Grand Canyon Rim to Rim in a Day

The Rim2Rim was a wonderful experience, I even bought a T-shirt. While most people take two days or more there were quite a number of folks who did it in a day along with us. My day was a little longer than I anticipated.

Alison's friend, Carolyn, and her husband, Gary, accompanied us on this trip. Carolyn running with us and her husband shuttling the car to the South Rim while we traversed. Gary's willingness to make that 3 1/2 hour road trip simplified the logistics considerably.

I'm a solid North Rim fan and am so glad we started there and didn't have to experience the commercialization at the South rim until we were done. The cabins surrounding the one lodge were old and comfy as was the lodge. Perched on the edge with its great windows and high vaulted ceilings it afforded us our first panoramic view of the canyon.

Arriving in the late afternoon we had time to wander around and even drink a beer on our little porch before meandering toward a sunset view and later dinner. 

The North Lodge's dinning area with its vaulted ceilings and sea of people was an experience in its self.  My stomach was a little queasy and I was concerned about what to eat. Gary carved his way through a beautiful prime rib and had I been up for it I would have gladly traded in my chicken quarter for just a couple of bites.

Up at 4:30 and on the trail at 5:35 with our headlamps on we descended North Kaibab trail in the 40 degree darkness with just a glimmer of light in the East. We were warned by the rangers that there was a washout on the trail that left a mere 10" wide trail that needed to be traversed by hanging on to a rope but it was daylight by the time we got there and the washout was only a few feet.

The descent in the morning light was full of grandeur as the sheer cliffs enclosed us. There were only a few places where the valley opened out before us, the trail hugged the side of an almost vertical wall and the other side wasn't that much farther away. There was signage regarding the different strata and the changes in color made passage from one epoch to another quite obvious.

The temperature was mild, just a few clouds in the sky and with the trial in the shadows, we ran where it was fairly flat and the footing good. The scenery couldn't have been better. Vast, huge and sometimes just a looming presence over us. Few people were on the trail feeling like we had the whole canyon to ourselves.

We passed Roaring Springs which is a river that flows out of a cave on the side of a cliff and took a side trip to Ribbon Falls before winding our way down to Phantom Ranch on the floor of the canyon. Alison's Garmin GPS pooped out at about mile 12 which was still a couple of miles from the ranch.

According to the Garmin our moving time was about 18 minutes per mile and even though the elevation drop from the rim to the canyon floor is listed at 5,700, the Garmin recorded a total loss including the ups and downs of the trail at 7,700.

We had lunch at Phantom Ranch including their world famous lemonade at around 11:30. Lots of happy but tired people there and hot too as the temperature had increased to the low nineties.

Crossing the footbridge over the roaring Colorado River was one of my highlights. Having just been in the mountains above Boulder the weekend before, I couldn't help but imagine that some of that raging torrent had fallen on me there and flood it's way downstream leaving a huge mess in its wake.

The trip up Bright Angel Trail was a tough pull.  On the way up after crossing the Colorado we were keeping up a pretty good pace, running in places that were level with good footing. Carolyn, the other gal that came with us was determined to do the traverse faster than I had expected but my desire was to keep the three of us together throughout the trip. So I pushed myself more than I should.

By the time I was willing to acknowledge I was in trouble I knew it would take some time to recover. I got overheated and had to stop to get my heart rate down. It didn't go down. Alison got concerned. It was really elevated. Carolyn was up ahead of us and kept going. We sent word with a passerby that we had stopped and for her to continue. 

Unbeknownst to us Carolyn had similar issues, she finished about an hour ahead of us but she required help from her husband who had come down from the South Rim. She was not a happy camper.

I had the salt tablets and she didn't. According to her husband she became somewhat disoriented and woozy, he worried that she might fall over the edge. She asked around for some salt tablets, nobody had any. Someone gave her sunflower seeds and she puked them up. She lost interest in drinking. Looking back at the situation I should have voiced my concerns, split up the essentials and hung back, listening to my body. 

I knew that I wasn't in peak condition. Having diarrhea for the week before didn't help much either. But for me it comes down to adequate rest, hydration and pacing. We didn't rest enough at Phantom Ranch, I didn't drink enough electrolytes before starting up and I started up at too fast a pace.

I can't tell you how long we stopped but it felt like a really long time, maybe a half an hour or more, but my heart rate finally did go down. I ate a salt tablet and drank ton of water and was able to finish at a slow pace, but finished. 

Alison and I are also still thinking about a few people we passed that were struggling a lot more than I was, wondering if they made it out before dark. The canyon we ascended had so many twists and turns and the cliffs were so shear, the trail, while wide and easy to follow was hard to find when looking up. And that rim for a long time seemed ever so far away.

When we finally topped out we looked back and were amazed at the enormity of what we had done. There was a cold wind blowing and all we could think about was finding the bus that would take us to our lodging. We had a kind foreign speaking gentlemen take our picture at the trailhead sign and high tailed it to the bus stop.

North Kaibab Trail is listed as 15.6 miles long. Bright Angel Trail up to the South rim is 9.6. With our little excursion to Ribbon Falls and a mile or so on the canyon floor we managed at 26+ mile traverse in a total of 12 hours and 15 minutes.

Would I recommend this trip? Yes. Would I do it again? You bet.

Pearl and Prairie Lost then Found

The whole lost dog drama started out on Thursday morning. We had just returned from a 5 mile run with the dogs. We had one dog off her lead and I was running with the other on a lead. We have found that since they are so bonded to each other they stay really close together that way. 

When I got to our pasture I let Pearl off her lead. Immediately the two dogs picked up a sent of something (maybe a bear) and went streaking across the grass and into our woods. Shouting all my usual attention getting commands did nothing. It was as if they had earplugs and that they never even knew who I was. Alison was right behind me and we set off to find them to no avail. It all happened in an instant.

Two and a half days of combing the hills, stapling up fliers and doing all the typical lost dog stuff got us nothing. (Except some very genuine sympathy from a lot of nice people, thank you very much!) We took one of the dogs’ squeaky balls on our hikes and squeaked all the way. 

Saturday afternoon: The dogs were found near the cell tower on Sumas Mt (3500 ft elevation) about 11 miles away by highway and dirt logging roads. A group of men and women driving quads found them and since they were near the cell tower were able to call the number on the dogs tags. There is no cell reception between us and that tower which made the rest of this adventure more difficult. 

We were just heading out the door to go search for them again by car this time as we had spent the morning on foot hiking the hills behind the house. Between the two of us we had logged over ten miles. The traces of where we went can be seen on the map in faint blue lines west of the cabin which is pinned in yellow. 

The quad group told us to meet them at a gravel pit on the way to the cell tower because they were going to take an off road "short cut" to get to the gravel pit. They said the dogs were OK but just spent and that the group would wait for us at the gravel pit for awhile.

Two miles of highway and about 8 miles of logging road driving got us to the gravel pit. No quads were there. We could hear motors in the distance for a bit but then they faded away. We waited for about an hour and a half not knowing if we were in the right spot or not. I had never been in this area before. We opted to leave a note and go back down to the highway to see if their vehicles and trailers were still there. We left them a note on a big boulder before we left telling them we would come back if their trucks were still there. The note was written on the back of one of our fliers with a picture of the dogs and mention of a reward if found. 

The Trooper had its workout on those roads! The trucks and trailers were still there so we left another note and headed back up. Just before we got back to the gravel pit we saw a a group of quads. Two of the men were carrying the dogs on their laps will driving the quads! I think they were as happy to see us as we were them.

The dogs had been too weak to walk and the short cut was not as easy as they expected, especially with the dogs so had taken them over two hours to get down to the pit. We could tell that the men's arms were really sore from trying to drive and hold on to the dogs. We lifted the dogs off and laid them in the car, much relieved after their ordeal (and ours). Prairie was almost comatose and Pearl was just limp in my arms. The guys said they just stayed in their arms without a fuss.

The quad people had originally thought that they would get there before we did. I asked them if they would accept a reward or at least let us buy them dinner at the North Fork Brewery and Beer Shrine nearby but they declined saying that it would be bad karma and that they had already discussed it after reading our note. 

What a nice group of people to find out dogs! With hugs all around we headed down that long and windy road. 

We had received their phone call around 3:30 and we didn't get the dogs back to the house until after 7:00. We checked out the dogs, they have some strange bites on their bellies, some scrapes on their feet but that's about it. 

They've pretty much just laid on their beds since then and had to be coaxed to go out but they are back! 

Ski to Sea 2012

Ski to Sea Race 2012

There’s no intention to do a 2012 recap here but I would be remiss if I let the year go by without mention of the Ski to Sea Race held at the end of May. It was sandwiched in between going to Florida to build a patio and my prostate surgery in June but that in no way diminishes that fact that team “Act du Lieber” finished the race in style with a good time had by all, well almost all.

The intent from the outset was to include family and friends in an event that focused more on fun than competitiveness. That’s not say we all didn’t give it our best but the goal wasn’t to beat ourselves to death to stand on the podium at the end of the day.

What we did do was sit on the deck of The Green Frog Acoustic Bar and eat food and drink pints and pal around.

Our neighbor’s Heather and Leif have lived here for 17 years or so but never had the opportunity to race in S2S. I think that was the impetus for gathering up a team. The idea was to get family members together and on a lark to call upon an old friend from Seattle days to compete with us and reconnect.

So the team comprised of Heather as the cross-country skier, Alison’s daughter Amber as the downhill racer, Alison the runner, Leif the road biker, Tony and his daughter, Elise, the canoeists, my son Seth the Mt Biker and me the kayaker.

After each completed leg there’s a hand off so Amber handed off to her mom and Seth handed off to me, which was an added bonus to the day.

We had everybody lined up but we still needed a canoe. I found one for a great price in Seattle, a big sturdy red tub of a boat. We thought we were all set but Heather, a paragliding enthusiast, had a flying accident, making an emergency landing on what she said was the only snag in the field and cracked the bones in her leg. Sorry Heather, it will be another year before you compete.

Fortunately for us Heather’s flying instructor, Yaro, was willing to fill in at the last minute. Now we’re good to go.

The race itself is a transportation nightmare. Only a select few can go up the mountain, there are road restrictions and since the course covered a 100 miles people were strung out everywhere. We had a team meeting and lasagna feed here at the Golden Hour the night before and planned our strategy.

Race day dawned cool but dry. Amber, Alison and Yaro headed up the mountain early, Leif went part way up to where the road bike leg started and I ferried Tony and Elise to their start and then picked up Seth to be dropped off downriver for the Mt Bike leg.

By the time I got to the kayak input I realized I missed the general meeting but readied the boat for a windy wave tossed ride across the bay.

Here we are actively pursuing our quest:

Yaro

Amber

Alison

Leif

Tony & Elise

Christopher

Where’s Seth’s picture? Good question. I was also asking myself on race day “Where’s Seth?” Seth had a chain break and he had to stop and repair it mid race. We beat the cut off though and I was able to grab the wrist band and get on the water. Out beyond the breakwater the waves were washing up over the bow of the boat. The low profile boat usually skims blithely over the water but that day I felt like I was paddling a submarine. Good thing I had a spray skirt.

A minute under nine hours overall. My daughter Kate, her mate Cory and their baby Alianna were also there to greet us. Kate had also been there when Seth started his leg of the race. It was great to have everyone around. Heather was there too.

The finish area was packed so the team headed up to Green Frog to refresh. Sunny deck, good beer, good food, lousy service.

Dogs

We have two new family members here at the GHR&C. Meet Black Pearl and Prairie Grace.

This last year we lost our canine buddies Walter and Cubby to cancer. I didn't realize how much I talked to them during the day until they were gone. Walter's deafness and Cubby's lack of a leg did not deter them from being the best pals ever for Alison and me.

I was supposed to be the next person in line to pick a dog however Alison was in Eastern Washington at a veterinary hospital that was fostering two black labs.  They had been abandoned in the deep woods and were found by a hunter outside of Othello. One had porcupine quills in her shoulder, both on the thin side but otherwise OK.

The state patrol and pet rescue had been involved with finding them and everyone agreed how sweet the dogs were. The dogs appeared to be siblings and were very close to each other. No one wanted to see the dogs separated. Surprise! Who should come along and say "I'll take them both!" Alison.

There was a waiting period and they had to be spade but they are here now with us and we have been enjoying their company tremendously. Yes, the are considered rescue dogs just like all the animals are and were here but they are simply happy and healthy young labs. Great hikers and runners - and of course- cuddlers too. I've taken way too many naps on the sofa with them already.  With the exception of a little more wave in one of the dog's fur, they are a matched set.

I'll be adding more pictures to this page soon.

Time

The golden leaves that carpet the driveway are quickly turning brown, the sky is a dull gray and the weather forecasters are calling for days of cool rains. But given the right clothing there's a runner's paradise waiting just outside the door!

Hills, we're in to hill these days. And it was on one of them just yesterday that I had to stop and think that I'm a little over 4 month from cancer surgery and I'm running free again. No I'm not discounting modern medicine when I say this but the human body does some pretty good repair work all on its own - with a little bit of direction from its owner. Give it time, they said, so I did.

A few special exercises and a little bit more consistent running and I feel my aerobic fitness returning.
All the issues I mentioned in my previous post are in the past. So much so that I committed to running Rim to Rim at the Grand Canyon next year. Having a goal is so exciting especially one that is also on my bucket list. From what I've read "running" is a relative term, arduous hike is more like it but there are places where it is flat enough to run. More on this later - it's 10 months away.

The last couple of months have been busy ones. In early September I flew to Denver to meet with a group of guys for the annual Dialogs meeting. We stayed in a mountain cabin near Brainard Lake and hiked in the high country for three days. Nights were frosty and the days near perfect for trekking on the rocks. I had a new camera with me and here are some photo highlights from the trip. Best of all was catching up on everyone's activities. We're at an age when significant changes are taking place and I enjoyed listening to the various views expounded - especially since we are a very diverse group. The concept of "wisdom" was kicked around quite a bit so it wasn't just a bunch of guys sitting around grunting and drinking beer - although I think that happened too.

Shortly after my return Alison and I jumped on a plane to Florida for some beach time. Once again the weather was near perfect, the beach deserted, and the water incredibly warm.

This is a shot near low tide. At this point we've walked south about two miles and are now on the part of the beach that cars can drive on. We walk a bit further to make it a 5 mile loop. No sidewalks, no streets to cross and no rocks.

Sunrise is a great time to be on the beach, usually still warm enough to swim too. It's a bit of an adjustment getting up that early because of the three hour time change. 

Unfortunately for me the water heater exploded on the first night, Then the air conditioner leaked ruining the ceiling in the garage and the garage door opener would only intermittently allow us to go anywhere in the car. A fair amount of time was spent repairing said items but we managed to exercise every day, with adequate beach time as well. Alison, the self proclaimed "foam rider" and I (maybe I'll call myself "Bodysurfer Extrodinair") had a blast in the waves. Shoot me if you think I'm too old for this.

Finally no trip to the beach goes by without passing nearby this motel. It's looked exactly the same since I first started going to Florida in the early 1970's. 

Back at the GHR&C I tried, and failed to build a new chicken coop before the rains. It's still under construction but it's coming along. We did make a quick trip to Portlandia as some Florida friends tell us it's called. Definitely an urban adventure for us - complete with a stop at the 24 Hour Church of Elvis and the flagship Nike Store. The Nike Store was a bummer because they didn't have my size in either of the two pair of shoes I wanted to try on. The search for the perfect trail running shoe for my skinny feet continues. 

The three amigos, son Seth, me and Alison's brother Eric - and an un-named mannequin head.

Alison getting ready to push the buttons at the Church of Elvis

The "Urban Shamans" grooven' on the didgeridoo  

Running in Diapers – Never Thought I’d Be Writing About This!

Some folks may be too young to remember the Harry Neilson song “I’d Rather Be Dead Than Wet My Bed” but I take those lyrics seriously. So when I consider my current post surgery situation, it’s a deep philosophical question.

The docs say I should chill out a bit, not worry about incontinence, just do what I want to do. Time, give it time.

I can tell a difference, that I’m improving as the weeks go by but progress is seems so slow.

My four-inch gash in my lower abdomen has healed nicely. There’s just a ridge of scar tissue that I can feel under my skin and if I don’t do some overly stretchy Yoga pose I don’t notice it all when I move.

So I want to run but I still leak a bit, especially when I put stress on my core muscles. Bending, lifting, twisting and simply moving other than at a walking pace.

The other deal is that I don’t feel bladder pressure the same way as I used to. The urge to go is subtler. Sometimes it’s the feeling of a drop or two escaping that’s the reminder for me to pee. I’ve even set an alarm on my watch to remind me. Right now I’m good for about an hour.

Then of course there’s the look. I certainly don’t want to have a wet spot on my shorts and I don’t want anyone to know I’m wearing some sort of pad. (More on this later) My first running/walking excursion was wearing baggy hiking shorts. No one can tell what I’m wearing under those but they felt cumbersome and I just didn’t feel fast in them.

Regarding the look: First of all, we live in an age where major health product companies are vying for aging consumers who are either incontinent or have the fear of incontinence. There must be a lot me’s out there because there is now a huge supply of absorbency products. Different shapes, sizes and, OMG, colors. There are a lot of options that just weren’t available before.

What I’ve come up with is my pair of running shorts that have an inside compression layer of fabric and a typical outside layer like a standard short. I have a thin stick on pad that is virtually unnoticeable that I tuck in on the front. So now I’m out there again but dealing, with all things, diaper rash.

But the reality is that I run on a private road or up in the hills. The likelihood of someone noticing a small wet spot, and that’s all it would be, is practically nil. Besides I haven’t found a pad that doesn’t chafe if worn for long periods of time. (I‘m still looking for that.) So what I’ve concluded is that this whole thing is more of a head-trip than anything else.

I have to wrap my head around the idea that going out pad less is a worthy experiment. Hey I take a shower and wash my shorts after a run anyway so what’s the big deal. Somehow it still is.