Ah, ha, ha, ha Stayin' Alive

So Dallas was cool. Colin got drunk. Had a good meal. Otherwise uneventful. However, from there, uneventful is the last word that should be used. On the way from Dallas to Albuquerque, NM, sharpie-written signs were exchanged between our car and the car of girls next to us. Numbers were exchanged and we met them in Santa Fe for a nice dinner and a little revelry. One of the girls was a 5th grade art teacher. Funny to see that there are people out there as random as us. This made for a later night than expected before the Grand Canyon, but it was totally worth it.

Grand Canyon: We got to the canyon around 11. After talking to a ranger at the backcountry office, we realized we may be starting our hike a little too late into the scorching hot day. Nothing we couldn't handle though, right? Well...after driving eight miles along the canyon to the Hermit's Rest Trailhead, we waited about an hour before beginning our now legendary trek, now positioning the sun directly overhead on the second longest day of the year. Descending 2,000 vertical feet in the first 2 miles of trail, we were well into the canyon by the time we got to the Santa Maria Spring, the only water stop on the entire trail until the bottom. With 5 miles of trail (and another 3,000 vertical feet down) to go to the bottom until we reached our camp, we needed to fill up all the water we could. We pushed on and then came the scary stuff. Our little buddy Krauter began losin his edge shortly up the trail, and soon showed signs of heat exhaustion/dehydration/overhydration/altitude sickness, one of the four. With about 3 miles to go on the trail, his body began to revolt against him. Pego had to take his pack for the remainder of the journey and Colin had to make sure he didn't fall over the edge. Hours later, after trying to control the staggering Krauter, we believed we had reached our camp, only to find no water there. After three mini panic attacks, we found that we had to continue on the path to the flowing water of Hermit Creek. Putting Krauter to sleep, Pego and Colin got advice from two seasoned veterans (the only other two living souls for miles) at camp. After a night of sleep under the stars in the middle of nowhere plus a million bites from fire ants, we woke up at 530am to make it out the next day, it was our only option. We had to get out of this hole and get our friend to safety. The shade made a 100% difference, as we were able to make it to within 2 miles of the trailhead in about 6 hours (very good time). After resting for about 4 hours at the Spring in the shade, we made our final ascent. Walking up to what seemed like an impossible monolith to climb for the final leg, we all had to dig deep to get to the top, where salvation awaited. After about 500 breaks between there and the top, we finally made it and were able to say that we made it out of the Grand Canyon alive (if barely in some cases). After showering at the public facilities and rearranging our dissheveled car, we pushed on toward our next destination, sunny LA.

LA: We got into LA around 10am after a grueling overnight drive. The traffic near the city was ridiculous but the light at the end of the tunnel was sweet, and we all got to nap once we got to Aunt Nancy's house in Westchester, just outside of Los Angeles. Now the real vacation could start. After recharging, we went to the beach and surfed. What a blast. After a great homecooked meal and a little more recharging, we went to the 3rd St. Promenade at Santa Monica to check out the nightlife and street performers. It's now day 2 at Los Angeles and we are about to head back to the beach again, probably to Venice Beach at some point and then who knows at night. Big Sur tomorrow. Some pictures, videos below:

Dinner with the girls in Santa Fe



Heading down the trail