February 3rd, 2017
We started out at 8:30 am and it was chilly and shady. Not much sun reaches the campsites at Indian Garden in the morning and evening. We were eager to get going!
Over dinner the night before, we read over the trail description for this section. One phrase pretty much summed it up: “seemingly endless switchbacks”. Think about it – we came down the cliff, now we have to climb back out! Continue reading “Trip West 2017: Grand Canyon (R2R2R) | Day Five”
February 2nd, 2017
We got up around 7 am and were on the trail with our new friends by 8:30. They had spoken with the ranger at Manzanita and asked to change the itinerary on their permit so they could hike to Indian Garden with us instead of staying at Bright Angel again and hiking out the way we all came down. So we all headed off to Indian Garden on an overcast morning.
As we were packing up our things at Cottonwood, Greg reached into his bag and gave me another envelope. This one was called “A Road Traveled Before” because most of our route that day would be on the same trail we took on Day 2. In the letter he talked about many of the milestones we have achieved together – it was like a highlight reel of memories, both fun and sad. It made me feel so grateful that we share these memories with each other. Continue reading “Trip West 2017: Grand Canyon (R2R2R) | Day Four”
February 1st, 2017
What a day! We left our camp at Cottonwood by 8 am. We only had to carry what we needed on the trail that day. We were able to leave our tent and other supplies at the camp since we would be staying there again that night. It was a weight off our shoulders!
We hiked 1.4 miles and stopped at Manzanita to fill up our water at the spigot since the faucet at Cottonwood was not turned on. My muscles took a little bit to warm up that morning. My calves were still pretty sore from the descent on the first day, but nothing too bad. I think my body just knew we had a long, difficult day ahead!
Continue reading “Trip West 2017: Grand Canyon (R2R2R) | Day Three”
January 31st, 2017
It was a little chilly during the night! Colder than I anticipated judging by how warm the day had been. But then again, it is the desert. The temperature definitely drops when the sun goes down. Normally I sleep like the dead, but if the temperature is too low, I end up spending the night in a meditative state instead. Even so, I still felt rested when we got up for the day at 7:30 am. Continue reading “Trip West 2017: Grand Canyon (R2R2R) | Day Two”
As mentioned in my previous blog post, Greg’s gift to me for Christmas 2016 was an amazing trip to see Celine Dion in Las Vegas and then hike the Grand Canyon for 5 days.
Before this trip, I had no idea there were trails that non-mules (aka people) could take into the canyon. I used to have a few books from the series “Amelia’s Notebook” (which are awesome books, by the way) and I remember her family taking a trip into the canyon on muleback. I’d been to the rim before and seen how steep the edge is, so I pictured all of the trails being too difficult for us lowly, hoofless humans to traverse. Turns out there are actually tons of trails! Continue reading “Trip West 2017: Grand Canyon (R2R2R) | Day One”
For Christmas 2016, Greg’s gift to me was a trip of a lifetime! Inside a small box were a pair of tickets to see Celine Dion’s show in Vegas and a map of trails in the Grand Canyon. It was a trip I had been dreaming about for years! Continue reading “Trip West 2017: Las Vegas”
September 17th, 2016
We woke up around 6:45am. It was a windy night, but our tent’s rain cover protected us and I was only a little chilly at times. Greg got up to get the bear bag and we drank the “Carnation Instant Breakfast” mixed with powdered milk and water in our new little composite wood cups. The sun was starting to come out as we packed up our bags and our tent. It hadn’t rained but our tent cover had collected some condensation overnight and we just rolled it up wet. Continue reading “Pemi Loop 2016 | Days 2 & 3”
September 16th, 2016
Our goal was to leave the house by 5:00am, but we ended up making it out the door at 5:30. It was a chilly morning and we actually hit a bunch of traffic leaving Boston at 6 in the morning! We arrived at the Lincoln Woods Visitor Center, put some money in the box to park for a few days, and gathered up all of our gear. It was about 46 degrees so we were eager to get moving! (By the way, we vlogged our hike as well! Click here to watch the video for day 1!)
We were on the trail by 8:30! Continue reading “Pemi Loop 2016 | Day One”
In September of 2014, Greg and I completed the “Cranberry Lake 50“, a 50 mile trail in the Adirondacks. We spent 3 nights/4 days out there and it was an awesome hike. We wanted to go on another backpacking trip last year, but we were in the process of moving to Massachusetts so it had to wait until this year. Continue reading “Pemi Loop 2016 | Preparation”
A few weeks ago (February 5th) we got lots of snow! It was a complete white-out outside my window the whole day on Friday. Continue reading “Two Walks in the Woods”
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