The Grand Canyon. Neither pictures nor words can do it justice. You have to see it for yourself.
It is just amazing to look at.
That's what lots of people come here to do.
We came here in April 2003 to backpack down into the canyon, camp for a week, then hike back up.
On a good day, the visibility is incredible. You can see for miles.
The canyon at sunset is beautiful. Everything has a reddish glow.
The morning of our hike, we woke to a surprising change in weather!
Hey, where's the canyon!!?
We decided to go anyway. Here we are, all bundled up and still shivering for a group shot before we start our descent. From left to right: Marc, Fran, Christianne, Dave, Sung.
This does not look fun.
We stopped along the way in a shelter for a bite to eat.
As we descended, the weather improved. It turns out that the huge difference in altitude from the top to the base also brings a difference in temperature.
Eventually it was nice enough to switch to more comfortable hiking attire-- and stop to soak in the warmth from the sun.
Here's Fran just before we reached our first campsite. The view at the bottom of the canyon is just as amazing as the top.
Dave & I were big time photographers. We snapped plenty of pics.
We hung out at the beach on the Colorado River.
We saw this group go by on the rapids. It looks pretty fun!
Home sweet home.
More terrific views.
Here's our group during a nice day of hiking around our camp area.
We didn't exactly have the most modern ammenities...
...But at least there was hope. Well maybe not since it was April, which is pushing "early 2003".
Here's a view of the Colorado River.
Sung, Fran & I pose for a picture.
One of the afternoons, a small herd of mule deer came through our campground.
Since we had to pack everything with us including food, this was our typical cuisine: dehydrated dishes that all seemed to end up like a soup or stew. Next time, not so much water.
Our campsite on the last day before our hike back up to the top.
The weather looks promising... sort of. Those clouds were full of lots of rain. We know this because that night it all dumped on us.
Here we are, all ready to start the long hike back up.
Skip ahead 3-4 hours of trudging uphill and here we are again at the top of the canyon-- ready to get cleaned up and have a nice dinner made from real food. From left to right: Dave, Christianne, Marc, Fran. Where's Sung? He got up a 1/2 hour earlier and is having a beer at the bar in the lodge!
