Anticipation

 

Seven Mile Lodge, 7 am

The sun has been up for about half an hour, and it looks like another beautiful day here in Arizona. We left the desert behind for now to embark on our big adventure, the Grand Canyon hike. 

We arrived here yesterday shortly after noon, checked in to the same hotel as last year in Tusayan, just a few miles south of the gate to Grand Canyon National Park, and soon headed to the Backcountry Office to see if we could get a camping permit. This is the big 'if' on which everything hinges, and we were anxious. We had little hope to get in for Monday, but what about Tuesday? 

The ranger told us that eighteen people could be accommodated on a first-come/first-serve basis for Bright Angel campground at the valley floor for Tuesday. The majority of camp spots have to be booked a year or so in advance. We were a bit too late to be granted a spot automatically, but there is a good chance that we will make it: four other groups are ahead of us, but there is no telling if these groups consist of one, two or six people each.  Let's hope they are small enough for us to slip in.

We will be on our way to the office in a few minutes to be there at eight when it opens. The groups will be called up by rote, and whoever isn't there will lose their spot - that, at least, is something over which we have control.

With luck, we will be packing our bags this afternoon!