Why you should “Take a Hike” - Camaraderie, Mindfulness, & Humility

A journal of my experience with one of the grand showcases of natural formations. Appreciate the opportunity in front of you; Experience the emotions & challenges; Co-operate, learn & overcome;

Over a quarter century after my enchanting experience with a trek along the Western-Ghats of India, in what is considered a beautiful stretch of rainforest along the treacherous river Kali, a conversation about hiking the trails of Grand Canyon emerged amongst a few friends. No amount of imagination and photographs like the one below can do better than experiencing this view in person.

Reminiscing my passion and interest, I agreed to this idea and also realized that we are going to be on the last stretch of our Hike on Mothers Day.

Fortunately for me, my lovely daughter & Wife have been supportive about finding and pursuing my interests and was a non-conversation.

Here are a few memories from Dandeli to Karwar Trek. The idea originated from a map that state power corporation had published about building multiple dams across the Kali River and as a result will submerge a significant portion of the beautiful rainforests. The picture on the left is a google map view of the Kali River trek with an embedded picture of the Kali River from Sykes Point, Ambikanagar

Four months later we were packing at the Mather campground on the South Rim. We were fully prepared for the tough South Kaibab Trail by distributing the weight, carrying the right amount of food for 4 days and also enough water for the trail or that was our perception. The preparation while helped us with the bags did not prepare us for how we were going to experience and perform on the trail.

We had spent some time prior to the trip, most of it in the last two weeks leading up to the Hike that included shopping at Sporting goods stores and Grocery Chain stores. We even had the same Hiking Boots; on second thoughts they should have sponsored our trip. We did not spend time understanding the history and the science, will speak for myself here. I have over the years cultivated a habit of reading about the places that I visit in order to help me appreciate it. Not having read much, made it even more of an interesting experience resulting from an elusive set of expectations.

Most of our communications prior to trip was on a WhatsApp group and “Down the Ditch”, was the name that eventually became part of a logo. We did have a lot of fun and the best part was our attitude towards this hike to deal with adversity. We kept telling each other, it is “A walk in the Park” which did became a tagline for our T-Shirt.

Our plan was to get to Bright Angel Campground via South Kaibab Trail on Day 1, Camp at the Bright Angel Campground, Hike to Ribbon Falls and back on North Kaibab Trail on Day 2, Climb up via Bright Angel Trail to Indian Garden Campground and visit the Plateau point on Day 3 and back to the Bright Angel Trailhead from Indian Garden campground on Day 4.

We flew into Las Vegas and drove to the South Rim. Along the way we stopped for a grand meal with the anticipation of not being able to do that for next four days. Beer or Margarita we were contemplating with the wait staff, well they actually have a drink called Beerita, said one of us. Yes, go figure, I had never heard of that before and we all got our drinks to celebrate our journey for the next few days.

“Just absorbing it” or “Taking it in” - Appreciate the Nature

Standing on the South Rim, and viewing the Grandeur of the Canyons does not do justice to appreciating the beauty.

This seven mile South Kaibab trail does not have any water available and can be stressful on your knees if you are not reasonably fit. Each of us came away from this trek experiencing, realizing and appreciating various aspects of our own capabilities / limitations and life in general.

Twenty minutes into our trail, we stopped to appreciate the panoramic view. The description of the scenic view stop “Ooh aah” point could clue you into what to expect, it is not the same as viewing from the South Rim. Staring at the Canyons trying to absorb the panorama, the view of the Plateau, the cracks of inner gorge, the distant North Rim, geological layers and parts of the trail itself that speaks to human desire to explore, I was left speechless.

Most of the time we were all very quiet on the trail, which amplified the deafening silence of the Canyons and every time we stopped to talk about it, one of us said “just absorbing it” or “taking it in”. The four days left us with so much to appreciate. It is easy to become disoriented on a trail especially if you look back and start thinking about, is that where we where started. Looking back at the view of the Canyon walls and the bands that are massive keeps ringing the insignificance of us in the midst of nature. We generally tend to appreciate the panorama more, the large wall views are also beautiful, but can be scary and intimidating leaving us to imagine the harshness of nature.

More than two hours later we were at Cedar Ridge. As we got closer to the Plateau the distance perception started to play trickery on us. Everything is so close and makes you think that we are almost there, but will probably take forever to get there. The longer you have been on the trail, the more likely this is the case. The weather was perfect and we were moving at a good pace until the Tipoff point. We stopped to enjoy the stunning view of the Colorado River and the Silver Bridge. The beautiful inner gorges were visible in this part of the trail. We sighted a pack of Eagles flying, Cruised along the trail, slowly but surely. So near, yet so far to the campground more so when you know that you are running out of water, a clear gold when you have been dehydrated from previous night mea culpa with liquor gods.

On our way from the Tip Off point, climbing down the winding trail, focused on getting to the campground and getting some water, we started to get a glimpse of the Black Bridge.

We had great views of the Bright Angel Campground and Phantom Ranch. As we got closer to the Black Bridge and crossed the river, Colorado looked calm and welcoming on the upstream and

with some visibility of rapids on the downstream reminding us of how flowing water can be a powerful force cutting and navigating through the hardest of the rocks. The most surprising experience was, that every step along South Kaibab Trail kept us in awe both from both grandeur and the smallest of nuances in the Canyons.

As we walked along the Colorado River to Bright Angle Campground we were already reminiscing our six plus mile hike on South Kaibab Trail. Experiencing the paradox of feelings, lonely & insignificant in the vastness of the Canyons, along with longstanding relationship bond between the Canyons and Humans, pushed all of us over the edge of being high and left us with a desire to be addicted.

“Oasis in the Desert” – More than one

The Bright Angel campground is along the Bright Angel stream with trees on either side of the stream akin to Oasis in the desert.

A fabulous scenic view of the stream from the campground along with access made it for a relaxed evening and night after a mule like hike on South Kaibab with approximately 40 pounds of weight. The water was cold and brisk. Walking down to the stream and letting the water treat my ankles and knee was like an icepack treatment.

As the dusk set in, the dark skies above you with massive inner gorge walls all around gave us an illusion of a dome for star gazing in night skies, with Great Bear being the easiest of the constellation to recognize. A good night sleep was easy to come by after a long day, a Grand Canyon Beer at the Phantom Ranch and being in a relaxed environment, sure my friends would beg to differ pointing to me as the culprit (An inside joke).

We were aware that our next hike to Ribbon falls would not be as demanding. Day 2, we set out on the North Kaibab Trail along side the Bright Angel upstream and were in for a treat. The contrasting colors of the mighty Inner gorge formations and the deep blue skies, trail alongside the stream continued to mesmerize us with endless views of the Canyons that one could not imagine from the viewpoints on the Rim. This time around we felt less intimidation and appreciated the beauty more than we did on South Kaibab Trail

We did see a lot of runners training on this trail. More than 60% of the time we hiked inside the massive inner gorge. Once we got out of the inner gorge to more of an open view of the canyons, we did appreciate the walk inside the gorge even more. As we got closer to Ribbon Falls, we chose the longer route over the bridge to Ribbon Falls. The access to Ribbon Falls as we got closer was unlike the rest of trail we had been. The falls was located in a very obscure place and would have preferred to call it the Water wafer instead of falls. The falls has two levels, the first part is when the water from the stream drops and in the second part flows like a thinly veiled sheer on an algae like dome. As we enjoyed the falls we rested for an hour before we started back to Bright Angel campground. The trail required us to cross the stream about 5 times, fortunately on bridges built for humans and mules.

Day 3, as we packed to leave Bright Angel campground, we did experience a little bit of rain and boy were we underprepared for this. Luck would have it on our side and we were able to get to Indian Garden Campground without much trouble. The latter half of the hike from Bright Angel campground to Indian Garden campground has a steep climb. As we walked by the Horse stable and on the Sliver Bridge we wanted to take our time to absorb the beauty of Colorado River. While the river under the black bridge, half a mile upstream looked unnervingly calm, the rapids under the silver bridge reminded you of the hazards of crossing this river without a bridge. Looking back at the Colorado River as we hiked, we saw the Silver Bridge fading away in the view. Every frame our eyes met along this trail was a picture perfect moment to remember. It is extremely rewarding to be able to see Colorado River in the Canyons up close.

Almost everyone we had spoken to have this to say about the Bright Angel Trail compared to South Kaibab Trail. “Well, it is relatively easier compared to South Kaibab Trail”. If you were carrying 35-40 pounds, probably would feel different about it. As we got off the river trail and started our ascent to Indian Garden campground, the hike certainly got arduous, yet turned out to be one of the better days for the team. The view along the Bright Angel trail treats you with a multitude of geological formations along the way. As we got closer to Indian garden campground, the vegetation was very unique compared to what we had observed until then.

This becomes even more obvious as you make your way to the trailhead. Tired we were, but had enough time to rest and enjoy the campground and make a trip to Plateau Point and back about 2 miles from the campground. It was going to rain and we were debating about doing this not for fear, but for lack of preparation to deal with rain. We did go to the plateau point and the view of the Colorado River cutting through the Canyons, the depth of the Inner gorge with the Panoramic view of the canyons in the background must have triggered the most effective dopamine. Nothing has been more awe-inspiring than this view. A very fulfilling experience, and no words can make up that feeling, a few ways to describe would include Magnificent, Stunning, Beautiful, and Breathtaking. We retired for the evening with a feast and preparing ourselves for the final ascent to the trailhead the following day.

The Bright angel stream & the campground, the ribbon falls, the Indian garden campground, the views from the plateau point could all be the jewels in a grand crown, the canyons. Every one of those picture perfect frames is etched in our memory, a reward for which we will go through the pain all over again.

“ Mind over Body” - No Choice but to go forward

Once again the weather played well for most of our last stretch. We got off to a reasonably early start from Indian Garden campground to the Bright angel trailhead. 4.5 Miles and 3000 Feet seemed all too easy on the board. The view of South Rim from the Indian garden campground should clue you in to what is expected to get through the last stretch. Estimating what it takes to get to the trail head was difficult. It started out easy and we took our own time to hike this trail. It was not just the difficulty that stretched the time, but our desire to enjoy the moment by looking back and enjoying the view of the panoramic view of the canyons, close up view of the layers / formations along the trail also contributed to a longer hike.

We were able to spot the Indian garden campground, a lush green spot in the midst of the canyons for most of hike on the last day whenever we stopped to look back. Parts of the trail were visible and looking back gave us a sense of progress,

while looking ahead at the wall in front of us reminded us about the challenges ahead of us. About half way on the trail we had first signs of cell phone signal, indicating sign of life and we were getting closer to the Rim.

Couple of passing showers and a four-hour ordeal got us to the trailhead tired and hungry. The last stretch was very demanding, yet the anticipation of us getting to the Rim is likely what kept us sane during this trek. There were times we were dragging our feet and stopping every 10 minutes. What would we do if we are not able to go any further, maybe we open an ashram? We had not lost our excitement and light heartedness through this demanding stretch.

A few things crossed our mind: “I am not sure this is easier”, “Very few people are carrying the weight we had with us”, and “It is taking much longer than we originally planned for” . The only thing that made it possible for us, is to reset our state of mind every time we had to stop and believe in our ability to complete. The wider the canyon looked every time we stopped and turned around to take in the view, the closer we felt we were to the Rim. We made it in time to have a feast and on to Vegas for our flight.

On the first day, we had underestimated the amount of water we would need for the South Kaibab trail. The dehydration from the previous days routine had taken a toll one of our team members. Couple of us had conserved just enough water to encourage him to go along with us. That only got him for some time. He almost stopped and said it may be better for one of you to go down and get water with a lot of hesitation.

We dragged ourselves at the slowest possible pace. It got to a point, where we were concerned about reaching the camp site before Dusk. We had to split up into two teams. Two of the team members forged ahead and planned to drop the bags and get water back, while the two of us walked slowly with words of encouragement. We paced ourselves evenly with rest and had covered some ground. Finally one of the members from the team came back with water. The rest of the hike was not bad and we made it safely to the Bright Angel Campground.

When we first ran into this issue, we all wanted to stay together and celebrate our success together. Soon we realized safety was more important than us being together. We responded better to scenarios by splitting the team anytime we ran into an issue.

Early in the trek, I overheard one of the rangers explaining to a group of casual hikers, it is important to remember, either focus on the trail when you are hiking or stop and focus on the view. Don’t try to do both at the same time. Simple but an important aspect we realized as we hiked down on Day 1. You have to focus on the trail while walking down and stop when you want to enjoy the view. I guess it worked out for us having to slow down for a different reason, but opportunistically enjoyed every picture perfect frame.

Another cliché, no pain no gain is something one would think about when hiking through trails. Every step is rewarded with a view that you can neither imagine nor experience any other way. We are certainly not thinking about the pain after the trek. Our remembering-self, as Daniel Kahneman, would categorize takes away all the pain and etches in our memory the rewarding parts of the experience.

So, true to that we are already thinking about our next stop. Mt. Kilimanjaro, any one cares to join?