Wednesday, April 14
0 HDT miles + 6 bonus miles
Wrote up yesterday’s entry then got to poop sitting up. Rafting groups have to pack out their waste so we have to shit into an ammo box with a toilet seat lid on top which is hilarious to me.
Helped out with breakfast and got to eat some rice and beans and avocado breakfast burritos. With real hot sauce! Could have cried. This plus dinner last night means I should have enough for two days even if we don’t get any other food, alleviating some of my food anxiety.
Most people were pretty hungover but a few of us went for a hike up the same canyon we went up a bit yesterday. Jordan doesn’t like the heat so he decided to stay and rest up. The day got immediately hot and was ridiculously windy with sand blowing everywhere even in the narrowest section of the canyon.
The hike up was a blast. We went up the side canyon to where it opened up then followed a wash to the base of a butte. One of the guys with us was in disbelief the whole way after we pointed up to the butte where we planning on going. In his defense, it did look pretty menacing so high above us.
The hike to the butte was a lot of what we’ve doing already: untrailed sandy wash hiking. It was pretty slow hiking with lots of shade breaks which was actually pretty relaxing. I also didn’t have to carry all my gear or food so that made it even better. Day hiking is dope. I got to talk a lot with the others as well. Pretty much everyone in the group is some kind of outdoors aficionado. One is a kids ski instructor, another a big wave surfer, one an outdoor educator, and one of the older guys from Tahoe had done it all, from mountain climbing to spearfishing to kayaking and everything else.
I also got to learn about the group dynamics. When we met them, they also seemed like long time friends but turns out most of them had met a month ago or right before the start of the trip last week. Through a series of random connections and mutual acquaintences, they’d all gotten together to do this trip. Funny how things can work out like that.
The butte was too steep near the peak to head up so we followed the wash towards it’s north edge where we could head up. At the base we found some cairns and followed a loose steep scree trail up.
The use trail up didn’t lead to the top of the butte, at least not as far as we could see when we first got there. We did make to a beautiful little knife’s edge ridge right below the summit. It was chossy af with loose talus all around but it was still a great ledge. From there we could see both the south and north rim in a 360. It was so fucking cool. Could see down the Colorado and down the canyon we’d come up. Such amazing views.
Despite how outdoorsy the others were, they didn’t have much experience with that kind of exposure. The climb up was pretty steep but fairly protected until right near the top. At the ridge we could peer over the other side to a pretty sharp drop. One of the guys, the one who had been in disbelief that we we’re going up, made it to the top after me but freaked out and death gripped a lower part of the ridge. He sat there in the fetal position for like 10 minutes freaking out. The older guy had to come up and talk him down. The spot he was in wasn’t that bad I thought but I guess people have different comfort levels with that kind of thing. I felt totally fine at the top and even stood atop a pillar on the ridge so I could take in the views better. This wasn’t as hard as some of the Sierra stuff I’ve done before and the exposure was nowhere near as bad as some of the climbs I’ve done (thinking of you SE Corner of Headstone Rock) so it felt pretty safe to me. On the way down we spotted a diagonal line that looked like it went up to the butte. Looked like more intense scrambling, maybe class 4 ish. Debated trying it out but everyone seemed ready to want to go back to camp so didn’t end up doing it. One more reason to come back some day.
The wind was so bad all the way up and worse on the way down. I let the others go before me and I think they were eager to get down so they made it back to the wash quickly. Despite how much steep mountain stuff I’ve done, I’m still shit at the descents. I definitely lived up to the Plants trail name, slipping and sliding and falling my way down. I fell down at one point and palmed a cactus, turning my hand into a pin cushion. Took a sec to get all the spikes out. Eventually I did make it down with a few more holes in my sun gloves and a lot more wear on my shoes.
Shoe update: the Superiors got trashed on the descent. The road walking a few days ago probably didn’t help either. The midsole is already rubbed out and some of the tread is quickly wearing down. I might shop these home at the South Rim and swap to the Lone Peaks I ordered, assuming they made it there.
The way back to camp was through the same canyon. Still cool to see it, especially one really interesting section were the Tapeats ledges swoop up from vertical to horizontal. No idea how that happens but I’m guessing it has to do with the canyon opening up.
Got back to camp and some vegan quinoa wraps which I was so stoked about. Hung around camp for a bit. This night was way more low key than last night with most people sticking to smaller groups or being by themselves. Spent a few more hours talking to everyone which was nice. Getting to know a lot of people and hear cool stories about stuff I wouldn’t normally hear about. Not necessarily things I want to hear about (like hunting or fishing) but stuff I don’t get much exposure to in my little Bay Area vegan bubble.
Dinner was bratwurst but Jordan and I got some leftover beans and rice. I was pretty hungry after the hike and had to tap into some of my food to supplement but it’s okay since I still have enough.
We got the game plan for tomorrow as well. We’re going to wake up early and try to set off before 9. We’re going to go about 11 miles to near the Hance area with a little stopover to check out some Puebloan ruins. Jordan and I are going to get dropped off on or near our trail and we’ll try to hike a few miles towards the South Rim. Depending on how the wind is and how late we get there determines how far we’ll go. I doubt we’ll be able to make it to the South Rim but we should be able to get close enough to have a short day the next day.
The most exciting thing about the plan is that we’re going to be hitting some serious rapids. We are expected to get wet so Jordan and I got a dry bag for our stuff. The group seems to know what they’re doing so I’m not too worried but there was talk about people going for a swim in some of the rapids. Hopefully joking. Either way I’m pretty excited. One way or another, we’ll get down this river.
Plants Outside 