February 21
February 22
February 23
February 24
February 25
February 26
February 27
February 28
March 1
March 2
March 3
March 4
March 5 - 7
March 8 - 11
Because these three large groups were all in camp for two nights, the second breakfast (at 7am) had been completely booked. We had to eat breakfast at the first seating (5:30). Needless to say, we went back to bed after eating...
Once it became light, we grabbed our stuff and headed up the North Kaibab trail. No real objective, just continuing to stretch our legs. The first six miles of this trail are almost level, just a gentle overall rise. We hiked for four hours, covering 4-5 miles, stopped and ate lunch, then returned. A pleasant day. These are some of the photos I took today.
The three photos above show three different views of Bright Angel Creek as it runs next to the North Kaibab Trail.
The photo on the left shows another view of Bright Angel Creek. The photo on the right shows one of the remaining telephone poles which date from 1935, when the trans-canyon telephone line was completed by the Civilian Conservation Corps.
The three photos above show different little cascades along Bright Angel Creek. All are visible from the North Kaibab Trail.
Both of the photos above show a Utah Agave (Agave utahensis), which is very common in the inner canyon.
The three photos above show three of the cactus species we encountered along the trail. The one on the left shows a closeup of a Desert Prickly-pear Cactus (Opuntia phaeacantha) pad. The center photo is a barrel cactus. And the photo on the right is an Engelmann Hedgehog (Echinocereus engelmannii).
We arrived back in camp to find that Chatty Cathy hadn’t left after all. They had just had different meals than we had...
Dinner that night was noisier than ever... Chatty Cathy and her husband (her father, we learned later, had returned to the South Rim after staying just the one night) were at the head of the line for dinner. Seating is assigned by table, so there’s not much you can do to avoid some people. We managed to follow them in and, even though we were assigned to the same table, we grabbed the other end - as far away as possible. The giggling and chattering really was that obnoxious...
As the staff chased everyone out after dinner, we grabbed the cribbage board and cards and retreated to our cabin. We played cribbage there instead of in the social hall. Much, much, much quieter.