Packing for Adventure

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In the last chapter, I wrote about our dilemma on whether we should hike the Tonto trail or not. We ultimately decided to play it by ear and see how we felt when the time came.

To beat the heat, we left our cabin at Phantom Ranch at 3:30 AM. It was DARK. Thankfully we had last minute packed some portable fans that doubled as flashlights. We were hoping to make it to the Tipoff Point before 6:00 AM, and we actually made it around 5:00 AM. That hour and a half climb from Phantom Ranch to the Tipoff Point was BRUTAL. It was hard enough going down, but dang it was STEEEEEP! It was a bit freaky-deaky crossing the Black Bridge in the pitch black.

By the time we reached Tipoff, the canyon had started to glow with dawn’s early light. We took a quick breakfast break and used the pit toilet at the shelter. There’s a small shade structure there with an emergency phone and non-potable water. Two other hiking groups and a park ranger were there, too.

The park ranger was telling the others about the rescue she had done the day prior. Apparently there was a lone hiker who had prepared long and hard and had planned to cross the Tonto trail, but according to the park ranger, sometimes even the most prepared hiking enthusiasts run into surprise complications. This story of hers successfully scared one of the groups of hikers present from traversing the Tonto trail. Her story had the opposite affect on Chris, and even put a little fire in him.

The aspect of the park ranger’s story that latched onto Chris was that this lone hiker was definitely prepared. He had trained long enough and hard enough, and he definitely had enough water – seven liters. This was the point that stuck out to Chris – seven liters is a LOT of water.

The park ranger had made it out that seven liters, for this hiker in particular, just wasn’t enough, and that all people have varying water needs. But in Chris’s mind, he was thinking that seven liters is too much. The average recommendation is about 3 liters per person for a hike like this, especially with access to more water sources on the Bright Angel trail. Chris started to think that the problem wasn’t a lack of water—it was that this poor guy had probably overpacked out of fear. Seven liters is heavy. Really heavy. Add that to the heat and miles of trail, and you’ve got a recipe for burning out early. As Chris put it, “All this fear-mongering is making people so cautious that they are exhausting themselves before they even start!”

It was only 5:00 AM, our legs felt decent, we had a good three-hour window before peak heat, and we had plenty of water—but not too much.

I am grateful for Chris’s resolve. I may have been scared away from doing the Tonto trail if it weren’t for him.

So with a lot of excitement and a little trepidation…
we stepped onto the Tonto Trail!!!