Day 6: Grand Canyon Rim to Rim Trip
Saturday, October 15th.
I started the day with eggs, sausage & toast… the first big breakfast I’ve cooked on this trip. It was really yummy. I learned a lot today about the bus routes through the park and also about the Hermit trail. I rode the blue line to the Blue Angel bus stop then transferred to the red line to ride out to Hermit’s Rest. I’ve been intrigued with doing a day hike on the Hermit trail but was concerned because it sounded a little rougher than I am used to. I met and chatted with Paul at the bus stop and he was heading to Hermit’s Rest like I was. He had just returned from a backpacking trip on the Hermit trail and told me that it was pretty steep and had a lot of loose rock. Later I talked with a sales person at the Hermit’s Rest shop about the rail and he suggested that I walk down the trail for about a half mile and get a feel for it. I bought a trail guide and he asked if I liked oatmeal… and then he gave me a just out of the oven warm oatmeal cookie. Sweet!!! It was so good. After the cookie I checked out the Hermit trail. Yes… it does have a lot of loose rock and some big step downs but I think I can handle it if I take it slowly and pay attention to my footing. Oh and by the way… I always pay attention to where I place my feet on the trail but I learned something new today… I also need to watch where I sit. I went to sit on a rock and didn’t see the spiky little cactus… needless to say I popped right back up and apologized to the little fellow and began removing the spikes from my rear end!
I spent the rest of the day walking the rim trail from Hermit’s Rest back to the Bight Angel bus depot. There are many incredible overlooks along the rim trail and though the bus driver told me it was 8 miles between Hermit’s Rest and Bright Angel I ended up walking over 13 miles. According to my fitness tracker I walked over 15 miles, 36, 208 steps and had 302 active minutes… wonder what I will feel like tomorrow???? I guess this is a good start to getting used to hiking at altitude. I treated myself to a $2.50 shower (yes… I brought lots of quarters!) and then a nice smoked brisket dinner at the Yavapai Lodge. Feeling very satisfied about now.
