Photo Friday: Climbing out of a hole in the ground

I'm ending the year with the final photo post from the Grand Canyon--which was also my last trip of the year (aside from that insane drive to CA and back to check out the house my daughter is buying!).

Part 1 here.

Part 2 here.

We quit last week in the middle of Day 4 of the backpack trip, as we lounged for several hours in the shade at Deer Creek. I'm picking up the story at the point late in the afternoon when we ambled up the creek to the last point with water and ate a very early dinner.

Looking up at the canyon walls through the last big trees we'll see, and worrying a little about those clouds.

We headed up the trail--and I do mean up--about 3:45, figuring just over 2 hours should be enough for the 2-mile, 1400' climb. The trail was worse than I remembered from my 2021 visit.

Looking back at the green strip of Deer Creek. Alex is a tiny figure among the rocks.

There was a particularly nasty section of rock slide I swear wasn't there before (though I also can't find any info on-line about a recent slide there), which slowed us up considerably. Weather started to build as we climbed, making the race against darkness a bit more urgent.

Mammatus clouds forming, fortunately not quite right over us.

Every rise looked like the final one, but instead revealed more to climb before we could stop for the night. We really wanted to reach the high point at the top of Surprise Valley before stopping, but I was starting to look around for other options as the sun set.

Looking back at the setting sun. I had to take time to stop and turn around from time to time.

Just as the light was getting too dim to go on, we reached the high point--and found a workable campsite waiting for us. 

Home, sweet home--complete with a perfect kitchen rock.

This is actually breakfast.

The bonus of the evening was that as the sun set, the clouds cleared--and we got the best view of comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS). It being a little farther after sunset than our sighting on the first night, the photos were clearer.

May I comment how impressed I am with the iPhone's night photography capability? My excellent Sony RX100 (a fantastic compact camera for backpacking, and no, I'm not paid to say so) can't begin to do this, even with a tripod.

Stats for the day: 4.2 miles, 2000' up, 300' down, and a nice nap in the middle.

Day 5

This one had another serious climb--back up to the Esplanade--and we wanted to be shaded up in camp before the day got hot, so we were ready with our packs at 6, waiting a few minutes until we could safely negotiate the trail.

Looking at the wall we are about to climb.

I was well up the Redwall when the sun rose.

Topped out in time for Second Breakfast, with the light still low and pretty.

The rain showers of the past couple of days had clearly hit this stretch of the Esplanade, filling the potholes and cooling the air. It wasn't exactly chilly, but the morning didn't heat up too badly.

Pothole in the sandstone.

We took our time, with long breaks in the shade every mile, just because we could--our camp wasn't that far off, and we had carried more than enough water up from the creek.

Cryptobiotic soil, or biological soil crust, is a web of living organisms that hold the soil together in a firm crust. This fragile crust, which helps to stabilize the soil, may take many decades to regenerate if a wayward footstep breaks the crust (and a footstep WILL break it).

I'm willing to assume that the hard, dry-looking mosses that grow on the sandstones are also fragile and slow to regenerate. Stay off of them, too.

Manzanita shares the red bark of madrona trees, and is well-adapted to grow in the drier places.

It looked like a decent year for juniper berries.

Last season's agave bloom.

Back to our water cache. There was talk of moving closer to the trailhead, but we were happy right here.

Arriving in camp before 3:00, we settled down to more serious lounging about, and a little light exploration ("poking around" is the official term). Our water cache was clearly more than adequate so I also concentrated on making sure I was hydrated. Dinner slipped in somewhere between "too early to eat" and "too dark to cook." We had to do a little hunting around for a sheltered spot to cook, as the changing weather brought wind again.

Sunset.

Day 5 stats: 6.6 miles, 1830' up (and 328' down, since things are never that direct). 

Day 6 (the last day)

Doubly motivated by the desire to be out before things got hot and the desire to get a shower and well down the road toward home, I was ready to go before there was enough light to start.

Moonset.

The morning was beautiful, and in fact did not heat up fast at all. A lengthy sunrise inspired a lot of stops to look back and take photos.

Clouds on the horizon gave us shade well past where we expected to be in full sun.

By 8 a.m. I was across the "flat" Esplanade and well up the final climb.

Took a break when the climb was mostly behind me, to give Petey Possum one last look at the Canyon.

Day 6 stats: 4.1 miles, 1250' up, 225' down. Back at the car about 9 a.m.

Reflecting the rapidity of change in the shoulder season, it never really got warm as we climbed, and the wind continued as a front moved in. In fact, within 48 hours of the end of our hike, winter arrived at the Grand Canyon, with snow in amounts that made me very glad I was out of that 60-mile network of forest service roads!

Aspen in the Kaibab NF by the North Rim.

I want to thank everyone who has read and commented on my blog this year. Keep those comments coming! This will be my last post before Christmas, as I'll be focusing on family for the next week (well, family and finishing the draft of Seffi Wardwell #4!). May you enjoy the best of whatever holidays you celebrate, and may you celebrate as many as possible!

And just as a reminder--the best gift you can give the writer in your life is a review! (Though we also like sales--wink wink).

©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2024
 As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated. 


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