just returned yesterday from a trip out west with 6 guys from indianapolis, including my dad and brother and three other from indian creek. we went to zion national park and the grand canyon- both places had incredible views and great hikes. we enjoyed camping in both spots, but it also reminded me of acts 2:42. we've been discussing this verse as a theme for our group in new orleans- we eat together, hangout, pray and teach. the week was full of those things but i was challenged to think about how the trip and our new orleans community differ from groups who try to do the same thing. the difference is Christ- He's our motivation, He has to be our reason for the work in new orleans, and He blessed us each with the tremendous opportunity to go on this trip.
so- the specifics... at zion canyon we hiked to the emerald pools, angels' landing, and hidden canyon. the big hike there was an overnight trip to the Narrows. this 16 mile trail was basically a river walk- it stretched from a cow pasture through waist-deep water at times. it was tough, technical, but unique to anything i had ever done. from there we sped off to the grand canyon and zipped down and back up the bright angel trail on thursday- including a dip in the 45 degree colorodo river at the bottom. this pic is of us on our way out to a shower and steak dinner.
i'm home now, ready to jump back in the saddle.
2 comments:
Sad to say we never visited the canyon when we were in AZ. Glad you enjoyed it, maybe you can put a group together in the future and be the guide?!?
actually, the Narrows was more like 20 miles. the park service would have you believe it's 16, but they were doing road maintenance above the trailhead, so there was a little more there, & they don't tell you that you have to hike another mile to get from the trail, uh, "foot" (i guess?) back to the shuttle bus stop. and at the end of the trip -- grand canyon day -- one of the guys had his GPS w/ him, and again, though the park service would have you believe bright angel is 8 miles flat from Rim to River, Doug's GPS said we walked over 19 miles, & I know he didn't run in circles for 3 miles. a couple of us started referring to distances as "national park miles" by the end of the trip.
point is, though, among all the hiking that week, it was over 50 miles!
one of the more entertaining parts, i think, was sleeping under a tree -- no tents -- at Zion. GORGEOUS weather; about 70/75 at night, most nights i wasn't even in my bag. i would never have started sleeping "open air" if Aaron hadn't insisted on doing it for another trip he & i did years ago. i'm mildly glad i did have a tent at grand canyon, though...as ever night we were there, one of us woke up ~ 3am to the sound of a raucous pack of coyotes.
and in the narrows...all the water Aaron walked through was at most waist-deep. good thing, too. he had one of the heaviest packs. they said the river was a little low when we did it, & the vast majority was knees or below. but i went scouting one side of a boulder at one point when everyone else was on the other side, & i ended up wettest right there of anyone on that trip...it got my armpits. climbing uphill (one foot slid down & off a boulder) against a moderate current is no good.
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