As I had stated earlier, one of my goals was to get an early start from Havasupai Gardens. Ideally I wanted to get to the Rim before there was too much Sun. But also, if possible I wanted to get some moonlight hiking in. I sort of failed at one and barely achieved the other.

I mentioned in the previous post that I had some reading. I had brought a magazine with me (lightweight and I was behind on it). But while wandering the camp I found box marked “Havasupai Gardens Book Return” I later found the “library” for said book. Inside the box there was a copy of Over the Edge: Death in the Canyon. I had seen it at the bookstore on the Rim, but hadn’t bought at the time (since rectified). This provided the basis of my reading material for most of the afternoon and evening. Each chapter breaks down deaths in the Canyon by cause, such as Falls from the Edge, Falls in the Canyon, etc. Of course the last chapter I read focused on hyperthermia and other environmental causes. At the end of each chapter is a table of all known deaths that fit in that chapter’s topic. This was grim reading, especially when one noted the number of middle-aged men suffering from heat exhaustion or exercise induced cardiac arrest. Need I remind the reader that I’m a middle-aged man. As a side note, environmental related deaths is one of the few metrics where middle-aged men approach the numbers of young men (late teens/early twenties) that tend to represent most other deaths.

Let’s just saying falling asleep, my mind was churning a bit. I wasn’t really too worried, given the trail, lots of water, lots of people (more about that in a bit) and I’m not THAT out of shape, and I know what to look for. But still, the irony would have sucked if I didn’t make it.

Generally when I’m camping, even car-camping like much of this trip, I tend to go to bed soon after the Sun goes down. Even with a good headlamp, there seems little point in staying awake to do stuff. As a result, even with the above on my mind, I was probably asleep by 9:00 PM if not earlier.

Between napping in the afternoon, an early bedtime and a full bladder this meant I woke up at just after Midnight. Or so I thought. I saw some moonlight on the Canyon wall to my west. I debated going back to sleep or starting out. Starting out won. I packed my bag and then took out my phone to take a few pictures (that’s a phrase that would confuse folks a generation or two ago!) That’s when I remembered my watch was still on Mountain Daylight Time. Arizona however is on Mountain Standard Time year-round. I had gotten up an hour earlier than I thought. Since I was too lazy to unpack my sleeping bag to go back to bed, I set out for the Rim at 11:45 on the 15^th. I was confident I’d avoid the Sun entirely. So did I fail at avoiding it before there was TOO much Sun? I suppose that’s a semantics question between “too much” and “entirely”. In fact, I figured at 4.5 miles, if I got out in four and a half hours, I’d be content. So I set out. With my trusty headlamp. I knew I had plenty of battery, but even if I didn’t worst case, I simply wait for the Moon to come up more, or the Sun to come up more. Either way I was set.

My first goal was the 3-Mile Resthouse. There’s shade here when needed and water. At some future point I’ll relate two incidents that occurred to Randi and I when we where here 29 years ago. This was 1.5 miles away. On the way I did come across a big Cat in the Canyon. But I was safe.

I managed to make the 3-Mile Resthouse by 12:37. I had covered 1.5 miles in under an hour. I was making better time than I had hoped. But the steepest part was yet to come.

And sadly, the Moon had not peeked over the Rim yet. I could see walls of the Canyon bright with moonlight, but no direct moonlight in my path. I had left too early for that it appears. I also had not yet encountered any other hikers. It was really early so I really didn’t expect to, but anyone who has hiked this during the day knows exactly how crowded this section of trail can be. And it normally only gets more crowded the further up you go because so many day hikers (smartly) only hike part way down.

I set out for the 1.5-Mile Resthouse. I was plodding along, a bit out of breath, but feeling I was making decent enough time. I stopped for photos and a few rests. At one point I looked at my watch and said to myself, “Ok, in about 15-20 minutes I should hit the 1.5-Mile Resthouse.”

Not 30 seconds later at a switchback I saw a sign for “Toilet”. I was very confused because I didn’t recall any such facility between the two resthouses. I made my way up the switchback I saw a water faucet and a 911 Emergency Phone. I was really confused now.  Then it hit me, I was much further ahead than I expected. I hit the 1.5-Mile Resthouse at 1:50 AM. I was making great time. But knew I was going to face a new problem at the Rim. I’d get up there well before dawn and well before the hiker shuttle from the Backcountry Office would leave at a little after 6:00AM to take me back to my car. I tried to nap a bit here and had almost dozed off when I heard something moving around. At first I thought it was another hiker. But after turning on my headlamp, saw a small canyon mouse interested in my backpack. Fortunately everything was sealed, but still decided I’d best move on. So I set out.

I still had not encountered another single hiker. Now I was a bit surprised since I figured at the very least I’d encounter an early-bird overnighter heading out. But I did finally encounter some actual moonlit trail and was able to turn off my headlamp. For about 1 minute. Then I was back into the Rim shadow. I did encounter a few more patches of moonlit path, but that was it. I had left too early to really catch much direct moonlight.

I made the Rim by 3:28. (By the way, I’m not normally so anal about time keeping, but I have tagged photographs that are helping me recall the exact times). I had made the 4.5 mile hike up and out in under 4 hours. That included time for photos and a good 10 minute or so rest at the 1.5-Mile Resthouse.

I also achieved something I suspect very few hikers have done. I did the entire uphill climb from Havasupai Gardens to the Rim without encountering a single other hiker! That alone is a remarkable achievement I think.

But now I had a problem. My car. I looked at some signs and realized I could hike the 4.5 or so miles to my car, or I could wait for the shuttle. I opted to wait. Fortunately I had brought a lot of extra warm gear in my pack in case it was colder overnight than it turned out to be. I put it all on. I then called my mom for her birthday while standing outside the Backcountry Office. Then I waited. And sometimes shivered. And sometimes did some exercise. And shivered. I guess I didn’t need to worry about heat or exercise induced cardiac arrest after all!

Finally a little after 6:00 the shuttle arrived and took me and several other hikers to the South Kaibab trailhead. I then had to double back to my car. My hike was over a little over 24 hours after setting out. It was good.

But it was also 6:45 AM. I had an entire day ahead of me. Going with the “I have nothing really scheduled” I decided I’d stay another night. So I got in line for the “First Come First Served” reservations at around 7:30. It didn’t open until 8:00. So more waiting. But after talking to folks, I came up with a solution on where to spend the next night, a place called Las Vegas Bay Campground. It’s a National Park Service Campground in the Lake Mead Recreational Area. It meant I could see Hoover Dam at my leisure and not worry about finding a spot to camp that night.

After securing a camping spot I set out to do laundry and shower (showers cost $2.50 for 5 minutes, bring quarters!). This was my first chance to do laundry or shower the entire trip. It was well earned.

After being delayed by the panic of a lost wallet, I headed to a talk on the geology of the Canyon given by one of the Rangers. I was late, but it was well worth it and was able to ask her a few questions and gain some knowledge. It was soon after this that I realized that I had DEFINITELY misplaced my ballcap. Now, sentimentally, it really means nothing to me. I have some that do. This one was simply a vendor one given to me by Microsoft. So in that light, no great loss. However, I use it to keep the Sun off my head and out of my eyes. While later shopping for gifts (and the aforementioned book) I picked up a buff to wear. But I still wanted my hat.

After attending another talk my a ranger, this time on wildlife in the Canyon (she loved it when I showed her the picture of the pink rattlesnake) I tried to pin down where I could have lost it. I checked that I had not left it on the Hiker Shuttle (and I know I had it before I boarded since I had taken it and put it into a pack pocket). So I figured I must have lost it after disembarking from the Shuttle and hiking back to my car. So, another ride on a shuttle bus out to South Kaibab. I figured if nothing else, I’d get some more walking in along the rim. I expected to have really no luck finding it. But not 100 yards into the walk back, along the game trail I had taken I spotted it! I had it back.

So I hiked over to the viewpoint (which the name of is escaping me) and took some pictures and then caught the shuttle back to the Visitor Center. By now it was almost 5:00 PM and definitely getting cool again. A wiser man would have simply headed back to his campsite and made dinner. Not me, I swapped to the village shuttle and then got off at the eastern end of Grand Canyon Village and proceeded to check out some of buildings and hike along the Rim. I ended back up at the Bright Angel trailhead. This time it definitely was teeming with hikers!

I finally took the village shuttle back to the Mather Campground stop. I got off, walked back to my campsite and finally made dinner around 7:30 or so. (no photos, so no exact time).

After that, I was off to bed. It was a long day. In addition to my hike out, I estimate I did another 3-4 miles on the Rim. I will say my calves were tight and sore! But so worth it.

I’m already thinking about my next hike in the Canyon.