In August and September 1972, my friend Bruce and I went on a two-week cross country trip from Cleveland to the west coast and back. We traveled by thumb, which is to say that we hitchhiked our way one ride at a time. Click HERE to read a short introduction about our fantastic journey.
We traveled from Cleveland to Williams Arizona in the first couple of days of our trip. Click HERE to read that story. This story begins where that one ended - on the side of the road in Williams, Arizona.
We traveled from Cleveland to Williams Arizona in the first couple of days of our trip. Click HERE to read that story. This story begins where that one ended - on the side of the road in Williams, Arizona.
It's A Small World
Here, by the side of the road in Williams, a remarkable thing happened. Bruce and I were thumbing a ride north on AZ-64, which is the road north to the Grand Canyon. A car stopped. Four guys got out. Our ride to the Grand Canyon (we hoped!)? No, as these guys were heading to California. But – and here’s the remarkable thing – these guys were friends of Bruce, and they happened to be driving across the country and were here at this very spot when we were. The Sherman Brothers (and Walt Disney) were right: It's a small world after all!
Bruce's friends drove on to California, and we again stuck out our thumbs. Fortunately, we didn’t wait long for a ride. A VW bus stopped (this image is from the internet), and inside were two young couples on their way to the Grand Canyon. They had the same plans we did – hike into the canyon, spend the night, and hike out the next day – and so they offered us a ride in to and out of Grand Canyon National Park. Perfect! We stowed our gear in the bus and off we went, reaching Grand Canyon Village about an hour later.
Here, by the side of the road in Williams, a remarkable thing happened. Bruce and I were thumbing a ride north on AZ-64, which is the road north to the Grand Canyon. A car stopped. Four guys got out. Our ride to the Grand Canyon (we hoped!)? No, as these guys were heading to California. But – and here’s the remarkable thing – these guys were friends of Bruce, and they happened to be driving across the country and were here at this very spot when we were. The Sherman Brothers (and Walt Disney) were right: It's a small world after all!
Bruce's friends drove on to California, and we again stuck out our thumbs. Fortunately, we didn’t wait long for a ride. A VW bus stopped (this image is from the internet), and inside were two young couples on their way to the Grand Canyon. They had the same plans we did – hike into the canyon, spend the night, and hike out the next day – and so they offered us a ride in to and out of Grand Canyon National Park. Perfect! We stowed our gear in the bus and off we went, reaching Grand Canyon Village about an hour later.
Down, Down, Down (Then Up, Up, Up!)
As a group, we decided to hike South Kaibab Trail down and Bright Angel Trail up. Bruce and I took only what we needed – our sleeping bag and a change of socks, leaving the rest of our stuff in the bus. We got a ride to the trailhead (it might have been on a shuttle bus) just south of Yaki Point. The trail started with a series of tight switchbacks, and then followed a ridgeline to more switchbacks – the switchbacks made the South Kaibab Trail a shorter route to the bottom, but also a more challenging hike (at least, more challenging for Bruce and me).
A lot of people who took photos in 1972 used a Kodak Instamatic – Kodak sold more than 50 million of these cameras between 1963 and 1970. You popped in a film cartridge, usually 12 or 24 exposures as I recall, snapped your pics, gave your cartridge to a drug store to develop, and crossed your fingers that the photos you took were worth keeping! I took my Instamatic with me, and based on the number of photos I have of our trip (15), I’d guess that I took either two 12-exposure rolls or one 24-exposure roll. I took the two photos that follow on our way down the Kaibab. The quality of the photos today isn’t great – mostly the aging process of Instamatic photos from the 70s.
As a group, we decided to hike South Kaibab Trail down and Bright Angel Trail up. Bruce and I took only what we needed – our sleeping bag and a change of socks, leaving the rest of our stuff in the bus. We got a ride to the trailhead (it might have been on a shuttle bus) just south of Yaki Point. The trail started with a series of tight switchbacks, and then followed a ridgeline to more switchbacks – the switchbacks made the South Kaibab Trail a shorter route to the bottom, but also a more challenging hike (at least, more challenging for Bruce and me).
A lot of people who took photos in 1972 used a Kodak Instamatic – Kodak sold more than 50 million of these cameras between 1963 and 1970. You popped in a film cartridge, usually 12 or 24 exposures as I recall, snapped your pics, gave your cartridge to a drug store to develop, and crossed your fingers that the photos you took were worth keeping! I took my Instamatic with me, and based on the number of photos I have of our trip (15), I’d guess that I took either two 12-exposure rolls or one 24-exposure roll. I took the two photos that follow on our way down the Kaibab. The quality of the photos today isn’t great – mostly the aging process of Instamatic photos from the 70s.
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Here’s a piece of trivia about the South Kaibab Trail: It was built in the 1920s to give hikers an alternative to the Bright Angel Trail. Why? Because Bright Angel was privately owned, and the owner charged hikers a toll to use it.
Bruce and I, though fit, were not experienced hikers, and so it took us a few hours to reach Pipe Creek, where we spent the night. There were several points along the trail that offered great views of the canyon, but to be honest, I don’t have any specific recollections...nor do I have photos (possibly some of the nine photos that weren't good enough to keep!). I do, however, remember our time at Pipe Creek.
Our feet were sore, as we wore hiking-style boots rather than true hiking boots. When we reached Pipe Creek, we quickly shed our boots and put our feet into the cold water; it helped ease the pain. Pretty soon, I felt something tickling my toes, and when I investigated, I saw very small fish nibbling at my feet! It was a strange feeling, to be sure, but what they were doing was removing the dead skin around the blisters that had begun to form. Nibble away, little fishes! We slept near the creek that night, staring up at a clear, star-filled sky. And with no light pollution to wash out the night sky, Bruce and I saw more stars than we had ever seen. It was truly an amazing view!
We slept comfortably and woke early. After a bit of breakfast, we made our way to the Bright Angel Trail with the two couples. This trail was less steep than Kaibab, but since the elevation change was the same, the trail was much longer at a little over nine miles. "No problem," Bruce and I thought as we started up the trail. "We can handle this." Well, let me be frank – we couldn’t handle it. Yes, eventually we reached the top of the trail, but this proved more difficult for us than we thought it would be.
We kept up with the couples over the first half of the trail, but then our energy began to flag, our feet started to hurt, and quickly the couples pulled ahead of us. And the farther we hiked, the further back we were. Soon we lost sight of the couples. Close to the top of the trail, Bruce and I managed short distances before we had to stop and rest – a half mile, rest, a quarter mile, rest, an eighth of a mile, rest, and so on, literally walking no more than a hundred yards at a time as we neared the top before we had to rest again! Here's a photo of me somewhere on Bright Angel Trail. Looks like I am still energetic at this point in the hike. Those people on mules? I think that they had the right idea!
Bruce and I, though fit, were not experienced hikers, and so it took us a few hours to reach Pipe Creek, where we spent the night. There were several points along the trail that offered great views of the canyon, but to be honest, I don’t have any specific recollections...nor do I have photos (possibly some of the nine photos that weren't good enough to keep!). I do, however, remember our time at Pipe Creek.
Our feet were sore, as we wore hiking-style boots rather than true hiking boots. When we reached Pipe Creek, we quickly shed our boots and put our feet into the cold water; it helped ease the pain. Pretty soon, I felt something tickling my toes, and when I investigated, I saw very small fish nibbling at my feet! It was a strange feeling, to be sure, but what they were doing was removing the dead skin around the blisters that had begun to form. Nibble away, little fishes! We slept near the creek that night, staring up at a clear, star-filled sky. And with no light pollution to wash out the night sky, Bruce and I saw more stars than we had ever seen. It was truly an amazing view!
We slept comfortably and woke early. After a bit of breakfast, we made our way to the Bright Angel Trail with the two couples. This trail was less steep than Kaibab, but since the elevation change was the same, the trail was much longer at a little over nine miles. "No problem," Bruce and I thought as we started up the trail. "We can handle this." Well, let me be frank – we couldn’t handle it. Yes, eventually we reached the top of the trail, but this proved more difficult for us than we thought it would be.
We kept up with the couples over the first half of the trail, but then our energy began to flag, our feet started to hurt, and quickly the couples pulled ahead of us. And the farther we hiked, the further back we were. Soon we lost sight of the couples. Close to the top of the trail, Bruce and I managed short distances before we had to stop and rest – a half mile, rest, a quarter mile, rest, an eighth of a mile, rest, and so on, literally walking no more than a hundred yards at a time as we neared the top before we had to rest again! Here's a photo of me somewhere on Bright Angel Trail. Looks like I am still energetic at this point in the hike. Those people on mules? I think that they had the right idea!
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When Bruce and I reached the top, we walked to the spot where the VW bus was. "Was" being the operative word, because IT WASN'T THERE! Panic set in, as most of our stuff was on the bus. We walked around in a daze trying to figure out what we would do, as we didn't have enough gear to continue our journey.
And then we saw the bus coming towards us. The couples told us they had gone to the general store to buy some food, as they climbed the trail faster and figured they would be back before we reached the top. Well, their estimate was off by 15 minutes or so, but there they were, and they even had something for us to eat! So all’s well that ended well. We used the public shower, and then drove away from the canyon, with a couple more good stories to take home with us!
And then we saw the bus coming towards us. The couples told us they had gone to the general store to buy some food, as they climbed the trail faster and figured they would be back before we reached the top. Well, their estimate was off by 15 minutes or so, but there they were, and they even had something for us to eat! So all’s well that ended well. We used the public shower, and then drove away from the canyon, with a couple more good stories to take home with us!