20/12/12 - Hiking the Canyon

  

Wendy was not well today (had a cold) and so she decided to spend the day in bed. So left to my own devices, I set off unsupervised to explore the sites while she slept.

My original plan had been to hike the Canyon today, but the snow of yesterday had melted overnight and turned into ‘black ice’. As a result all the hiking trails were dangerously slippery, at least for the top third of their length. The only people that the Rangers were allowing onto the trails were those with crampons on their boots and hiking poles. So that ruled me out. Instead I spent two or three hours at the Verkamp’s Visitor’s Centre, the Hopi House (admiring the Indian art) and the Kolb House (learning about the amazing Kolb brothers and buying guidebooks and DVD’s about them and about the Canyon).

Then, at about 3pm, I set off to drive down Desert View Drive and see the East Rim of the Canyon. It was an amazing drive, fantastic views from the many stopping points and at the end (Desert View) the incredible outlook from the Watch Tower and the view out over the Colorado River. I managed to get to the Watch Tower just before they closed for the day and was able to race up the seven flights of stairs to the top (which is no mean feat given we’re at 7,000ft and it is hard to breathe) and take some fantastic pictures of the River, the Canyon and the surrounding plateau. The visibility up here is amazingly good from any outlook. But from the top of the Watch Tower it is just jaw dropping.  You can actually see Navajo Mountain, which is 100 miles away!

I got home and had time for a shower and shave before Wendy managed to rouse herself from her sick bed at 7pm to accompany me for dinner in the El Tovar dining room. The service was excellent once again and the food even better than two nights ago. All in all this was a memorable way to end our three days at the Canyon. Tomorrow we will drive down to Phoenix to see what we can see down there … and hopefully escape the cold! (The closest town was registering -4 Max and -14 min)