And - it's a go!

The sun is streaming in through our motel room window, and the big flags are flapping listlessly on their poles out front. Much to our relief yesterday's strong winds have abated, and even though it is still -8 it promises to be a beautiful day for hiking. 

When we arrived at the backcountry office yesterday morning a crowd of people was waiting outside already. A good portion of them had big backpacks and walking gear - these were the ones who waited for the shuttle bus to take them to the trailhead. The rest were, like us, hoping for a chance to get a camping spot for the next night. 

The ranger unlocked the doors exactly at eight, and right away the numbers were called up. Number one didn't show up, which left three groups ahead of us, and to our relief we saw that they each consisted of only two people. We were in! With a few instructions from the ranger regarding rules and regulations for the trail and the campgrounds and our back country permit in hand we left the office to return the next morning for our turn on the shuttle bus to the trailhead.

We spent the rest of the day enjoying the Grand Canyon scenery from the rim, listened to a ranger talk on the geology of the Grand Canyon, found a laundromat and had a nap in the afternoon.

The wind, with gusts to 50 miles per hour, made it extremely unpleasant to be anywhere exposed, even though the temperature reached the high teens, but late in the afternoon we went for a short rim walk nonetheless, from the westernmost point the shuttle buses reach, Yaki Point. We hadn't walked very far when Johann suddenly had trouble with his left leg: a calf muscle had cramped up. Should our dream of hiking down be shattered at the last minute after all? 

We broke off the walk and took the shuttle back to the visitor centre, and now, with the help of some liniment, massaging and a good rest, he feels ready to go - and so do I. 

The first part of the South Kaibab trail we will be taking on the way down will be familiar: we hiked down to Cedar Ridge last year, just to try it out. What will it be like to hike with a backpack? What will it be like when we reach the Colorado, a five hour hike we were advised to stretch out longer? And what about the way up, following Bright Angel trail, with an overnight camp at Indian Gardens campground? Soon we will know. The adventure is about to begin!