Day 16: Route 66 Motel, Arizona

The long path to the top.

After my own painful shivering night of sleeplessness the group all woke up around 6 am to try to beat the heat of the desert and complete most of the hike out. We made it within and hour to the area where we left the other group. With no one in sight we all made our own pace up and out of the canyon. Switch back after switch back, legs burning, and heart pounding each step felt heavier than the last. As we passed visual markers that we noted along the way that and the idea of air conditioning kept us moving. The first of us made it up at an increasing rate as we saw more people unsuited for a long hike making their way down the trail, we knew we were getting close to the top. With a few more pictures taken before our final accent we caught our breath and enjoyed the area. Four hours later with the sun burning down our backs already the very first of us made it to the top. I’m sure we looked near death to people at the top, but the smiles on all our faces told the story of our accomplishment. Over the next five hours more of our group would come drudging out of the canyon. Finally we all made it and the vans were on the way to get us. Our energy increased as we each told stories of the nights events, and finally we were back in the vans cooling off and back to our usual selves. A short drive later that was taken up mostly by napping, we arrived at our motel. Unloading our bags we all did what we wanted for the evening. Finally at night we had a meeting to go over the trip a whole and talk about what we did and didn’t like. We all stayed up rather late that night having fun with our classmates. Finally as the night went on we all made our way back to our rooms and fell fast asleep.

The last photo before we came out of the canyon. 

Things to Note:

• When doing long hikes keep a pace that is good for you. If you are a slower hiker don’t worry about it, just do not complain.
• As sick of the vans as you may be, once you are done with a hard hike, they seem like the perfect place to be.