Welcome B2B families to another look of what we did this past weekend. We started Sunday morning with a leisurely wakeup, packed up our gear in the van and drove off to a 9:00 A.M. Mens Stag Meeting. We discussed the 2nd tradition about A.A. having no hierarchy and a non-profit organization. We then went to the gym to play some ball and pick up some weights and set them back down. After a solid gym session, disc golf was next on the agenda. We got in 10 holes; a bit crowded, but we still had a great time. Then, it was time for some of the residents to part ways. We dropped four residents off back at the Hunter house because of safety precautions and drove off to the south rim of the Grand Canyon.
A short one hour drive quickly turned into a scenic view overlooking the Little Colorado. It was an amazing sight to see. There was a fire somewhere near the Grand Canyon National Park and when we stopped at a point to check out the actual Grand Canyon, it looked like a mist or fog covering an ocean. It was a mysterious and somewhat eerie feeling looking at the hazy canyon. We took a few pictures then drove to our campsite to unload and settle into camp.
For dinner, we made calzones; therefore, some were chopping bell peppers, onions and mushrooms, while others were rolling out pizza dough and preparing the iron skillets to grill the calzones. Some people even made calzones for lunch the next day. They were fun and entertaining to make. After we cleaned up, we went to a ‘Ranger Talk’ about raptors or hawks. It was very informational and we all have a greater appreciation for these historic birds. Some of these hawks will migrate all the way down to Argentina for the winter, so some of these researchers were out at the Grand Canyon to count and identify these hawks because its apart of the inner mountain migration path. After a very educational ‘Ranger Talk,’ we went back to camp and hit the sack gearing up for the treacherous hike the next day.
We all got to sleep in a little later; 8:00 is really late for us. Got coffee started and we made buttermilk pancakes for breakfast. Unfortunately, we forgot the eggs, but we still made it work. The much-needed carbs definitely helped the hike.
In the spirit of Halloween, we all chose costumes to wear down the hike. Everyone was dressed in all kinds of funny wigs and vibrant colored tights. Once we all picked our outfits, we were off to the Grandview trailhead or the ultimate death hike. As we passed people down the trail, we passed out candy giving people motivation and inspiration to finish this rugged hike. A lot of people that we passed wanted to take our pictures of our ridiculous costumes. We made it out to Horseshoe Mesa which was about 2500 ft in elevation change in about 4 miles.
The views were remarkable and picturesque looking at huge spires and parts of the Colorado River; however, we were all anticipating the physical and mental crumbles that were about to happen hiking back up. It was surely the hardest hike we have done in the Grand Canyon. The great ascent in such a short distance made for unbelievable endurance and stamina. In the end, our mental fortitude overcame the Grandview hike and we all conquered and destroyed the most strenuous trail in the Grand Canyon. We celebrated by going back to camp and grilling up some sandwiches. Some of the other residents that we left back at Hunter came to join us to finish the weekend with us. We also made a fire and roasted some marshmallows for some Reese’s s’mores. Having a relaxing afternoon, we sat around the fire and played some cards. We decided to go to an A.A. meeting where we were the majority of the meeting. We all shared in the meeting about ‘A Vision for You’ which is a section we read in the Big Book. After a wonderful meeting, we headed back to camp to play some more cards and chalk it up in our sleeping bags. We needed the sleep after that huge hike.
7:30 wakeup approached fast; packed up our gear and of course we made ‘mandatory oats.’ After oats and coffee, we packed up the van and headed back towards Flagstaff. We stopped at Red Mountain to do a short hike and ‘Sharing is Caring.’ Red Mountain had an amazing erosion of red dirt sloped cliff sides; as a result, some of the scenes from Planet of the Apes were shot there. We did a short little mile and a half hike and sat in an enclosed area to do ‘Sharing is Caring’ about leadership and how we could be better leaders. We hiked back and that will conclude another adventure in the books. Hope you all had a very safe and festive Halloween. Until next week, all the residents hope you have a wonderful rest of the week.
