North Rim-to-South Rim of the Grand Canyon

May 23, 2011

23 Miles

1 Day

This is about a mile and a half into our Rim-to-Rim hike. We left Page at 2:45 am and reached the North Kaibab trailhead two hours later and were on the trail by 5:00 am. It was in the upper 30s when we left, but you can see that I had already ditched the jacket at this point. Here I ate one of my bagels and took two ibuprofen in preparation of the day ahead. At this point we had over 21 miles to go.

A bit daunting seeing the trail way below and knowing that is where I was going, but still awe inspiring.

What a beautiful place.

A few miles into the hike and feeling pretty good. Roaring Springs is in the background.

At the top of this cliff is the lodge at the North Rim.

I am pointing to where our final destination is. It was a bit overwhelming thinking about how far we had to go, so in order to help me not think about it I started singing primary songs at about this spot.

Ribbon Falls, just a short hike off the main trail but worth seeing.

Looking out from behind Ribbon Falls

About to enter "The Box"

Phantom Ranch

Bishop Bunting drinking lemonade at Phantom Ranch. We had lunch here and rested for awhile because from this point forward it was all uphill.

Crossing the Colorado River on the Silver Bridge

Devil's Corkscrew

I know it is kind of hard to see, but I am pointing at where we started earlier in the day.

Bishop Bunting and I on our way to the top. He was a great source of information for me as I prepared for this hike. What a tremendous man to hike the Grand Canyon with; he has so much historical knowledge about it.

One and a half miles from the top and feeling good. We took the Bright Angel Trail from Phantom Ranch. This trail had good shade and many water stops, which I very much appreciated.

South Rim of the Grand Canyon on the Bright Angel Trail. This was taken 12 hours after we started and after 23 miles of hiking- 14 miles down and 9 miles up.

Jill met us in Cameron to pick me up at the trading post where we continued our trip to Phoenix. These are the great guys that I made the trip with: Derek, Karlyn, Ron, Rob, and Steven.

Ward service project As a service project the wards decided to head out on the lake and take care of some graffiti. Kev and the kids worked hard all morning to try to get the carvings out of the sandstone. It was hard work but they had a great time.

Now it would just be cruel if we had them work so hard and didn't reward then with some playtime in the lake. It was the highlight.

Our sweet Abi girl is growing too darn fast!! Abi and her friend Mia all dressed up for twin day. I love that she has such a great friend. Abi had a fantastic 7th grade year (and by the way it dawned on me that in five short, very short, years my sweet girl will be a senior, oh man I wish I could turn back the hands of time.) Abi loves life and tries to get the most out of it, I love that she is willing and excited to try as many things as possible. She participated in volleyball, soccer, basketball, track, student council, and girls scouts this year, she loved everything. Although she was a busy, busy girl she still managed to maintain good grades and read a ton of books. She was able to have Kev as a teacher this year and I tell you what she came home excited to tell me all about the history of our wonderful country. I don't know who is dreading high school days more her or Kev they enjoy their morning rides to school, Kev being able to check on her (abi doesn't enjoy that), and their lunches together. Abi is such a great big sister, and sets a wonderful example for her younger siblings. We love her so much!

What can we say Mac had a great year!! He excelled academically as well as socially. He loved school and I feel that is a blessing. Mac is our peace maker. He can't stand when someone is sad or getting in trouble, and is quick to help others out. He does have a bit of a temper when thing push him too far, or I guess I should say, when Ben pushes him too far. He is so tender and get anxious when I am not going to be around, talk about melt my heart. The other day I was getting ready to go on a trip and he was just pacing around me worrying his little head off. He thinks his dad hung the stars and loves to hang out doing "Guy stuff." Our little Mccune is a blessing in our home.