This weekend, the boys were divided into two groups; each tackling hikes in different parts of Grand Canyon National Park.
The first group, led by カラス, started at Grandview Lookout, and hiked three miles down an old copper mining trail into the canyon. That group arrived at the Horseshoe Mesa campground around 2PM. After relaxing for a bit, the group played a game called Rocky Mountain Croquet, ate (exhibiting great culinary skill in the process), and then hiked a mile down to Page Springs “water” source. Once the group got back, カラス led an AA meeting based around the spiritual teachings of Daoism. The following day, the group voted to hike down and around Horseshoe Mesa to a spot where one can clearly see the Colorado River. Afterwards, the group hiked back up to the Mesa, passing by the “water” source as well as some nearby abandoned uranium and copper mines (which during their heyday were known for producing minerals of exceptionally fine quality), which the group found most intriguing. The group then held another AA meeting, this time using the fine and timeless works of Khalil Gibran to provide a basis for discussion. The next day, the group packed up and left camp around 5AM, getting to the rim – and more importantly the vans – before 9AM. During the trip, the group exhibited an excessive level of coherence – which was most fascinating to observe.
The second group, otherwise known as The A Team, The Good Guys, The Group You Wish Your Son Was In, headed out Saturday morning and hiked in a place not far from the Grand Canyon where many scenes in the original Planet of the Apes were filmed. Later we headed for our campsite at the Grand Canyon where we stopped, dropped, shut it down and opened up shop. We enjoyed ravioli for dinner before playing cards and conducting an AA meeting. The next day we got up early to observe a murder of crows along with a whitetail deer milling around our campsite before packing up for the day’s hike. We hiked the Bright Angel trail all the way down to Plateau Point and back; 12.4 miles round trip with an elevation change of 3,200 feet. And oh, the people we saw! Short ones, tall ones, big ones, blonde ones. There were men from France and ladies from Sweden, boys trying to keep up with their sisters and husbands posing for photos they wanted no part of being in. The Grand Canyon is a majestic place. We made great time on the ascent back to camp and had a stellar dinner of tomales and earl. The ride back home in the morning was peaceful and well deserved.
