So, I recently hiked across the Grand Canyon. According to my kids, I don’t stop talking about it. So, to keep things fresh, I’m going to tell you about our hike by the numbers.
It all started with 1 crazy idea thrown out by my college roommate, Maureen. Here we are back in the day (when people took photos with cameras.)
5 of us agreed to join along for the 28+ mile hike. Although there were 2 (ahem, pictured below)
who didn’t initially read Maureen’s incredibly clear information about doing the hike all in one day. But, they were still in!
An aside: our last girls’ trip was to Napa and required significantly less training. Cheers, bitches!
Speaking of, we trained throughout the summer.
As the hike got closer, we each spent approximately 1 million dollars in gear at REI.
Total tally: 17 hats between the 6 of us and enough snacks to feed a small country.
Finally, the week of the hike was here! We left our 17 kids in 5 different states, and headed off to AZ.
It was a joyful and chatty reunion!
After a night on the north rim at a hotel with questionable wallpaper, and refreshingly no wifi or cell service…
…our hike of a lifetime began!
Off we went, 480 stories down. With 28 years of friendship under our belt, we most definitely did not run out of things to talk about.
We took a 1 mile detour to gloriously gorgeous Ribbon Falls. Life lesson learned: some detours are totally worth it.
We made it to our next big landmark, Phantom Ranch, where we had 6 of the most delicious lemonades we have ever tasted.
Back on the trail for a grueling 365 stories back up and out. And, that’s when “sh*& started getting real.”
[Me while sh*& gets real]
Thankfully we had 0 puking hikers.
The last 3 miles were absolutely grueling. They took us 3 hours and required major mental toughness. But we did it – in 2 shifts – but we did it!
And then there were 5 beers + 1 glass of wine joyfully hoisted.
Final count? At least 1,000 laughs, a few tears, and 1 big check off the bucket list. But, seriously, next trip can we go to Canyon Ranch?
