Family Letter 01-24 A Hike To Phantom Ranch

Our latest adventure as recounted by a client journalist:

Hello Back2Basics Families!

Its client T here again, writing to you tired, sore, dirty, smelly, but very content, as always, from the b-e-a-utiful Flagstaff Arizona! We just got back from a 4 day trip through the Grand Canyon, and as I write this, most of the boys are busy getting clean and freshened up. So while they do that, let me regale y’all with the happenings of the trip.

 

We got up a little bit later than usual on Sunday, bags prepped, burritos in hand, and positive mental attitudes (slightly) wavering, loaded up in the van. Upon arriving we noticed some of the signs of the government shutdown, like the visitor center being closed, but nothing too serious, but nevertheless, we persevered onwards, finding our parking spot and descending down the South Kaibab Trail. We traveled about 7.5 miles all downhill, losing about 4000 feet of elevation throughout the trip. Upon arriving at Phantom Ranch, we were all pretty stoked too see the campsite, which was super well developed, covered, and had some tables nearby. Once we were settled in, we whipped up some quick grub, all the while the guides proclaiming they made the “best veg meal ever dudes!!!” (insert intense eye roll from the meat loving Texan here) After that, we chilled for a while and eventually went to sleep.

Monday rolled around quick and pretty soon after a hearty breakfast of mandatory oats we set off to explore. We soon found ourselves at Phantom Ranch, where the lovely proprietors served us some coffee and hot chocolate (I got a free refill!) and two clients, client A and the other client T, got themselves new little souvenir hats! Afterwards we hiked up to a nice viewpoint, got ourselves a solid pump in our legs as we climbed about 700 feet in around a mile. We did some journaling, then hiked backed down, where our evening soon ended. Our evening consisted of an AA meeting, with client A (not client A with the hat) sharing his story, because he recently hit his three month sobriety mark (big congrats bro), and finally, a few handfuls of spades. We then drifted off to a peaceful, yet chilly slumber.

We awoke Tuesday morning, some happy, some wistful that Tuesday would usually mean the end of the trip. But this trip it meant that we today we were hiking to the half way point back up to the Rim on the Bright Angel Trail, with a beautiful oasis in the middle of the desert called Indian Gardens. It was a 4.5 mile hike, not too strenuous, but had 1500 feet of elevation gain, about half of what we would be facing the day after. It was a good precursory test of physical endurance and mental willpower. Upon arriving at Indian Gardens, we stared glumly at the Rim, with a mixture of excitement and hesitation in our hearts. After dinner, we went to bed early, eagerly awaiting the challenge of the following morning.

Today we woke up at 6:30, stumbling around in the dark with our headlamps on to get all of our stuff in order, then set off for the Rim around 7:30. 4.6 miles, 3000 feet of elevation. We could do it. As the hours wore on and our strength dimmed our willpower grew as we passed various waypoints. 3 miles… 1.5 miles…. Finally, we reached the top! Everybody was thrilled to have made it up and to have completed the task. Definitely not the easiest thing for many of the guys, but the sense of pride was written on everyone’s faces as they climbed in the van. After a short van ride back to Flag and a delicious lunch at Pita Pit, here I sit, finishing this letter to you all. I sincerely hope y’all have a great week and much love from the clients here at B2B.

Until Next Time,
Client T, Over and Out.

**An FYI for everyone – I included pictures with Mike M because he stated on this trip that he no longer minds if he is on the B2B Facebook page.**