October started with more aggressive hiking. We needed to get our miles up as well as our elevation gain. I decided about a month ago, that I really wanted to hike the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim and I was determined to get there. Without much convincing, I got my adventure-loving friend Amber, to agree to the adventure. Then we talked our friend, Heidi into it. She happened to have a friend who was also interested so we began to make all the necessary preparations and planning and began hiking more and more. We started the month with Burger Peak in Pine Valley which has the highest elevation gain in our area. It was tough, but it was a great hike. The fall leaves were changing colors, the views at the top were amazing, and we treated ourselves to Veyo pie afterwards!
Next up, we hosted Team Dinner for the Volleyball Team. It was so fun having this group over and getting a chance to get to know them a little bit better...
We also had our Bi-Annual Conference Breakfast with the neighborhood. Such a fun tradition and a great way to begin Sunday Conference Sessions...
This girl always makes me laugh. She heard that an author was signing books and she just had to meet him...
The Olson's came for a visit and we had so much fun. We took them to see the Pirate Ship House, saw Jersey Boys (again!), had late nights, and so much cousin time. It was a blast...
Snow Canyon High School Freshman Team...
The First Graders celebrated the 50th Day of School by having a 50's Party. Is this not the cutest?!...
And before we even had time to stress, it was time to head out for our big hike. I had injured my thigh at some point and had been trying to rest and let it heal but it just didn't seem to be getting any better. The night before we left I asked Devin for blessing of healing. In the blessing he told me that not only would my leg be healed but that Jesus would be walking with me, strengthening me. We left on a Thursday night and stayed at a lodge that was 20 minutes from the North Rim. At this point, my thigh was still hurting and my friend offered to tape it for me but of course I thought, "I can do it without any help." It actually ended up causing quite a bit of pain throughout the night. I decided to humble myself and take any help that I could get. By the end of the trip literally every part of my body would be hurting but not my thigh. Never bothered me even once. God is so good.
We got a very early start the next morning, hoping to give ourselves plenty of time to get to the South Rim. It was still dark and it was all downhill so we were moving quickly. The views were amazing and as the sun started to rise we couldn't help but be in awe of our surroundings. Part of the way down, we took a detour to Ribbon Falls. It added an extra 2 miles onto our hike but it was totally worth it. It was gorgeous, with moss and greenery growing all around and a cavern big enough to fit us inside. We could even hike up above behind the waterfall. It was glorious.
After 13-14 miles, we finally made it to the bottom of the Grand Canyon where we stopped for lunch at Phantom Ranch. After this, we would cross the river and then it would be all uphill from there. Time to dig in. At some stopping point, we were talking to some fellow hikers who had mentioned that rather than continue on the very steep trail that we were on, we should cut across and get on the less steep trail that would lead us right to the restaurants, hotels, etc. We opted for the less steep trail and it ended up adding 7 miles onto our already 20 mile hike. Needless to say the incline was brutal by the time we got to the South Rim we had hiked approximately 27 miles with a 4,380 ft elevation gain. We even watched someone getting rescued by helicopter on our way up. We went straight to the restaurant only to discover it would be about an hour wait. Amber said, "What if there's $20 involved?" They led us right to a table. I think we ate about 3 baskets of bread and butter before our steaks arrived. And those steaks were probably the best steaks we have ever eaten, we were that hungry. After dinner, we walked over to a store to grab some extra food for tomorrow's hike back. Then we got a shuttle to our hotel, once again to discover that the check in point was about a mile from where our room actually was. We were not about to walk anymore, not to mention it was dark, so they had us squeeze into an employee's tiny car and he drove us over. We each quickly showered, prepped for the next day, set our alarms for 6:00am, and went to sleep. Although we had said from the beginning, that if after the first day we didn't think that we could hike it back we would take the shuttle back, we didn't even talk about it. We all just knew we were hiking back the next day.
On Day 2, we had to walk a mile to get to the shuttle that would take us to where the trail head started. Since we didn't want to add any extra miles onto our hike, we decided to go down the South Kaibab Trail. This trail is brutally steep, and going down was killer on our knees. Especially since the trail is lined with logs that we had to step down over. Still, the views were breathtaking and it was such an incredible hike. By the time we got down to Phantom Ranch my knees were in a lot of pain, so I bought a wrap from their little store and tried giving it a little more support. Right after our stop at Phantom Ranch we were headed back on the trail and I was trying to get my water line adjusted as we started walking. I didn't see a rock and caught my foot on it and because my hands had my hiking poles in them I didn't naturally reach out to catch myself. I went down hard and caught myself with the front of my mouth on a rock. My bottom teeth cut through my mouth on the inside. Everyone scrambled to help me up, but it took me a minute to register what had just happened. Heidi, a dental hygienist, then checked my teeth for any damage. Although I was bleeding a ton, luckily no real damage was done. So I got cleaned up and my friends asked me what we should do. I shoved a wet wipe in mouth to stop the bleeding and said, "Let's keep going." And we were back on the trail. I got some weird looks but I didn't care. We just had to keep going. By this point, we had already hiked 35 miles or so, my knees were trashed from the brutal descent, my face (and my pride) were now bruised, and we still had 13.5 miles and a massive elevation gain of 5,800 ft. Little by little we just kept trucking along. Amber, probably could have gotten out of the canyon much faster than me, but she stayed with me no matter how often I needed to stop. She kept me going, not matter how many times I told her I was just going to live in the canyon now. She's such a good friend. Although it was brutal, it was the most incredible hike. Not many people see the North Rim and it is spectacular. We made it out just before it started to get dark. 50 miles in 2 days, crazy elevation gains, and not enough carbs. I didn't have enough energy to celebrate our accomplishment with everyone else. I headed straight to the car where I knew I had a sandwich and a soda waiting for me. As soon as I finished my sandwich, I celebrated our successful hike. Amber, being the rockstar that she is, drove us the 2 hours back home. The next day I shuffled around like a grandpa, couldn't lift my legs at all, and my face looked like I'd been in a boxing match. What an adventure! It will be awhile, but I hope I can do it again one day.
A couple days after we got back from our hike, a friend's husband reached out asking if I could come be with their newborn for a bit so that his wife could just get some sleep. I was still recovering but I was so excited to go snuggle a newborn!
And just like that it was Halloween. I got to help with Tess' class party...
And then there was the school parade...
And Halloween Night...
What a great October!
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