I just got off the phone with Matt and he is very excited to be at the Grand Canyon! Before I get on to the day's adventure, let me add a few more things for the previous day. Yesterday was the windiest day yet. To give you a visual, the guys were pushing through the wind in order to walk downhill! Sand was being blown everywhere imaginable making the already difficult weather even more unbearable. About 13 miles in, Los showed up and it really rejuvenated them. They were tired and angry with the weather, but that Spanish smile took it all away. They were pumped to see their long time friend and excited to spend the next few days with him.
The route was very scenic - including many jewelry shops run by Native Americans. One sign read "Nice Indians" and someone had spray painted next to it "fo' shizzle!" They all got a good laugh out of it and kept moving along with the mountains and huge gorges in sight. Another big part of the trip was the snake they encountered. This snake was HUGE - it had some serious "gurf" (girth). As they approached, it had just caught a rabbit and was about to go to town. Matt, Ken, and Los (who was running with them by this time) were not going to pass up the chance to see this. Andy wasn't feeling well as it was, so he didn't want to view the spectacle. They grew closer - as close as they could possibly get to the thing and watched the snake unhinge its jaw and engulf the rabbit. Once the snake was done with the rabbit, it decided it did not like the 3 guys standing around it. Whipping its head around, it hissed at Ken. That was the point to where the guys quickly got moving!
Los finished out the day at 9.5 cameo miles with the team. They camped out in Kaibob Forest - right near mile marker 270. It was a nice spot, but a strange one. An array of animal legs (the counted 7) were strewn about the site. Besides that and the coyotes waking them up throughout the night with their "lullabies" as Matt called them, it was a good night. And then came the bratwurst. I won't go into detail - but it was an overall disaster. Piece by piece, the bratwurst was covered in sand or dropped in the fire. Dinner ended up being PB and Natella sandwiches. Ken's was a monster triple decker that included 2 pop tarts in the layers of bread, PB, and Natella.
OK! So on to the 1st day of May! They got up early again, and started toward the Grand Canyon. They were only about 5 miles outside of the National Park itself, but had quite a few more before reaching Grand Canyon Village. It was an uphill and windy road with no shoulder, but luckily there was little traffic. Matt said that it would be impossible to travel as they did during peak visiting time for the Grand Canyon, and was happy to not have had to deal with such traffic. They were not sure exactly when they might see the canyon - thinking they would get their first glimpse later in the day. But first thing this morning - they got a peak. When I say a peak - I mean a great view. Matt used words like enormous, magnificent, and beautiful to describe it. I could tell he was still quite awe struck by the natural landmark and was having trouble telling me just how amazing the view was. Ken pointed out that this canyon has taken hundreds and hundreds of years to become what it has, and was amazed at all the natural history he was seeing at one time.
After checking out the canyon, the guys went to get some breakfast. After a bite to eat they were on their way to Grand Canyon Village. Andy was adamant about Ken and Matt going ahead of him. He was still not feeling well and did not want to hold them up. Matt said Ken had been itchin' to run, and really picked up the pace. Today was the first day in a long time Matt felt ready to pick it up, and the duo did just that. Matt said they moved at a great clip all day. Andy made his way slowly but surely - showing everyone his devotion and heart in following his dreams. Los also clocked on a few more miles to his cameo total - he is looking to steal the #1 spot!
As Matt is telling me this, they were just getting back to the campsite from exploring. They arrived to find about 7 huge black birds going to town on their food supply. When the birds sensed their arrival, they quickly left. Los then assessed the situation. The results were as follows: potato salad - good. Summer sausage - good. Pop tarts - not so good. Chicken - MISSING!
After the food disaster, Matt went on to say that the scenery was amazing. They had lots of tree cover on the road, and were getting glimpses of the Grand Canyon all day through breaks in the trees. Upon their arrival into Grand Canyon Village, they had a late lunch at a cafe, and went back to the campsite with Los. Los had already set up shop for the night, which the trio was happy to see. Andy relaxed for a few, and then went to sleep. Los, Ken, and Matt went looking for the canyon's rim trail and explored other areas of the park as well. One gentleman pointed out a condor to the guys during their expedition. Upon their return was when they found nature having a nice meal compliments of the NationRun team. They spent the rest of the night cooking up what the birds didn't eat, and relaxing.
They will spend the next two days off in the Grand Canyon. Andy will be using this for some much needed R&R, so he can get healthy for the remainder of the trip. Thanks for reading, and keep the guys in mind! It's recovery time! I am so excited for the guys to be in the Grand Canyon and view one of Earth's most amazing landforms. I can't wait to see the pictures!
EARTH BABY!
- Rick
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