Grand Canyon Rim Trail (Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona)

My friends, Jason, Nick, and Brent and I, drove through the night from Reno to arrive at Grand Canyon National Park shortly before 8:00 am. After pitching our tents and taking a short nap in the open air, we awoke to find three elk near our campsite. Obviously used to being around people, the elk pretty much ignored us as we snapped a few photos. A quick bite to eat and we were off to see the grandest canyon in all the world.

With our big hike tomorrow, we decided to stroll along the leisurely Grand Canyon Rim Trail and take in all the sightseeing we could handle. Upon first glance, I realized no words could accurately describe what my eyes now gazed out upon. Falling from the rim in majestic shades of red, green, yellow, and even purple opened up what can only be described as the negative-space of the Olympian Mountain Range. Not negative in any way describing the unbelievable beauty, but only in that it is a great canyon opening from the Earth instead of rising above it as a mountain range. The chasm is vast beyond all sense of scale and one can imagine spending a lifetime exploring it, yet only seeing a small fraction of this natural wonder.

We followed the trail, drinking in all of this amazement, to a ranger station. Seeing that a guided tour was about to begin, we decided to wait. Emily, the park ranger, was friendly and extremely knowledgeable of the park’s unique geology. However, no sooner had we begun, than the small procession was buzzed by three gigantic California Condors. If course, everyone being in awe of these endangered birds, the ranger had to talk about their appearance. She explained that 75 of the birds had been released into the park in an effort to begin repopulating the species in the wild. As she continued, the birds, with their 9-foot wingspan, flew nearby as if listening in. Truly amazing. . .

Returning to our campsite, we got a fire going and roasted some brats over it. Not much beats a brat and a beer when you’re camping. Jason pulled out a bottle of whisky he had purchased on the drive down and after a few shots we knew we would remain warm, even with the forecasted twenty degree chill.