2025 Grand Canyon Thunder River: The Final Roar

Friends - Thank you for coming along with me on this hike in the Grand Canyon. I hope you enjoyed our hike together.

One of the things I have realized with this particular series is that my commentary was rather brief.  That is a bit by design:  in this case, the Canyon can speak well enough for itself.  My commentary would be superfluous in many cases.

That said, this trip was not entirely devoid of epiphanies and revelations.  I can think of at least three.

The first happened at below, at Thunder Falls, and was replicated at Deer Creek Falls.  In both cases I remember looking with awe upon my surroundings. It then occurred to me that I could see my surroundings because I had come to see them. I had made the effort.  I had hiked down.  Nature, and life I suddenly realized, would indeed reward you.  

The lesson?  You have to pay the price - in this case, walking step by step into the Canyon.  In life, as Orison Swett Marden noted in An Iron Will, "...success is the child of drudgery and perseverance.  It cannot be coaxed or bribed:  pay the price, and it is yours."

The second realization came from one of our fellow hikers.

One of the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Trail name Pepsi) celebrated an early 70's birthday on the trail.  He was working his way towards completing the Appalachian trail (in sections) and was very close to finishing.  He had been coming to the Grand Canyon for over 50 years.  He was also, as it turns out, a writer.

At one point in the hike he related that he had been in a job 10 years prior where, due to politics, he was overlooked for a position.  He got angry enough to retire.  "Best decision I ever made" were his precise words.  He now fills his time with hiking, running, writing (and reading; all good writers are readers) and golf (which, he confessed, was not his favourite but enjoyed by his wife).

The lesson: Do not let doing something that does not thrill you get in the way of living a life that does.

The last lesson was really was an output of the hike as a whole.

During the hike, one is divorced from one's day to day existence.  E-mails, texts, the news, really the world - it all just disappears.  One's life becomes reduced to one's companions, the pack on one's back, and putting one's foot in front of the other.  Meals become celebrations, water in desert places become not just a point of beauty but a reason to celebrate. Hiking confronts you with endless beauty and challenge in a way that is not confined to a keyboard or a meeting (in my case), and the chance to really, truly, disconnect.

The lesson? Really more of a giant question: What are spending your life on? And does it really matter in the long run?  Does it make the world better?  Does it make you better?

Hiking is an odd combination of a shared activity done together which is always experienced by the individual. We hike together, yet every one of us experiences the trail in a different way. We all walk away with both the same and different experiences, the same and different stories to tell.

And that, as they say, is a beautiful thing.

What about the next hike?  Well, like any good hikers we started planning as soon as we got home.  Next year will be a return to Mt. Whitney (the highest peak in the contiguous 48 states at 14,505 ft.) which I hiked in 2022.  Besides The Outdoorsman and The Brit, Nighean Bhan's fiancé will be joining us (for which, I suppose, I shall have to find a better name). 

The trail, as they say, calls - and I must answer.

2025 Grand Canyon Thunder River (XI): Esplanade To The Trailhead

Today was (perhaps unsurprisingly) another early start, the goal being to get out before the heat hit too hard.  We also had enough water, but no sense in tempting Fate.

The breakfast on the last day of the hike is usually a combination of whatever is left - in this case, peanut butter, jelly, and honey tortillas and coffee.

All too soon the sun arrived.  At this point it was us versus the sun rising over the Canyon Rim.

Gong up, although a bit steep, was certainly better than the descent going down - no falling on my behind this time!

Monument Point to gauge how far we have come.

An example of the trail and looking down. 

Almost "even" with Monument Point!

Another steeper part of the trail and one where we had transit packs going down.  Coming up was easier (but I still needed a hand).

The Canyon Rim!

Our Final time on the trail was just about 3 hours.  We ascended 1600 feet and walked three miles.

To the Victors, of course, go the spoils. My go-to reward for completing a hike:  a vanilla milkshake.

2025 Grand Canyon Thunder River (X): Deer Creek To The Esplanade

 Today was another early morning start, both to beat the heat and get to where we needed to be before it got too dark - The Esplanade, where we camped only four nights (or a lifetime) ago. Additionally, we needed to carry all our water out:  we would not hit water again until we reached the trail head.  All water containers were filled, bladders were filled, and carrying containers filled.

Breakfast:  Granola and (powdered) milk and coffee:

The trail from Deer Creek was a fairly rapid ascent.

Looking back at Deer Creek:

Deer Creek Spring was not very accessible; we were correct to fill up before we left.

The Thone Room. Over the years, "thrones" have been assembled (most likely by rafters and hikers). 

They are about as uncomfortable as they look:

The ascent from Deer Creek to Surprise Valley took about two hours.  It did get hot as we ascended, but not nearly as hot as the descent had been.

Welcome (back) to Surprise Valley!

It was another two hours from Surprise Valley to the Esplanade:

The Esplanade lies at the top:

The Window going up:

Welcome back to the Esplanade!

Lunch (in the cluster of shade we could find) was tuna mixed with sunflower seeds, cranberries, and Italian dressing accompanied with Triscuits. This is another standard I have on every hike with this company and I love it (and should remember to eat it at home more often as well.  So easy, so much protein.). 

Hiking back towards where we camped on our first night:

Monument Point:

After our arrival back, some of us hiked on to see some pictographs.

This was our highest mileage day at almost 11.5 miles, including the hike to the pictographs. Dinner was a hearty Vindaloo, Coconut Chicken and Naan.

One more evening of amazing sunsets: