Nothing like a rainy day on Superbowl Sunday to clear out the trail.  Almost no one out today.

Every now and again I am met by some pilgrim on the trail who grabs me like the mariner and the wedding guest and regales me with tales of his daring do.  One gentleman stopped me just above Skeleton Point and pointed out a rock in the middle of the trail.  "I tripped over that on my last rim to rim," he informed me gleefully.  "That was last week."

He waited, anxiously, for me to say something like, "Oh, my goodness, two rim to rims?".   Instead I  made some innocuous remark about rocks or falling or some such, smiled sweetly and kept walking. 

I did wonder if he were trying to match Maverick's old record of 106 rim to rims in a year.  Although as the authors of Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon have commented: who would want to?  Given that Maverick spent three days for one rim to rim, that is a hike every 3.44 days.  Much as I love the Canyon and never seem to tire of the Corridor, I doubt that I could make a turn-around and head back over every .44 days.  I didn't wonder enough to follow up on it though.

Rim to rim runners, as they dash past, will inform me between pants that they started at the North Rim at 4 AM and will return that afternoon.  Often I will actually turn to watch them plod on and declaim loudly, "Did I ask?"

There obviously are persons along the trail who are doing something massive, or have done, or plan to do, who do not feed the overwhelming need to grab passers-by by the pack strap and announce what they have accomplished.  And frankly, all they need do is bide their time.  Usually at least one part of day trippers will stop a backpacker and asked in awe what we were up to.

 I am not a good liar, so I usually mutter, "Oh, we just went to Skeleton Point".  If Brad is ahead me me, he tells them something more complex: like we started from the River an hour ago, and now we are above the Redwall.  Or if they ask, "Have you been to the bottom?" I can answer "Why, yes," with a clear conscience, because I HAVE.  Just not today.

When leading groups out, usually they adore telling people that we started on the North Rim five days ago.  Or we are hiking out from the River.  But as the day wears on, and more and more people ask, and more and more giggle and say, "Oh, you're almost out!" it begins to pale.

At which point often a woman (and it is usually a female) will turn to me and say, "I'm going to tell them something difficult.  THEY don't know."

So I suggest, "Tell them we came down Utah Flats."  Or, "We came from the North Rim -- this morning!".  Or "We just finished a Steck route".  If the know what that means, they are very impressed, and if not, they are confused enough to hush up.

I know they mean to be nice, but at the end of a long day, I don't always want to respond.   And I sure don't want to grab people and announce my accomplishments.  I suppose I could carry a card that says, "Rim to rim, five days,"  or "Mule Assist, third day", or "Which way to Yosemite falls?"

That last actually might get me on Youtube.