DAY 1. "Leaving Tempe..."
Wednesday morning. Woke up at 5 AM for the Ben Zorensky pickup. His buddy Bob was along for the trip, and we picked up our fourth, Andy, in Sedona. Stopped at Macy's for breakfast in Flagstaff (egg sandwiches in house, and veggie sandwiches to go), and made really good time to our destination: Lee's Ferry. Had lunch at Paria beach, where the Paria feeds into the Colorado River. The Colorado was clear and greenish-blue, and the Paria, our river, was chocolate milk.
Met up with our trusty shuttle driver, Betty, and took the hour long trip past Page and Lake Powell, to the Whitehouse trail head. Strapped on my brand new backpack, "Fat Baby", and stepped into the canyon, and into the water. So much water! Usually the river is pretty dry at Whitehouse, but we crossed the heavy, calf-deep flow countless times before we reached the Narrows at mile 4... and things got tough. Deeper water, up to our thighs in some spots, and no more sunshine. So it got colder, and we were pretty slow-going.
Finally at mile 8, we hit the Confluence, and snagged a perfect spot to camp, up on the hill. Shed my wet neoprene socks and layered up, expecting temperatures to drop in the 40's overnight. Sat down for some dehydrated mac n' cheese with jerky, and our last blast of alcohol til Sunday: a Guinness tall boy. Laid out under a star-filled sky, surrounded by the canyon, and hit the tent for the night... where I found a popped air mattress. Sucks! Never been used, and already has a big tear. So I patched it up, and listened to my headphones for 20 minutes while the glue dried. Mmmm... Beatles. Really, a minor inconvenience in a beautiful day...
DAY 2. "From the Confluence to The Eye..."
The patch on my mattress worked like a charm. I slept OK... many vivid dreams. I was warm enough, but I woke up COLD. Tried to pump and filter some drinking water, but it was extremely slow-going with all the sediment in the river. Had breakfast up on our sandy perch, in front of our campsite. The Confluence is actually a split, between the main Paria Canyon, and Buckskin Gulch. After breakfast, we took the fantastic 2 mile side-hike deep into the slot canyon that is, Buckskin.
Back at camp, we had more problems with the water filters, so we hiked the 5 miles to Big Spring with only 1.5 liters per person. Definitely would have liked more water, but we made it. We were tempted by three dripping springs along the way, but none would offer up much more than a sip. Finally stopped at Big Spring, where the water was running strong, and easy to access.
Slammed a few bottles of the sweet, perfect spring water, straight out of the rock. Filled up to my capacity... 5 liters, and "Fat Baby" got real cranky on my back. But I'd lug the extra weight if it meant spring water for the next few miles. Only three more miles to go, past Big Spring, and we made it to our campsite, under The Eye. Dinner was a perfect REI Bare Burrito, a green avocado, and berries for dessert. Found the North Star before bed.
DAY 3. "To Last Reliable..."
Great night's sleep, listening to the Paria float by, strong. More elaborate dreams last night. Headed out early, with about 11 hard miles in front of us. Found a decent little bubbling spring a half mile past Judd Hollow. Pretty smooth going, for the most part. Hot in the sun, perfect in the shade, and a light breeze to keep everything nice. So far, we've seen some impressive bobcat tracks, redtail hawks, and a couple healthy ravens. Haven't seen any other humans since the Confluence. Stopped for a bit outside the trail to Wrather Arch, and a couple more miles and we found paradise, Shower Springs.
One of my favorite spots. Hard to describe, but Shower Springs resembles a little hidden jungle, with springs pouring out of the rocks, watering wild orchids along the cliff walls. You'd almost miss it, as it's not visible from the trail. But we filled up, and hung out in the sunshine for a lunch of oysters and trail mix.
Just as we were packing up, we were lapped by an interesting group of hikers. All ages, and looked like they were hurting... not the best footwear for the job. They were almost in a hurry, as they didn't want to stop to fill up at Shower. Their original plan was doing the entire 40 mile hike in 2 days. INSANE. And the kicker, was that they were expecting a guy to pass them... a marathon hiker looking to do the whole thing in ONE DAY. (I like to have about five days up there).
We made the last three miles from Shower Springs to our camp at Last Reliable. VERY hard walk... much more technical hiking, and we trudged over slippery boulders and through dark water at a snail's pace. But we settled in to the campsite, and inhaled our dehydrated "space food" dinners. Beautiful night. Much warmer than the previous 2. Still clear skies, but hopefully clouds are in store for tomorrow... which is the tough, exposed stretch, where we move from the shaded canyon and up through the high desert. Stars were so nice that night. Laid out awhile, watching the satellites and chatting with the guys.
DAY 4. " Thirteen Miles and One More Night..."
Another good night's sleep behind me, and we finally got a glimpse of the "Marathon Hiker". He passed me as I was brushing my teeth, and had only a few words before he pressed on: "Where's the spring?" Wow. Ben met up with him at the spring to get some details. The Marathon Man had actually started last night, at midnight. Where he found us, he was on mile 25 after only 8 hours. INSANE. Those miles are hard enough in the daylight...
We filled up 4 liters at our Last Reliable Spring, and started walking. We found a great spot to chill, about 3 miles in, under the cottonwood trees. Nice to find some sweet sweet shade, after all the sweaty hiking under a hot sun. And it seems as if at every spot we stopped, the same two ravens were watching, waiting for us to leave.
Long hard day, so I hooked up the headphones for the last few miles before "Wilson Ranch". Flat easy terrain, but hot, and perfect for a soundtrack. Found my 4th and 5th winds, jamming out to Ray LaMontagne, Dave Brubeck, Jamiroquai, Bob Marley, and the best: an amazing track off Peter Gabriel's "Passion". It found me at the right spot of the day, just as the three peaks (Powell's Bench?) came into view. Those peaks signal that we're getting closer to the end.
Arrived at our last campsite, after 2 miles of walking on the sun. Weary. But strong. The four of us didn't talk much for that first hour of rest. Just hung out on our beach, floating in the river, and digging on the breeze. My neoprene toes were finished a few miles back... just so good to have the shoes off. But I felt strong... no major issues. Uncle Achilles and Grandpa Knee did plenty of talking throughout the day, but they kept their voices down. Just under 11 miles hiked today, with a short day out tomorrow. Back to the cars. Back to civilization. Back to some beers and burgers in Flagstaff.
Some quick notes in my journal from that last night: Fading sunlight. Perfect temp. Sky turning purple. Wind picking up. Tent is setup. Rain fly is at the ready, but rain unlikely tonight. Sick of almonds. Want some fresh berries. Nothing dehydrated. Gonna miss these stars. Gonna miss all of this. But we're short on drinking water, and it's time to go home.
