[Day 5] South Rim Ascent

I was in a pleasant half sleep this morning at 5am. I delayed until 5:50am, cooked a ramen for breakfast, and went on my way up the south rim on South Kaibab Trail by 6:40am. First thing, I crossed the Colorado River by foot bridge (obviously). Not long ago, on the divide, I walked atop the snow pack that now ran under me.

The ascent was a fairly constant slope, about 5,000 feet of gain over seven and a half miles. No doubt, it was a fun climb — good cardiovascular invigoration and easier pounding than the north rim descent.

A little after 10am, I was atop the south rim, headed for Grand Canyon Village.

Walking my last couple miles into Grand Canyon Village, a sealed bag of sliced pickles lay in the middle of the dirt road. Labeled with “KEEP REFRIGERATED”, I disregarded and snacked on the warm, salty goodness. On the topic of things that should be kept refrigerated, I was surprised to find a few string cheeses at the bottom of my food bag. These date back to when I was in Colorado last. For some two months, this cheese remained unrefrigerated, at room temperature in warm San Diego weather. I ate three of them over this last stretch. They tasted mostly like mozzarella, with a slightly fermented hint and a few parmesan-like lumps. That probably added some unique bacterial diversity to my gut biome.

I grabbed a meal and resupply at the Grand Canyon Market & Deli. The prices were not terrible, surprisingly.

After many hours of doing worldly things, I decided to make my exit from the park — no reason to pay for a camp in the park with national forest just a few miles south.

I headed out around 4:30pm, following asphalt pavement out of the park. The trail then cut east in Kaibab National Forest, barely following south of the Grand Canyon border. I hiked into the night along dirt roads — definitely not missing any serious views. The trail made an odd zigzag path ahead, and I saw a parallel dirt road on my map that would intersect trail ahead, cutting a couple miles off. Little did I know, the zigzag was intentional, providing access to a reliable water source. I pushed along on my shortcut back to the official trail intersection. I conserved three quarters of a liter to get me six and a half miles to my next source tomorrow. It’ll do.

I pitched my tent tonight, seeing there were sparse clouds out before dark. From my brief points on the Colorado Plateau in New Mexico and Colorado, I know not to tempt the clouds when atop this tableland.

Signing off,

Zeppelin

“Freak on a Leash”