Establishing a Training Regimen

My wife and I took a vacation in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in January. We stayed on the 9th floor at the Grand Mayan, and I walked up and down the stairs, rather than taking the elevator. I started working out in their gym, using all the different machines that exercised mostly my legs. The sauna and hot tub were wonderful afterward!

We've been having record snowfall in Sitka this year! When we got back from Mexico, the snow did impede my hiking regimen when it got too deep. But now I'm back to the routine.

I've been hiking Sitka's Cross Trail behind town. The trailhead is actually walking distance from our house. It's about a 3 mile hike, moderately easy, little elevation gain. I packed an old backpack with a 20 pound bag of rice for weight, so I'm hiking with 25 pounds for now.

My wife and I go for a 3 mile, 1 hour walk around Sitka nearly every day. We walk over the bridge, around Japonski Island (past the University, up a long stairway, past the Mount Edgecumbe High School, and back over the bridge. Back in town, we hike up the historic Castle Hill, including another stair climb, and then a roundabout walk back home. Quite a nice walk. Sometimes we see otters in the channel, usually we see eagles either diving at the water or perched in the trees. It's the same walk, but we always see something different. Getting out makes us appreciate the scenic beauty we seem to take for granted. But I'm digressing from my exercise regimen.

I read, and try to incorporate the suggestions Four Seasons Guides gives for Training for Backpacking in the Grand Canyon (pdf). Their suggestions are to go for numerous hikes, the steeper the better. For training, they suggest running up and down stairs or gym bleachers preferably with about a backpack with about 10 - 15 lb. of weight. If you don't train with a backpack, you won't get proper training. That's why I bought the 20 lb. bag of rice. Okay, I have to admit: I have a bear-phobia. There, I said it. I'm afraid of bears, even though I've lived in Alaska almost all my life! So IF one of those brown bears wakes up in a crappy mood because he hasn't eaten all winter, and thinks I might do for lunch, I'll offer him 20 lb. of rice!

Commitment: Reserving the Trip/Date

After I did my research, and I knew I'd be going with Four Seasons Guides (www.fsguides.com) , I was committed to the hike. I was no longer on the fence. It was no longer just a "wish list" item. I had begun to "Make It So."

I chose a hike and a date. The Grand Canyon Hikes:

• Deer Creek/Thunder River Loop
• Grandview Trail/Horseshoe Mesa
• Hermit Trail/Loop Hike
• South Kaibab/Bright Angel Loop
• Indian Garden/Bright Angel Trail
• Rim to Rim
• Havasu Falls Hiking/Whitewater Excursion
• Havasu Falls Hiking/Havasupai Indian Reservation

I knew I didn't want to settle for a day hike. It cost enough for my plane ticket from Sitka to Phoenix! I chose a 3 day hike, and for the life of me, I can't remember how I chose the South Kaibab/Bright Angel Loop trip. But I did.

The South Kaibab Trail

It's one of the shortest, steepest trails to the bottom of the canyon. A 7 mile hike with an elevation gain loss of 4,400 feet. Here's some details from FSG site:
Type of Trip: Backpacking/Camping
Dates: Year Round
Number of Days: 3 – 5 Days
Total Miles: 20 (3 Days)
Elevation Gain Loss: 4400ft
Difficultly: Strenuous
Orientation Time: 4pm the day before
Orientation Location: Flagstaff – at our store (107 W. Phoenix Ave)
Trip Departure: 6am
Trip Return: 4pm

So I sat there with my curser over the Reserve Now! link on the FSG Calendar for a minute. I hollared into the next room that I was about to book my hike. My wife's response was, "DO IT!" And then she cheered when I

I based my Trip Date (April 18-21) on these averages:

South Rim					North Rim				The Bottom
Month	Hi	Lo	Precip		Hi	Lo	Precip		Hi	Lo	Precip
January	41	18	1.32		37	16	3.17		56	36	.68
February	45	21	1.55		39	18	3.22		62	42	.75
March	51	25	1.38		44	21	2.63		71	48	.79
April	60	32	.93		53	29	1.73		82	56	.47
May	70	39	.66		62	34	1.17		92	63	.36
June	84	54	1.81		77	46	1.93		106	78	.84
July	84	54	1.81		77	46	1.93		115	78	.84
August	82	53	2.25		75	45	2.85		108	75	1.4
September	76	47	1.56		69	39	1.99		97	69	.97
October	65	36	1.1		59	31	1.38		84	58	.65
November	52	27	.94		46	24	1.48		68	46	.43
December	43	20	1.62		40	20	2.83		57	37	.87

That was my first EXPENDITURE:
The trip cost $755 and the reservation requires 50% down. So that part was done.
I realized I would now need to start keeping an itinerary, and a record of my expenditures.
But I was on my way!

Decision 3: I Am Physically Capable?

I have to admit, from the time I began to dream of doing this hike, I wondered about my physical condition. I've had chronic back pain for the past 25 yr. and my past employment led to a fairly sedentary lifestyle. Once I get home from work, I turn into a couch potato.

We made conscious effort to go for evening walks, enjoying a 2 mile loop that includes 2 stair ways. We increased vegetables and fruit to our diets, decreasing junk foods. We're not the epitome of health, but for a 50 yr. old couple, we we're in decent shape.

"Decent shape" is not good enough, considering the hike I chose is rated "STRENUOUS". I stepped up my exercise regimen, including more extreme leg exercises, and hikes in which I wore a backpack with the approximate weight we'd carry on the hike I signed up for -- the South Kaibab/Bright Angel Loop 3-day hike.

I chose the April 18th trip, after studying the average temperatures that I'd be most comfortable with. I'm born and raised in Southeast Alaska, so my April averages look more like 50° High and 34° Low, compared to the April South Rim averages of 79° High and 39°

Fortunately, Four Seasons Guide supplied me with Training Information for Backpacking Trips. I have 2 months to prepare.

Decision 2: Tour Guide or Self-planned?

Next I needed to either get other (experienced) hiker's interested in coming along, or start researching tour guides. Since my trip was 2 months away, I didn't think I could find someone with experience, and still make a safe, well-planned trip.

I researched different guided tours in which the equipment and permits were all provided. That would take care of a huge expense, and I could rely on their experience. I felt relieved once I decided I was going on a guided tour.

My choice turned out to be Four Season Guides based on these criteria:

• Cost
• Reputation
• Group Sizes
• Initial Helpfulness of the Company

I have been extremely pleased so far.
That took care of item #2.

Decision 1: Can I Afford It?

I was laid off from work this year when the historic Sheldon Jackson College closed, where I worked for the past 5 years. Now I was worried that I the trip I'd been planning for so long was beyond my means.

Meanwhile, I've been eking out a living as an artist since. (See my artwork at Tlingit Tribal Art). I also do website work and illustrations for a children's book, Raven House Mouse, for Jan Steinbright, the author.

I'll say again, how my wife has encouraged me to make this dream come true. She persuaded me to "just do it" and worry about money later.
That took care of Decision #1

Make It So

I began visiting websites about various hikes, guided tours, and articles by people who had done the hikes. That's what's proven the most useful to me. If I see pictures of ordinary looking people making the same hike that I dream of doing, it makes it seem possible. So I started making my To Do lists.
I needed to make some initial decisions:

1. Whether I could afford the trip

2. Whether to go with another friend or with a guided tour

3. Whether I was physically fit to make the trip

Life's Dreams and Serendipity

I never thought I would to actualize any of my Life's Dreams list. I thought they were great fantasies; just a way to while away idle time, or to read about and wish. It was my Wish List.

My wife, on the other hand, has an uncanny knack of wishing for things, and then they just seem to come to her! Case in point: she's always wanted to be part of Cirque du Soleil, so what do you imagine would happen when she went to one of their shows in Las Vegas? Right! She was called from the audience, whisked backstage, and dressed in a costume so fast that she didn't even know what character she was! (She ended up being "Mama" to a "child" searching the audience for her Mama.) That's only one of many instances. So I took a lesson from her.

I never saw the same kinds of serendipity in my own life. That is, not until I started taking my Life's Dreams list more seriously than a mere wish list.

One item that's been a life's dream has been to hike down into the Grand Canyon. It formulated back in 2001, on a 6-week road trip throughout Arizona and New Mexico. I fell in love with Arizona, and when I stood at the rim of the Grand Canyon, I had a remarkable spiritual experience. The sheer immensity of that canyon took my breath away! It made me painfully aware of my own insignificance. With that awareness I imagined myself shooting away from planet Earth, watching even this vast canyon become miniscule, and then even Earth became a grain against all the cosmos. Then I became aware of myself again, thinking that -- as seemingly insignificant as I am, I get to have this experience; an experience in which I was overcome with emotion, awe, and gratitude.

Ever since that experience, I've so wanted to hike the canyon. When I stood on the rim, far below I could make out specks that were hikers on the trails. I wished that I could do that someday, but I canceled out that wish by believing that it would be impossible for someone with back problems like mine, or that I just didn't have time and money for such things.

One day, I mentioned this life's dream to my wife and, lo and behold, shortly thereafter I came across a MAP OF THE TRAILS IN THE GRAND CANYON in a giveaway book pile! That's when I started to change my attitude about my life's dreams. I had experienced serendipity, but that meant my next step would require ACTION, not fantasy.

You see, a wish remains a wish only if you do nothing to make it start coming true. My wife, for example, had to SHOW UP at Cirque du Soleil to even be chosen from the crowd! My journey began far before I took my first step into the canyon.

ser·en·dip·i·ty: the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for