Day 214 (HDT 30)

Day 214 (HDT 30): 8 river miles 9 walking miles

We started floating on down the Colorado River around 9am. It was a perfect morning. I got to relax on a raft while somebody else did all the work. I got to knock back some beers. I got to see the beauty of the Grand Canyon in a new way. And I got to do it all while wearing a Rocky Balboa costume for Halloween.

They dropped us off at the other side of the Colorado after the confluence with the brown and silty little Colorado. I really enjoyed my time with them. They were a fun group and we had a fun night and morning. They made our trip significantly better, and I’d like to think we made theirs a little more interesting. Everybody wins. People helping people

After getting on the right side of the Colorado river I climbed up maybe 100 feet and I found the Beamer Trail which we would be hiking the rest of the day. The trail was amazing. Aside from it being one of the best actual hiking trails we’ve had on this trip (we haven’t had many) it was stunning. We were walking hundreds of feet above the banks of the Colorado River and it was constant beauty that was really too big to take in all at once.

We came across a group of older hikers that must be pretty metal cause they were on the Beamer Trail too and this part of the Grand Canyon is no joke. They were ecstatic when we mentioned we were doing the Hayduke Trail.

We got to the edge of our permitted camping area around 5 and stopped for the day. (It gets dark by 6 anyways.) the Grand Canyon has both designated campsites and at-large camping. These at-large camping areas are pretty much a designated area where there aren’t specific campsites, so if you’re traveling through it, you can camp wherever you want in that area, just follow leave no trace principles obviously. But it is pretty nice to have a flexible option for camping instead of one specific spot you have to end up at no matter what. I’m sure it’s not their intention, but it’s pretty thru hiker friendly.

I don’t have much else to say. Today was incredible from getting to experience a different kind of adventure, to hiking high on the banks of the Colorado, it was a day I’ll remember for a long time. Some days you go through life and can appreciate in real time how amazing the day is. Today was one of those days.

Song of the day: water on mars-the nude party