We hiked and hiked and hiked in the brownie mix. Blowing my nose often because of the dust. The trail wasn't too busy even for a main corridor trail, but still I didn't drink much water because I didn't want to have to go to the restroom along the trail. On the corridor trails they provide restrooms every several miles. I don't mind the wilderness stop though; as I learned on this trip, I can squat and relieve myself with my pack on! I prefer to have a tree nearby to assist me in NOT tipping over (and of course to shield me from the eyes of anyone who might be looking) but I am perfectly capable of handling the process under my own power - with a fully-packed pack strapped to my back. Maybe too much information but I'm proud of it.
There was another young couple hiking out in the same timeframe as us. They moved faster than us, but rested longer. We were slow but steady and as a result we leap-frogged back and forth several times. As we got close to the top there was a guy yodeling. Yes, yodeling. It echoed and felt very appropriate for the setting. Another older couple saw the Bike MS logo on my shirt so we stopped to talk to them for a moment. They were from the east coast - he had ridden in Bike MS a few times and his wife had volunteered.
Even nearer to the rim there was ice and icicles. Colder and colder. And then we saw her. This young girl with a pack headed down in to the canyon. She was singing... and as she moved past us, we noticed a hula hoop and plastic daisy hanging from the back of her pack. Very useful tools in the Grand Canyon if you're of the cosmic mindset. Wow.
We made it to the rim and hopped on the shuttle back to my new car, which was still there. I expected it to be there but I guess I was still a little relieved. There was no snow on the rim at that time (thank goodness because my car is not equipped for weather), but it was cold. In the car we checked our cell phones and I had a message from Rich Sarko to call him. I was expecting news about the job with the National MS Society's home office in Denver. We pulled up to the cafeteria and I called Rich back. He said he wanted to schedule a time to talk, but that 'it's all positive.' Which to us meant that I got the job! We went in to eat and tried not to let the Denver news overshadow our backpacking celebration.
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