On March 20, just this past weekend, I hiked down to the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. At 6:00 in the morning, just before the sun begins to rise, I set out on the trail with a large group of other people. Approximately at 4:13 and 19.5 miles later, I emerged back up from the Grand Canyon with a new friend I met along the trail and sore legs.
From the beginning, we arrived at the Grand Canyon a day before the hike, on March 19th, which was a Friday. We didn’t do much then, just check into our hotel and eat dinner then go to sleep. The next day, bright and early at 5:00, we finished packing our bags for the long hike and drove to the drop off point. We waited a little before seeing everyone else, and then my dad drove away to my brother, who was still sleeping, to prepare for their trip, 4.5 miles down to the Indian Gardens at the Bright Angel Trail. We, my mom and the other people, took some pictures then set down towards the river at 5:25. I was making good progress, taking short breaks to wait for my mom and her friend at points like Ooh-Aah Point, but I eventually just went off by myself at a faster pace.
I stopped at another rest area and met the coordinator of the trip, who told me to stay to the right. He was very fast with unrelenting pace, so he eventually caught up to me when I was taking another break and he told me to follow him. I followed him down to Phantom Ranch, where we waited for everyone else. I got a lemonade down there, and then started my journey again. I met this kid, who was 14, a couple of times on the trail, when I passed him or he passed me. Eventually, we started talking on the trail between the 1.5 mile resthouse and the rim, and we exchanged contact information. By the end of the hike, I was exhausted.
At the top, I waited for my mother with my dad and my brother after saying farewell too my new friend. After 30 minutes, she finally appeared at the top of the rim dead tired. We went back to the lodge, showered, and complained about how we were all exhausted. When dinner rolled around, I ate almost an entire 16” pizza by myself. The next morning, we were set to go back. But, my back was sore, whether it was from hiking or just sleeping weird, I don’t know. I feel much better now.
good job!