop-dead Gorgeous, as it is said.
An hour hike on the edge of the Little river brought us back to camp. A fine dinner, songs around the fire, a few relaxin’ fluids…
In the morning, we got up a BIT earlier to get in as much climbing as we could before the day’s heat set in. Up up up. Malia was moving faster than me so after the initial Redwall climb, she set off for the top and the drive back to SLC at a good pace. Alicia and I sauntered our way up to the rim, to fresh Mango Margaritas and junky-delightful snack foods. Ah.
I drove home to a hot shower and soft bed. Alicia drove south for a wander-trip off the Bass Trail… another tale, perhaps told, perhaps not.
Featured Image for the Homepage
M.Evans
beautiful… love the flow and the greens.. great tr, as usual
carol
Big Canyon is so visually intoxicating! My brain relives the experiences in snapshots like these, Thanks for these images Tom and Malia. Yeah the water at the LCR level is not fit for drinking. At least for an extended time.For me. I think I carried what seemed like a ton of water to camp at the Little Colorado River.
Our group also went down Salt Trail Canyon, how did that amazing keeper pothole look?? Impossible? Easy?
Carol
ratagonia
We looked in at it, but did not get real close. So hard to say. It certainly was BIG. Looked like it woulda been hard to get out of. I’m thinking the Supai boats would be good for that kind of pothole.
Tom
Kuenn
Pardon me, I didn’t realize I had crossed the line, I meant nothing sexist by it, nor do I cradle any hatred for either sex or relationships.
Reprimand received…even though I feel as though I’ve taken a sip from a fire hydrant.
ratagonia
Sorry for jumping down YOUR throat, Kuenn. Yes I over-reacted. Bad morning – check. Arthritis of the hip – check. A friend losing her job because she complained her boss was out of line in a sexist way – check – though the head office reversed itself and removed the boss, yesterday afternoon – Yeah!
Some other forum I used to participate in had a constant stream of “make me a sandwich” and “back-to-the-kitchen” ‘jokes’, and I have been grateful to get away from that foulness. While your joke is not as bad as those, it is a small step in that direction, and grated against my already irritated self.
Tom
Alane Urban
It is men and women working and playing equally that will make the world a better place and a stronger society for all. Tom and Kuenn, thank you for your part in changing this for the future generations.
Kuenn
No hard feelings, Tom. I can relate to that type of day. Heck, that’s why I lurk about on this site, to catch a break from the collective chaos!
But just in case there is any lingering question, I have complete and utmost love and respect for the women in my life, regardless of their public or private status. And the ones I canyon and cave with are equal to the task in all respects… and on most days top my best strengths.
ratagonia
Thank you, very generous.
That’s not really the question, Kuenn.
The ‘joke’ perpetuates an underlying fabric of gender stereotypes and gender roles. Women don’t fish, OBVIOUSLY – they stay at home and take care of the children, and make sandwiches. In the kitchen. Barefoot. The ‘joke’ is only ‘funny’ if you buy into the stereotype as being the natural roles of men and women – thus, it is not ‘funny’ to me, it is mildly offensive. Usually fended off with an eyeroll… but one gets tired of rolling the eyes, as I did, yesterday.
Then again, perhaps you are an urban hipster, and were stereotyping ironically…
Tom
Kuenn
I’ve been called many things, that’s a first. The cattle behind my house would probably dispute that title.
I will be more watchful in the future, especially with frivolous humor that can be construed as offensive/stereotypical. I get the message.
Nuff said.
Referee
I am not sure what prompted that response from Tom. Seems a bit of an overreaction.
For future reference, if someone finds a joke to be in poor taste, please send a private message to a moderator for it to be dealt with privately. For clarification, Tom is not an owner or moderator on CC, and while I appreciate his enthusiasm to maintain the “big tent,” publicly reprimanding other members is very likely to do the opposite of what he intends.
In situations like this, the first course of action for a moderator will always be to send a private message to the member so that they can personally edit their message themselves. Actually moderating a post will always be a last resort solution.
Most often, no offense is intended, and a simple edit will remedy the situation. In this case, I am not sure an edit is even required.
Now – back on topic. Let’s talk about some canyons, please.
ratagonia
Same text with more pictures here: http://www.canyoneeringusa.com/rave/big-canyon-little-colorado-march-2013/
Tom
lostlandscapes
Well done, Tom. Looks like a wet and wild one. Thanks for sharing!
Kuenn
Now that’s funny. Great sounding and looking trip.
ratagonia
Usually attributed to Mark Twain, but no reason to let the truth get in the way of a good story…
http://blogcritics.org/books/article/life-on-the-mississippi-mark-twain/
My favorite Twain quote: “A story should be seasoned with the truth, but not so much as to spoil the dish…”
which may or may not be an actual Twain quote (of course).
Tom
Kuenn
That’s a good one!
Or this: “Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and his wife won’t see him very often.”
E. Risa
Teach a man to fish, and he’ll go entertain himself for a little while At least in my experience, posted with Lee’s blessing.
ratagonia
Ha ha… (if this was the 1950’s).
I really, really want to maintain a peaceful, inclusive atmosphere here on the CC. So I am confused about how to respond to a sexist joke like this. Yes I want a big tent that includes people who have a different political view than I do. But I also want to include women under that big tent, as equals, not as sandwich-makers and table sweepers.
So – I object. Please do not bring this kind of misogynistic ‘humor’ to the Canyon Collective. If you cannot make ‘jokes’ without degrading your fellow human beings, maybe you should not make ‘jokes’.
Tom
Dan Ransom
Damn, that spring room looks amazing. Rad photos, thanks!
Ram
Oh my! Nice! Looks like a great little canyon….and you were not kidding about the Little Colorado being in flood!! As for “unbreakable?” Livin on reputation only!