Coffee, anyone?

Mmmmm, doesn't it look delicious? Not so much. But a coffee addict's got to do what she's got to do to get her fix. Which is what I did at approximately 5:30 this morning at the base of the Grand Canyon, where I spent the night. I only have my smaller climbing pack with me and there was simply no room for the French press on the trip. Earlier this spring, Thomas found this stuff called Java Juice for just such an occasion. We tried it once to see if it was bearable, with the hope that it would never actually be necessary. It is coffee extract that can be mixed with water when brewing a fresh cup isn't an option. Which is how I found myself drinking coffee extract plus cold water out of a plastic Nalgene at, as Dad would say, 0-Dark-hundred (I think that's military speak for "way too early") this morning. And that's when I realized that I have a problem. There was nothing pleasant about this "cold coffee-like substance out of a plastic water bottle" experience. I was simply choking it down to avoid the adverse consequences of skipping my daily coffee. To buy Java Juice is, I think, to acknowledge that one has a problem. But, I can live with that, and, it did the trick. A small price to pay for all those delicious, steaming cups of good coffee and Americanos. But, back to the Canyon...

I started out yesterday morning from the South Rim of the canyon on the Kaibab Trail. There were cloudy skies and light showers throughout the day, which made the tempature and the hike more pleasant.

Fortunately, the trail was so well-marked that even I could follow it without incident.

The canyon is spectacular and it seemed that I was stopping at every turn in the trail to pull out my camera and attempt to document its beauty (just for you, my dear readers.) After a couple of hours and a descent of several thousand feet, I got my first glimpse of the Colorado River at the base of the Canyon.

And after a couple more hours, and a couple thousand more feet of descent, I arrived at the base. It was hot down there!

But, fortunately, the campground was right beside a lovely creek.

After a pleasant evening, I awoke this morning to clear skies and set out for the rim on the Bright Angel Trail. This was another spectacular walk, and my legs were tired but my heart was happy when I reached the top.

Looking back, I realized that I had come a long way!

Prior to the Grand Canyon, I had an opportunity to visit Cris and Dave, good friends from Atlanta, who now live in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was great to see them and also to experience some of the excellent climbing around Flagstaff. In fact, I was fortunate enough to enjoy a day of trad climbing, a day of bouldering and a day of sport climbing.

Paradise Forks is a basalt crag about 45 minutes west of Flagstaff, the climbing is pure crack climbing on columns reminiscent of those at Devil's Tower (although the rock felt considerably slicker). This place was rad, and I would have loved the opportunity to spend more time there.

The next day we visited Kelly's Canyon for some fun, sandstone bouldering. It was like being back in the South for a day!

Cris on a fun slab problem

And, finally, on Sunday we visited the Peaks for some sport climbing on dacite(?), a type of volcanic rock that was new to me and that I don't know how to spell.

Cris on the fun upper section of a thin 11a

And now, I am headed West to a place that I have wanted to visit for a long, long time...Yosemite National Park! But first, I'm going to finish this Americano...