6 October, 2015 Tuesday
We are up at 5:30 am to allow time for Pancake Trio at El Tovar restaurant. Three
different types of pancakes are served: buttermilk, buckwheat, and cornmeal, along with honey-pinenut butter and both prickly pear and maple
syrup. Breakfast is delicious. I head back to our room to finish packing
while O gets the check. We arrive at the Community Center only 5
minutes late for our orientation.
Jack Pennington, our fearless trip leader from the Grand Canyon Association, begins his introduction to our hike with a relief map of the US,
outlining the Colorado Plateau, the basin and range area, the Rockies
and the major rivers in the West. Next he rolls out a map of just the
Colorado Plateau, followed by a topo map of the entire Grand Canyon. To give us a
sense of scale, he demonstrates that he can cover the entire area we
will be hiking with his thumb. This canyon is vast!
We have time to get a bite for lunch and then we pile into the van and leave
for our 200 plus mile drive from South Rim Village to the North Rim. It rains on and
off as we drive. We are delayed for awhile because today and tomorrow are the
two days for safety inspection for all commercial transport vehicles.
There is a long wait in the line, but the inspectors finally take pity on us and
tell the van driver he can go on his way and come back tomorrow for
inspection.
We arrive at the North Rim around 5 PM, set up our tents and cook
dinner. O has some trouble lighting our stove. He has never before had to use our torch at over 8000 feet elevation. Many of us find our packs are soaked after their ride in the trailer on the way over. I am very happy that I decided to take my pack liner after all. I had been considering leaving it behind to save weight. My clothes and our
sleeping system are nice and dry, which is very good because it is a
cold and rainy night.
After dinner we walk to the Canyon’s rim to watch the setting sun. Back at camp,
Jack starts a warm fire. We’ll soon be off to bed to rest up for our 7 mile descent tomorrow.