Grand Canyon South Kaibab Trail - Down on March 28th 2011

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The trail head for the South Kaibab Trail is located off of the Yaki Point Road, which is closed to private vehicles.  The free Grand Canyon National Park shuttle bus is the only way to access the trail head. Many people underestimate this hike because it is all downhill.  We can tell you we certainly feel every muscle used for our hike that descended 4740 feet.

Here's Dave with his 20-pound pack and hiking sticks ready for the plunge.

As you can see the trail has some ice and snow left over from old man winter.  We were very lucky to have excellent weather for our trip down the mountain.

Here's Kathy with her 12 pound pack enjoying a view of the canyon below.  We had packed smartly anticipating any weather or condition changes which happen quickly in the canyon. We had heard that rock slides frequently occur during seasonal changes.

 

Here you can see other hikers along the trail.  Notice that this portion of the trail is outlined and more defined.

Here's a view of where our hike began. Elevation at the top is 7260 feet.

Through the first ¾ mile, the trail cuts through the eastern side of Pipe Creek Canyon until Ooh-ahh Point, where the canyon walls turn around Yaki Point and the view of the eastern canyon opens up. The point is named after a common reaction to the view

Here you can see Phantom Ranch but you still have a few more miles to travel.  This photo better shows the typical steepness next to most of the trail.  The slope of the trail averages 12% overall with some segments as high as 15%.

Here's a great shot of our first glimpse of the Black River Suspension Bridge over the Colorado River.  This bridge is the one used by the mules because they cannot see the river through the bottom of the bridge.  Kathy liked that too! 

 

Building the bridge in the remote and difficult-to-access Inner Canyon posed hazards and challenges to construction. Motorized vehicles such as cars and trucks could not access the deep recesses of the canyon along the river, so all materials were transported by mules or human power. National Park Service mules carried most of the 122 tons of materials for the construction of the bridge into the canyon. The one-ton, 550-foot- long suspension cables were carried down the canyon on the shoulders of 42 Havasupai tribesmen who walked single file down the trail while carrying the cables. They carried the cables over nine miles of trail and down over 4,000 feet from the rim.

 We finally arrive at Phantom Ranch.  The hike down took us 5 hours and the elevation change was 4598 feet.  We arrived at 12:30 and were napping in our cabin by 1:30 with two alarm clocks set to wake us up for our Steak dinners at 5:00 p.m.

In Loving Remembrance March 2011

We think of you in silence and often speak your name, But all that's left to answer is your picture in a frame, If we could have one lifetime wish, One dream that would come true, We would wish with all our hearts for yesterday and you. If tears could build a stairway and heartache make a lane, We would walk to anywhere to be with you again.

(author unknown)

Kathy's Dad on the Wii balance board.  Actually he was pretty good.

Kathy's Dad with his pulling team.

Kath's Dad and a family gathering

Dave and his Mom

Dave his Dad and his son

Dave's brother Billy

Dave's friend Harry Gaffney

Our friend Leo

Casey in one of his favorite lounge chairs

Casey at Christmas

Kitty

Kitty always loved rolling in the grass or dirt.

Telegraph Pass Hike - January 2011 (Updated March 2011)

During our visit to Yuma we hiked Telegraph Pass. As you can see, it was a mile and one-half walk just to get to the trail head from the north frontage road.  Telegraph Pass is located in the north Gila mountain range.  The elevation at the top is 1558 feet.  The hike is 5 miles round trip.  Average hiking time is about 3 and 1/2 hours.  You can see the city of Yuma in the background. 

Here is Dave leading the way to the top.  Kathy and I hiked this pass 3 times during our visit to Yuma.

Here is our neighbor Dale Schmidt who made the hike with us. At the top of the peak sits 366 government and privately owned radio transmitters and other communication equipment.  The winding paved road from the trail head to the top of the mountain was built to allow companies to service their equipment.

Dave is getting a snack while Kathy opens a metal container which holds a guest log book to document your hike.  Kathy always attends to the paperwork!

                           Here we are after another successful hike.

Here we are on March 9th with friends Chuck and Dodi before leaving for our hike.

Chuck and Dodi at the top. 

It was much easier walking down the hill than up!

A fellow hiker was kind enough to take a picture of the four of us during our decent down the hill.  After some lunch and a short nap we were ready for the afternoons festivities.

Quartzsite - January 2011

Every January something happens that is hard to believe unless you have seen it.  According to the Arizona Highway Department some 750,000 to 1,000,000 people, mostly in RVs, converge on this sleepy desert town located just 20 miles east of the California boarder on Interstate 10 for the Rock Gems and Mineral Shows, plus numerous Flea Markets and the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation and RV Show.  This phenomenon started some 35 years ago and is billed as "The worlds Largest Gathering of RVs in the World"

Arrival is fast and easy. Just extend your slides, lower your airbags and level your coach.  It's that simple and you are ready to go.  Don't forget your chairs and tables.

As you can see, the Monaco IRV2 gang is parked in a circle with enough room for a nightly bonfire where everyone congregates to discuss happenings of each day.  We met many new great friends and had a wonderful time visiting the vendor tents as well as seeing all the 2011 RVs. We will definitely be back!

Here Dave is restitching a topper awning with help from "The Crew", Mike and Rick.  After some awesome training by Kathy and Dave, the crew removed, repaired and installed at total of 13 topper awnings while at the site.  

These guys were the real money makers.  Shortly after this photo, this guy drove over to our coach to repair a six inch vertical crack on our coach.  Kathy, as normal, took care of our paperwork.  

One of the best things about being here was a chance to visit all the other coaches and see all the great practical additions owners have made to their coaches.  Here's a sample of Drifter (Mike's) addition of a storage unit on the inside of his cafe doors.  Great Idea!   I need some of these on our coach.  Everyone was impressed at Kathy's use of 3M hooks on our coach.