Grand Canyon Trail Work

I apologize for the length, but as you can imagine 8 days in the Grand Canyon gives you some material to write about. The first half of this essentially the first day, while the next half is a rundown of a typical day. To go into great detail about each day (which I could easily do) would be far too tedious for the reader I am sure. I have/will post a picture album with captions for even more detail. pictures here

After a hectic first couple days in Flagstaff we finally left early Wednesday, January 6^th for the Grand Canyon, albeit with a few hiccups in the process. We were up at 5am packing and eating and getting ready for the 6am pickup and departure time. Van didn’t show until 6:25. Even after packing up all the stuff the supervisor (who had driven from San Diego late the previous night) had forgotten some essentials at the office so we stopped to pick them up. We also forgot to hook up the trailer lights so we stopped to do that a few minutes later. Then we got a call that we were missing a person (one of the assistant supervisors), but luckily he would be driven on his own and we wouldn’t need to do a u-turn and lose another hour.

Our van pulled into the South Kaibab Trailhead after the 90min drive at which point we unloaded our gear and took our food to the mules who would be packing it down for us. I had been planning on filling up my water bottles at the top of the trail only to find the water shut off because the pipes were frozen which left me with 1.5 liters for the 8 mile hike down to camp. Not ideal. Then when it’s time to hit the trail we realize when we packed our food on the mules we forgot to leave out lunch for that day which meant no food of substance besides a handful for granola bars. Luckily I bought my own supply of trail mix the day before so I was better off than most.

After a short stretch session, which I was to soon learn would be a common occurrence, we finally got on the trail around 10:40; a good deal later than planned. Luckily the weather was nice and we headed down the icy trail. The first couple miles had plenty of snow and ice so we used small crampons to keep from slipping off the edge. Then the trail turned to mud for about a mile where the snow was melting, which was just annoying, but finally the trail dried out close to the halfway point and all was well.

For the majority of us this was the first time we had been to the Grand Canyon so we took our time and enjoyed the views, which of course were superb. After eating lunch at Mormon Flat (many of the features in the Canyon have religious names) we headed deeper into the canyon. About 2 miles from the bottom (around 2:20) we came around a bend to find a woman in serious pain lying on her back in the middle of the trail. It didn’t take long for me to realize what the issue was as her right foot was bent way too far around to the outside in a very unnatural way indicating a broken foot/ankle. Her 3 companions and even she was oblivious to the severity of her predicament. We had passed an emergency phone about 30 min prior so I volunteered to run up and call it in as there was no way she was making it down the last 2 miles. After racing up the trail for about 10 min I came upon a member of the park service trail crew who had a radio; saving me the extra distance to the phone. We hustled back down to the woman and after some debate on the radio they called in for a helicopter. The majority of our group headed down to camp while 4 of us stayed behind to assist. I went down to a small plateau 1/3 mile down the trail to make sure a landing area was clear and keep other hikers away. After what seemed like an eternity (the helicopter flew by numerous times) it landed and the others carried her down on stretcher with bike wheel on the bottom, loaded her up and it flew off. We would later find out the woman had broke her ankle/foot in 3 places.

A quick aside. While they were bringing her down I chatted with the pilot who told me he had just the day before picked up a body out of the canyon (he also proceeded to tell me about all the other dead people he has picked up. He talked about it as if it was like brushing his teeth). On the last day when we got to the rim we found out that the dead body he picked up was from a guy who committed suicide off a cliff called The Abyss (3000 ft straight down).

So, the 4 of us finally made it to camp around 5pm which meant we had gone since 6am with little more than a granola bar and some trail mix and not enough water. We were ready for dinner. We had frittatas which were in no way filling enough so I went to bed with a half full stomach and my alarm set for 5:45 the next morning.

From here on out each day was much like this one with slight changes in menu and work assignments so I will just give a brief run down of a typical day for me. Wake up at 5:45. Stayed in sleeping bag until 6. Put in contacts. Make lunch (which I would learn to do the night before so I could stay in sleeping bag longer). Eat breakfast (often cold cereal and bagel, but if lucky and water boiled quick enough some hot or at least warm oatmeal). Pack bag for the day. Clean up breakfast dishes and head up to the National Park Service(NPS) Trail Crew cabin. We were there by 7 at which point the NPS crew would join us at the makeshift volleyball quart along with the CREC crew (similar to us) and commence our stretching circle. Of course I thought this was quite silly as we were all cold (it was around 40 degrees usually) and just woke up, but it’s part of the pay day so I was down. We would go around the circle and each person had to come up with a stretch. With around 30+ people this took a while and often made for some creative stretches. After stretching the NPS crew leader would go over the plan for the day and hand out the work assignments. On the first day we found out the CREC crew would be working on vegetation control on the North Kaibab so we wouldn’t see them really. Our crew was to be split with the majority working on the lower South Kaibab near camp while 3-5 would go up daily with the NPS crew to work higher up on the S. Kaibab. I was willing to get paid to hike so I volunteered to go up and work with the NPS crew around a section of trail called the Red and Whites which is a steep section of switch backs about halfway up the canyon where there are red and white rocks if you can believe it. So after out work assignments we all departed for our project sites filling up our water bottles or bladders as we left. To get to the Red and Whites takes about 60-65 min from camp if you are moving, or taking your time 70-75 min. I tried to go quick everyday so I could have a longer break while I waited for people. After a 10 min break and quick safety talk the work assignments were further divided up.

One day I did cyclic maintenance (clearing fist size rocks or larger from the trail like the one the lady broke her ankle on, cleaning out/constructing water bars, making check dams, filling in erosion ditches and hammering in rebar).

A couple days I ran up and down steep talus slopes gather large stones for rip-rap that the NPS masons were doing. Rip-rap is essential heavy duty cobble stones on steep slopes that can take the pounding of the mules and resist erosion better.

One day I worked even further up using a rock crusher that the park had recently purchased for $10,000 and flown in via helicopter. Most on the trail crew were skeptical about it as its use is limited to flat areas and there are very few of those on the trail. It is also very temperamental, requiring constant attention. Full service is required on it after each 10 hours. So about every 2 days.

The work day consists of a two 15min breaks (not including the break after the hike) and a 30 min lunch break. Lunch breaks were awesome as it gave you a chance to chat with the NPS guys who had been all over the world and had a wealth of knowledge while enjoying the beautiful scenery. We would end work each day at a time that would allow us to hike back down to camp by and not before 4:30 (when the work day ended). It was not a bad way to close out each day by hiking down the canyon for an hour watching the sun set, although the legs do take a toll from the 2500 feet elevation drop.

Once the sun goes down the temperature drops very fast and the lower work site by camp usually didn’t get any sun which made that work site quite cold. The section of the red and white was always in the sun meaning you could work in a t-shirt if there were no clouds even if it was 40 degrees up there. But once the wind kicked up (and it often would) you could get cold very quick. Overall it was quite a challenge managing your body temperature. One minute you could be overheated and dripping sweat and the next a cold wind would rip through you turning your sweat to ice water. We got no rain the whole time, even though I could see thunderheads looming on the canyon rim at times.

After the first dinner I never went to bed hungry again as the food was good for the most part (the last night was a tuna stir fry which I had to cook. I used 3 onions, and tons of teriyaki sauce to mask the taste, but it was still not very enjoyable. I did eat a lot though). We would be done with dinner usually by 6 and I would find my way to my tent shortly thereafter ensuring a good rest.

So yeah, each day pretty much followed the same pattern. The 8 days quickly came to a close and it was cool to see how well everyone got along and how quickly you got to know people being forced to camp and work at the bottom of the Grand Canyon with them for 8 days. The last night we played a volleyball game with the NPS crew with the aid of headlamps.

We took a different trail on the way up for a change of scenery. I enjoyed this very much as I had gotten to know the S. Kaibab very well over the 8 days. We took the Bright Angel Trail which is longer and many assumed less steep, but not really. It was actually the idea of Sabine(German girl who just became legal(citizen that is)) who convinced everyone it was easier although she new otherwise. She just likes to hike. The first two miles actually just meander down the river meaning we have to climb up even higher on the way out. It is much more shaded too which meant the last 4 miles which are the steepest were also very snowy and icy.

But still as we had no people with broken ankles to rescue it took less time than on the way down. Overall, the trip was a huge success. Each day hikers would stop to talk with us and thank us for what we were doing, which made our job that much easier. After 4 months in the restaurant business this was a welcome relief and I look forward to our next trip. For now I am going to enjoy the falling snow and some good food.