Miles Hiked 64.9
Elevation 9,139
Miles Hiked Today 17.8
I was on the way by 7:15 this morning. I’m getting closer to the Grand Canyon and I can feel the anticipation. I met a couple of other southbound hikers today and we talked a bit before they took off. I also caught up with them later at what turned out to be an excellent water source. We talked about camping inside Grand Canyon National Park at a lookout tower, but I didn’t think I could make the distance. They took off, and I sauntered on well behind them.
Just after I left the two hikers, I arrived at a scenic overlook. And there was the east rim of the Grand Canyon. The view was awesome. Temperatures were on the way up, so a layer of clothes came off and then I continued.
The trail had a lot of ups and downs, which are always maddening. Why couldn’t all trails go slightly down or be flat? The two other hikers I met were going to stop for water about 7.5 Miles up the trail. My plan was to skip that source and get water from a large tank at the Kaibab Plateau trailhead.
I was making good time and thought I had a good chance of making the tower for the night. Then I reached the trailhead. The tank was there, and it had water. However, the water level was just low enough in the tank to be unreachable. Man, am I screwed. I need water.
Not much I could do about it. I had about two cups in my Smartwater bottle, but I wasn’t sure what was in my water bladder. I hiked on. Now I was certain to go for the lookout tower to see if the other two hikers had water.
I reached the lookout tower at 5:00 and the hikers were there. The first thing they asked was whether I had water. Apparently, the first water source where they stopped was dry, and like me, they couldn’t get water out of the tank. I checked the water bladder and found I had a liter in it. I was set for the night. I would not need more water than that. The other hikers had enough for the night, too. There is a ranger station a little further south on the trail. We can get more water there in the morning.
Note: My phone crashed in the Grand Canyon and I lost the pictures I took today.
