2nd Annual Columbus Day Grand Canyon Hike

It's getting close!

Last year I led a small group of friends on a hike into the Grand Canyon.  We started at Lipan Point and hiked down the Tanner trail to the Colorado River.  We spent the next few days hiking downstream along the Escalante Trail to Hance Rapids.  At Hance Rapids we picked up the Tonto trail and after climbing up to Horseshoe Mesa, we exited the Canyon at Grandview Point.  An excellent trip.

I'm the old dude on the left in the photo.  Also in the picture are the three Js.  Jeremy, Jason J (Maj J), and Jason H (Mr. J).

Now I'm doing it again.  I got a permit for six to hike west of Grand Canyon Village.  We'll start by going down the South Bass trail to the river.  We'll then pick up the Tonto trail and head East and exit several days later by climbing out on the Hermit trail.  The cast of characters for this trip has changed.  Mr. J will be making the trip along with 3 new victims.  The victims from last years trip would like to go, but one has moved to Ohio (are there any hills in Ohio?) and the other drew for an Elk hunt in Montana.

Dollar Lake Again

I'm trying to  getting ready for the 2nd Annual Columbus Day Grand Canyon Hike.  My training regime has been running 8-12 miles per week and biking home from work as often as possible.  To keep it interesting, I try to throw in a swim every now and then.  To measure my progress, I'll do a triathlon once or twice a year.  Now a tri isn't my favorite activity in the world, but it does add a little variety to the workouts and makes them a bit more tolerable.

I recently signed up to do the Hill AFB mini triathlon:  800 meter swim, 12 mile bike ride, 10K run.  I was even looking forward to it.  I need something as an intermediate step in preparing for my Grand Canyon hike.  On Thursday evening, before the Saturday tri, my triathlon and hiking buddy (Mr. J)  stops by the house.  He won't be making the tri this weekend because he's still recovering from a vasectomy - ouch.  12 miles on a bike saddle - ouch ouch.  "Hey Dale - are you up for quick backpack to Dollar Lake."  Uh - triathlon or backpack?  The backpack trip will always win.  No need to toss a coin.

Dollar Lake is located at the foot of Kings Peak, UT.  Kings is the highest point in Utah and I've been to the summit twice, once on Aug 11, 1994 with my two sons and again on Sept 6, 2008 with Mr. J.

Dollar Lake is 7.5 miles from the trailhead.  We left the vehicle at 4:37 p.m and arrived at Dollar at 7:28.  1345 feet elevation gain, 7.5 miles, less than 3 hours.  Not to bad.  By the time we had our tent set up and dinner cooking, it was dark and raining.

It rained through out the night and though it had stopped by the time we got up, the basin was fogged in.  We had met our objective of getting to Dollar Lake and so after a breakfast of oatmeal - yuck, we packed up our stuff and headed back out.  We left Dollar at 8:37 and arrived back at the trailhead at 11:27.  We didn't see any large animals this trip, but we've seen elk, moose and deer on past trips.

All in all a very good trip.  No injuries - not even a blister.  However I decided that my water filter needs an overhaul.  Pumping water out of the lake took forever.