12/01/2020















 The Grand Canyon is carven deep by the master hand; it is the gulf of silence, widened in the desert; it is all time inscribing the naked rock; it is the book of earth.

I worked Four days in the Canyon, as an instructor for the Grand Canyon Field Institute. Time in the canyon gives one new perspective on life as it is in 2020.
It was so nice to get away from the toxic politics and negative covid culture our country is suffering.
We had eight really great people and all went very well in spite of the heat and water challenges. Everyone made it out very happy with the experience.
The pipeline was broke again and there was limited water at Phantom. Toilets had to be flushed with buckets of water taken from Bright Angel Creek.
It was 98 at the Ranch, plenty of time in the cold Bright Angel Creek as well as a side trip to Phantom Creek.
We treated a young man that was close to heat stroke until the rangers from Phantom could come. He and his fireman brother headed down the Kaibab in the heat of the day with little water, not knowing there was NO water on the trail. When they ran out they started back went about a mile and then turned around and headed back down desperate for water. They both had vomitted twice. We found them at the river beach, one was slurring his words with a pulse going all over the place while his brother tried to get water at the ranch. This scenario is all too familiar. Young dudes that should have known better. The positive is if we had not come upon them to assist, the one would have probably died.
I slept under the thousands of stars, many bats were in the air ....it was soooo tranquil, nite sights for the soul. We had a ringtail cat sneaking around, and several deer would wander by.
At Phantom, I had take out hikers stew one night and steak the next.
This was all a big deal for me, my first since a new hip. I didn't think I would work for the field institute again but when they asked me to do this trip, I didn't hesitate. My trainng was not adequate due to the heat, a lot of cross training but nothing of industrial strength necessary to do a trip like this...but I got er done and the clients were kept safe and happy.