Grand Canyon 2008!

KK and I are headed to the Grand Canyon in just a few short days -- I absolutely can't wait. We went in 2006 and did a rim-to-rim hike with the Grand Canyon Field Institute, which was an absolute blast. I wasn't sure I'd like travelling with a group, and I couldn't decide if it was lame or wimpy to go with a guide, but both things turned out to be great. We had a funny, diverse group of 10 (plus our guide, Ryanne Sebern, made 11). We all became fast friends, and had a great experience in the Canyon together. The reason we decided to go with a group in the first place was that we weren't sure we'd know enough to plan safely for desert hiking. But we learned the ropes (albeit, on well-travelled trails with water sources every day) from Ryanne, who was a fantastic guide. Her style was very anti-gear, which was refreshing and suits my tastes -- who wants to spend a zillion dollars on a bunch of fancy gear that you probably don't need? The forced minimalism of backpacking is one of the primary appeals for me. This year, we're taking a cue from her and not bringing a tent (unless there's rain in the forecast, that is), and bringing mostly cheap, easy, but delicious food. Ramen noodles have about 300% your daily allowance of salt--a good thing in the desert-- cost $0.10, and weigh almost nothing.

Ryanne was pretty hard-core: she practiced a pretty stringent form of the 'leave-no-trace' ethic, which included drinking her cooking wash water. I'm not sure I'm up for swilling down water clouded with oatmeal bits all day long, but I admire her for her low-key, no-nonsense attitude about it. It definitely wasn't an attention-getting device with her, which it can sometimes be.

We decided to go back to GC this year with the same outfit -- Grand Canyon Field Institute -- since we had such a great time on the first trip. Our guide on this upcoming trip is a fellow named Brian Gootee, who, from his emails, seems like he'll be a very likeable weirdo. This past weekend, we started organizing our gear, which was much more fun than studying for the GRE's.
Maybe I'll post a picture of our gear layout when it's all together. I've been a little anxious about my footwear situation -- last time, I ditched my boots on the first day, and hiked the rest of the way in my Keene sandals. They were comfortable, but not that supportive, and they do tend to aggravate my old foot injury. However, almost all other shoes aggravate it more, so I was just planning on hiking in them again this year. As the trip got closer and closer, though, I started worrying more about my poor abused feet. I finally decided it was time to try -AGAIN - to find a comfortable pair of hiking shoes.

And lo and behold! After about an hour trying on shoes at the mad-house REI in College Park, I found what I think are a great pair. They're trail runners -- as opposed to heavier hiking shoes. Being running shoes, they have a nice wedged sole, which lifts your heel higher than the ball of your foot. They're light, relatively flexible, but they feel nice and supportive around my ankles. Best of all, I've been wearing them around for about 24 hours now (with orthotics in), and I am having NO foot pain. I can hardly wait to scamper down those 10 steep miles to the bottom of Grand Canyon!

Here a picture of my new infatuation. I feel like I've just met a life partner or something. To discover that Vasque trail runners are comfortable! I'm already planning our life together: