I wrote last month about my short hike in White Rock Canyon near Hoover Dam, which involved a fair amount of being thirsty and out of breath and feeling out of shape and wondering, as I lay on my back in a shady patch of sand, whether I was really cut out for the Grand Canyon hike I was going to start in two days.
It seemed like a fairly level hike, what with being on one long bed of sand and all. So imagine my surprise when I found this. That “mouth of canyon” to “trailhead” climb is the one that made me gasp. Nothing like what I’d be doing in the next few days, but I understand why it got to me now.
Man, I need a hike.
have you hiked whitney portal above lone pine? i think it must be 3000 feet in 2 miles? ok i exaggerate a bit. the saving grace is that home is downhill. these canyon hikes yer doing are upside down.
You mention sand ... if the surface of the trail was not solid you were doing a lot of extra work on top of the elevation change.