The Grand Canyon (warning: longest post ever)

Thursday morning after my mom got to our house (my parents stayed with Bree while we were gone), Matt's mom, dad, and brother came and picked us up. Of course it's never easy to leave Aubrey for an extended period of time...but it's a lot easier leaving her with my parents.

This is Matt's older brother, Jeff. He lives in Germany, and decided to join us at the last minute...and it was great to have him along!
I love this picture of Matt's cute parents reading the new Dan Brown book together while Matt was driving. They are such fun people to travel with, and we can't thank them enough for all that they did for us during this trip!
This is a cute little cabin we stayed in on the north rim, the night before the hike. We found out the next morning that we had some furry little friends in there with us, and they liked our trail mix.
We got the the North rim about 30 minutes before the sun set, and even though I had been there before, I had never seen this view of the canyon before. If you have never been to the Grand Canyon, you must go. Words or pictures just cannot do it justice. I must say that looking out across this view made me REALLY nervous for the hike the next day



So the next morning we got up nice and early, had a quick breakfast, and headed to the North Kaibab trail head. We started at 6:30...and it was cold.
We only had to hike with our head lamps for about 20 or 30 minutes. Once the sun came out it started warming up and we were able to enjoy the gorgeous scenery around us. It was breathtaking.
So this is where things start getting interesting. After about 5 miles we reach the first rest spot called the artist cabin. I sat down and started to realize that my feet were hurting quite a bit. More than they should after only five miles. I took my shoes and socks off, emptied all the sand out, and inspected. I didn't see any blisters at that time, but they hurt a lot. I figured that since we were done with most of the down hill, that my toes would get some relief and feel better soon. I was wrong.
So after that we were headed to Ribbon Falls. It is a little detour from the trail that takes you to a really beautiful area of the canyon. But before we got there I had to stop again because my feet were killing me. We took my shoes and socks off again and this time my toes were covered with blisters! I was SO frustrated. Endurance wise I was doing great. My legs weren't tired, I wasn't breathing hard, but my dang feet were burning with every step I took. I was especially mad since these were the shoes that I had been hiking and running in all summer. I just couldn't figure out why I was getting so many blisters!
Thankfully we were well stocked with Mole Skin, so we bandaged up my feet and decided to skip Ribbon Falls. We knew that if we were going to get out of the canyon at a decent time we had to just stay on the trail and push through. Our next stop was Phantom Ranch.
This was the hardest part of the hike for me. I was mad at my stupid feet. I cried, I prayed, I hobbled, I ran out of water, and by the time we got to Phantom Ranch and met up with Matt's dad and brother (who had gone ahead of us) I was basically limping.
Phantom Ranch was nice because there is actually a little indoor shop with drinks, tables, and chairs...plus a bathroom with plumbing! We ate lunch and convinced Matt's dad and Jeff to keep going ahead of us. After lunch I was feeling really sick to my stomach and actually thought I was going to be sick, but thankfully that passed. I fixed up my feet again, took the pads out of my shoes to allow a little more room, took four Advil and headed out.

Shortly after we left Phantom Ranch we crossed the Colorado river. It was so beautiful! (I posted a picture, but it accidentally just got deleted and I don't want to bother with finding it again). Right after that we started walking uphill more, and that felt SO good on my feet. That's when I got my second wind. I put on my headphones (which helped me stay out of my head and away from negative thoughts) and we booked it. It was the best feeling! We made really good time then.
Our next rest spot was a place called Indian Garden. But before we got there we stopped and put our feet in the river. I can't tell you how good it felt. The water was so cold that is basically numbed my feet a made the pain go away. But between there and Indian Garden I hit another wall, and it was pretty slow going to a while.
Matt, bless his patient heart, was so amazing. I was really struggling with the pain in my feet at this point, and I really thought I wouldn't make it out of the canyon. But he stopped me mid step, grabbed me by the shoulders and turned me around. Then he pointed in the distance and said "Look. Look at how far you've gone! You did that, and you did it with messed up feet! You are awesome!" I looked and I could not believe it. I sobbed like a little baby and asked Matt to take a picture of the view from where we had come from.
We made it to Indian Garden...the final resting place. Matt was forcing me to eat to I could have enough energy for the last five miles, but I was so tired of GU, and beef jerky, and power bars that I wanted to barf. I would take a bite and when he wasn't looking I would spit it out:) He was just trying so hard to take care of me, but I really couldn't stomach anymore food at the time.

So from Indian Garden we only had five miles left. But, because we were coming up out of the canyon they were the hardest miles of the whole hike. It was nothing but switchbacks. But I had another second wind, and we made really good time until we got to the 3 mile marker. Just after we passed the 3 mile marker one of my blisters popped, and I am not lying when I say that it hurt like hell. But I didn't dare stop and take my shoe off. It was already starting to get dark so we just kept going.
Matt's dad and brother had gotten out of the canyon a few hours ahead of us, but we had two-way radios so we were still in contact with them. When we were getting close to the top Jeff actually came back down and met us and walked the rest of the way out with us. It was really nice because he was able to tell us exactly how much farther we had to go...so it was really motivating. Just before we got there we came upon a sign that said something to the effect of "Warning: Never attempt to hike the canyon from rim to rim in one day, as it can result in serious injury or death." Ha!
So, we finally made it out and were greeted with cheers and big hugs from Matt's parents. It was a really awesome feeling! We went straight to the cafeteria and got dinner, and I don't think I've ever eaten that fast in my life. I also don't think I've had as good of a shower or as good of a nights sleep in my life.

This picture was taken the next morning from the south rim. Pretty cool, eh?

If I'm being honest, I will say that hiking the grand canyon from rim to rim was one of the most horrible experiences of my life. But I can easily say that is was also one of the most AMAZING experiences of my life, and I am so glad I did it! Physically, it was the hardest thing I've ever done. But I learned so much about myself along the way, that I couldn't even begin to write it all down. Things about my will, my strength, my determination...even about my testimony of Jesus Christ. Not to mention that my love for Matt was multiplied by a thousand in one day. And in a few days when all the blisters and soreness are gone...I will still have all of that with me.