Trip Out West: Day 7

Day 7 (9/22/17) was probably the most miles I have tracked on my FitBit in a long time. We logged 10.31 miles and 144 floors! We hit the South Kaibab Trail at about 10am and it was an experience. The four of us were so excited to finally hike at the Grand Canyon. I wasn't sure what to expect on this challenging hike, but the first thing I noticed was how steep is was. I felt like my toes were going to go through my sneakers. We also saw and smelled a lot donkey (I HOPE it was donkey) shit. Hiking down was pretty easy, minus a few slips on some loose gravel. The views were amazing.

The hike back up was not so easy for me. It was getting pretty warm and the elevation was something I have ever experienced before. According to Ryan, it is about 900 feet up in 1.5 miles and everyone did great getting up there....well, maybe not everyone. I had a tough time getting back up the trail and I was super disappointed because I had worked hard training for these hikes. Raleigh is obviously not known for its Grand Canyon like hikes, but I worked with my trainer, Aurora, from AD Fitness months prior to our trip.  I wanted to tone up and strengthen my core. I also had gotten two iron infusions in the past few months before the trip so I was hoping fatigue wouldn't be an issue. Unfortunately, between my asthma, fatigue, and a bloody nose, I was the last one up by at least fifteen minutes. We took a group shot before and after the hike and I think the pictures speak for themselves.

Before

After

Later that night, Ryan and I decided to go look at the stars and I was dying to see the Milky Way. We were pretty tired from our day, but I really didn't want to miss out on the night sky at the Grand Canyon. It was amazing to me how different it is to see the night sky where there are no lights. The sky was clear and I got my view of the Milky Way.


Ryan and Jess's blog:  http://ryanandjessandstuff.blogspot.com

National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov

Passport to your National Parks: https://www.eparks.com