Monday, Sept. 1

It rained again last night (thank you Hurricane Gustav) and we didn't want to mountain bike because we don't like to tear up the trails, and the West Rim road is still closed. However it was blustery and cool (58 degrees) so we could hike the South Kaibab.

A lot of people don't like the corridor, but I really enjoy the SK. It has gorgeous views and less traffic, human and mules, than the BA. The parking lot is closed, which keeps the crowds down. They used to open the parking lot in winter, but the ranger at Phantom told me that when it was closed, it cut their search and rescue calls more than in half, so they left it closed all year. I suppose if one hikes down the Bright Angel with no clue, one finds water, rangers and emergency phones. If one wanders down the South Kaibab, there isn't much going for them.

Haven't been on the SK for about 5 months. It is too hot to handle most of the summer. It is a little steeper than the BA, but not as much as people think. The BA is 7.5 miles to the river, and the SK is only 6.8. The SK also climbs about 300 feet more, since the BA comes out at the head of Bright Angel Fault. The main problem with the SK is the size of the steps the trail crew installs to keep the trail in place.

It is windy, as is not unusual. A foreign gentleman warns me to be careful at Windy Ridge. I know he is trying to be polite, but I kind of noticed that the wind was gusting to about 30 MPH? I have to remember this summer when I was in Yellowstone. I approached a geyser gazer: a volunteer who spends all season observing geysers and making notes for the Park Service. I had heard a tourist the day before mention that Grand Geyser was even better than the fountains at the Bellagio in Vegas, and I thought she'd think it amusing. Instead she snapped, "I was there: I heard it". I immediately vowed to not come across so dismissively to tourists who approach me at the Canyon.

Skeleton Point wasn't very windy, and the clouds kept the temperature down. The River is flowing brown, as one would suspect from the recent rains. I really, really, really want to get down there again,but it is still way too hot for wimpy little me.

As usual in the Coconino I found someone's name written in the rocks. The Coconino sandstone is so beautiful, and it is the easiest rock to carve in. I took care of this person's bid for immortality in about 10 seconds with a spray bottle and a nail brush. Sorry, Kayla. Next time just write "loser" on your forehead and save us all a lot of time and effort.

We catch up with the outbound mules just under the last switchbacks, which the wranglers call "the chimney" but which I like to refer to as "the toboggan chute". The head wrangler turns around and tells everyone, "This is the finest group of folks I've had out in a long time". I wonder how often he really wants to say, "This is the biggest group of whiners I've taken out in years".

A nice workout, a little drier than yesterday, and pleasant to be on a different trail. We are kind of stuck on the BA until it cools off and/or they re-open the Hermit in November.