5.5 miles
99.9 AZT mile marker
It was windy overnight but there were only a couple sprinkles. Everything was dry in the morning. It was thankfully still cloudy in the morning though. I had another 3,000 feet left to climb to the south rim over 4.5 miles. In the sun that would have taken me a while.
I set off quickly as the sun was rising and tore up the trail, wanting to make as much progress as possible in case the clouds broke and it got warmer. The cooler the better for me while I’m hiking. I was able to maintain my normal hiking pace all the way up, while only stopping for mule trains with people taking the easy way down into the canyon and pictures. There were also a couple water spigots on the way up too. I’m not used to this posh hiking but it meant I had a very light pack with little water and a nearly empty food bag.
The canyon was fantastic climbing out. I progressed up through the various layers of the canyon, and they were amazingly distinct at times. The top layer was a straight, discrete line and looked too perfect.
The canyon opened up behind me as I got higher, and though it was cloudy, there were some breaks in the clouds that were casting light on some of the prominences in the canyon which looked very dramatic. I thoroughly enjoyed the climb out and the scenery; the climb flew right by.
At the top, I turned onto the rim trail to get back to the official AZT, which took the other trail up to the rim. There were a lot of plaques and geology information on the trail which was nice. It is an eternal regret of mine that I don’t know more geology for all of the hiking I do.
I ended up at the General Store where I bought some fresh food to destroy. I can only eat so many nuts and bars. I found the hiker camp and Mark was there as planned. Hip had just left though, so I probably won’t see him again.
I did my town chores and had a second lunch. It’s amazing what a 5 minute timer shower can do, and my laundry actually smells fresh (yes I tested).
Later in the day, Break, Kaitlyn, Koala, and More showed up and we caught up. I had a huge dinner at the cafeteria. It’s all about the volume for me when thru-hiking. And if you were keeping count, I had breakfast, a few bars, 2 big lunches and a big dinner. I am probably still losing weight; it is an endless battle with the repeated big mile days.
Rain dampened the fun after dinner so we went off to our tents to get ready for tomorrow. Me, Mark, Katherine, and Break are heading out tomorrow, and the others are staying here for a day.