Day 4: Long Day Out . . . Did I say long?

We get up at 5:30. The sunrise was watched while the gear was packed and we were on the trail just before 7:00. A back-track to a cairn that did not immediately lead to another. A great start, but we do find another, and another. I lead today, as it's time for Doug to get a chance to relax a bit.

As the description we read (afterward) said, we now encounter perhaps the most interesting section of the Escalante Route - a steep rock outcropping which we have to climb--50 feet up and over. Again I spot Doug, as he climbs the initial difficult section of some 25 feet. He then pulls the packs up and, finally belays Wes, then me. We proceed slowly, to insure no cairns are missed as we ascend the steep slope.

Finally we reach a small break and exit onto flat ground, only to encounter a steep, talus, rockslide that we have to descend. The rocks are very loose, so we space out to insure no avalanching on the one below. At the base of the slide, some 20 minutes later, we watch a big horn ram bound up the same general area we had come down, in 20 seconds.

Finally we reach the Red Canyon and Hance Rapids at just before 10:00. We now have been on the trail for three hours, to reach the site where we had planned to stay last night. Since our families are expecting us to be out tonight, we push on. It is only 8 more miles and some 4300 feet. No big deal???

So off we go, strongly for the first 3 miles or so, up the Red Canyon drainage.

Then the trail becomes more rugged and steep. The day wears on. The Redwall is reached around 1:00 pm and we're through it shortly after 2:00. This section is like a corkscrew and so precarious, if we would miss a step, we would loose 4 or 5 feet of forward motion in the loose rock. The effort of the day begins now to slow our steps.

The ascent to the final push is longer than we had thought. Although we only have a little over 2000 feet to gain, we are now following a major drainage on the east flank of Coronado Butte. The trail is a mess of rubble and scree.

It crosses and re-crosses the drainage many times, staying high sometimes, then dropping low. Elevation is gained, then lost. Cairns are not always found and false starts are made, requiring back-tracking. It is now 4:30 pm and we still have 2000 vertical feet to gain. Our upward push varies from 1000 feet per hour to sometimes only 500 feet per hour.

We now know we will not reach the rim until well after dark. But we have headlamps and, hopefully, we will be in snow, where trail finding will not compound the difficulty of this final section. The day slowly turns to dusk. On we go. Dusk turns quickly to dark. I begin to get freaky, after too many hours out in front, so Doug takes over. Shortly, we reach the deeper snow and trail finding is now not a problem. But the trail is still steep, with difficult step-ups. 6:00 pm soon passes and now we only have 500 feet to go.

With energy levels at an all-time low, and stops more frequent, we hear a voice. "How are you doing?" Michael Nash, a wilderness ranger, has hiked down to check on us. It is now 6:30. He indicates that we are now only 20 minutes from the rim and my watch indicates about 400 vertical feet. His timing is perfect. Doug and I had finally managed to find the breaking point of Wes's energy (we still wonder at his internal strength to make it this far). We would probably have stashed his pack and returned tomorrow to get it. Michael immediately volunteers to carry it up. With his good spirit, humor and energy, we finally make the rim at 7:00 pm, some 12 hours and 4,930 vertical feet after we had started this marathon.

Michael was there to check on the Oklahoma group. He had been in a class most of the day and, since he had been the one to say they could make it, he was double-checking. He had just found out that they had already made it out 2 hours before us when he heard our voices. Another lucky break in this crazy place for us. And he was willing to drive us the mile to our car. I did not have to make the trip--I had volunteered to put on my running shoes and just run over there for the exercise. Ha!

We say our good-byes and thank-yous to Michael. He takes down my name, permit number for a follow-up report. The beer in the cooler was cold enough for Doug and I. Did it taste good or what.?

We drive to Lipan Point to get Doug's car. Then to Desert View to call families. They are relieved. We now head back to Grand Canyon Village and select a campsite at Mather Campground. Then it's on to the cafeteria for a hot meal. Due to the lateness of the hour, we decide to sleep dirty one more night. It is cold, but no snow. Wes sleeps in the car, for his sleeping bag will not keep the cold away. Some last minute notes, a poem read, thoughts of the last few days and, then, sleep.