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Back From Grand Canyon National Park

davebugg

A Pilgrimage is time I spend praying with my feet
Time of past OR future Camino
2019
For those wondering, I have been employed as a Certified Interpretive Guide for Grand Canyon National Park since March, though I did not begin giving Interpretive Tours until the end of June. I lived and worked inside the Park for the duration, but my seasonal contract ended and I am thankful to be celebrating Thanksgiving with family and friends.

Cell and wifi were difficult, unless you have Verizon (I have T-Mobile), so trying to do much posting to the forum would have been an aggravation between slow uploads and teensy cell phone keyboards. I was able to pop in on an infrequent basis and make limited comments and give some feedback.

I will be returning back to Grand Canyon next fall, and this May to September I will be employed by one of the largest tour operators in Alaska. I will be providing interpretative bus tours around Juneau, Mendenhall Glacier, Gem Falls, and will also be on some of the whale watching tours in the large fleet that this tour operator owns. 6,000 ship cruise passengers dock in Juneau to see the sights per day.

As for my next Camino plans, Jill and I are looking at the Portuguese in 2024, and my son and I are looking at the Aragonnes that same year as well.

One of the things I am Thankful for on this day includes this Forum. While I haven't been as active in the last 6 months, I have a loving fondness for it and many of the members here. It is great to be able to more actively participate.
Dave Bugg

PS - For explanation of what an Interpretive Guide is:

 
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€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
Dave, Thank you for sharing intermittent emails with me this past year. It has been great to stay abreast of your activities. I assume you will be learning a great deal more about the Alaskan National parks. I saw many of them on a cruise a number of years ago; too bad I'm not going again this summer to see you "in action". You have definitely found your "niche" and I am so excited for you!
Take care, and I'm wishing you continued health and much happiness!
Chrissy
 
Welcome back to the forum Dave. Members rejoice; Dave's back to give only the best information.

In case you missed the Grand Canyon news on your way home (the announcement is just a few days old):

[T]he U.S. Board of Geographic Names voted unanimously (19-0) earlier this month in favor of the formal request submitted by the National Park Service on behalf of the Havasupai Tribe to change the name of Indian Garden [on the Bright Angel Trail] to Havasupai Gardens.

 
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Welcome back to the forum Dave. Members rejoice; Dave's back to give only the best information.

In case you missed the Grand Canyon news on your way home (the announcement is just a few days old):

[T]he U.S. Board of Geographic Names voted unanimously (19-0) earlier this month in favor of the formal request submitted by the National Park Service on behalf of the Havasupai Tribe to change the name of Indian Garden [on the Bright Angel Trail] to Havasupai Gardens.


I did see that; thanks for posting it. This change has been in the works for a long time, and the Grand Canyon Conservancy was one of the lead stakeholders in advocating for the change. It is something that gives me mixed feelings, but change happens and it will likely help solidify the relationships with the Park Service of the 11 tribes that have historical associations with the Grand Canyon going back 12,000 years to when the first paleo-Indian tribes arrived and settled in the Canyon.

One of the examples of changes that have been part of the landforms and sites of Grand Canyon was the switch over of the name Rowe Point (named after one of the earliest settlers, Sanford Rowe who had an early tourist camp there. It was renamed 'Hopi Point'.

Talk about names and you have to marvel at the creativity of the very early pioneers and settlers to the area who named many of the interior canyon plateaus and landforms after Egyptian, Greek, Viking, Roman, and Hindu entities. :)
 
Dave, Thank you for sharing intermittent emails with me this past year. It has been great to stay abreast of your activities. I assume you will be learning a great deal more about the Alaskan National parks. I saw many of them on a cruise a number of years ago; too bad I'm not going again this summer to see you "in action". You have definitely found your "niche" and I am so excited for you!
Take care, and I'm wishing you continued health and much happiness!
Chrissy

Thanks, Chrissy. I really enjoyed the emailing with you. This has really turned into a post-retirement career, and has been very gratifying. (Plus, the tips I make in one season more than pays for a Camino trip and pilgrimage).
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
When I saw someone recommending to a newbie that they especially listen to your posts the other day, I wondered how you were getting along. I'm so glad to hear such a positive answer. Enjoy!
 
When I saw someone recommending to a newbie that they especially listen to your posts the other day, I wondered how you were getting along. I'm so glad to hear such a positive answer. Enjoy!
Thanks so much. One of the things that I became involved in was volunteering time on my 'off' hours with the Rangers to assist with monitoring hikers going down the South Kaibab and Bright Angel trails. The number of poorly equipped individuals, many newbies, with improper clothing, footwear (think flip flops, not hiking sandals), insufficient water (so many folks carrying as little as a 1 liter bottle), etc. is a constant challenge for the National Park Service there. There are any number of folks who die each year.

The trailheads for both locations are at about 6800 ft above sea level, and during summer the South Rim temperatures at the top average 87 F with little shade as one goes down into the Canyon. However, the temperatures can reach up to 122 + Fahrenheit by the time they reach the inner canyon. No certain water refill sites can be counted on either, especially along the South Kaibab trail.

Getting into the Canyon involves gravity assist, full hydration, energy levels at their peak, and the excitement of new exploration Getting out of the Canyon involves the Will to Live :)
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Getting out of the Canyon involves the Will to Live
I have heard many times how the extreme summer heat makes climbing back out of the canyon so awful.🥵
The Grand Canyon is awesome and we took a six week family camping trip to visit many of the national parks out west when my oldest son was 15. He was unhappy to leave his friends and each time we would stop to sightsee he would try to hurry us along, thinking we'd get back home sooner.
Well, the Grand Canyon literally appears out of nowhere coming from the south and is jaw dropping. When we parked the car and walked up to the first huge impressive lookout, he took one look over the edge and announced, "These are just rocks; can we go now?"
 
Thanks so much. One of the things that I became involved in was volunteering time on my 'off' hours with the Rangers to assist with monitoring hikers going down the South Kaibab and Bright Angel trails. The number of poorly equipped individuals, many newbies, with improper clothing, footwear (think flip flops, not hiking sandals), insufficient water (so many folks carrying as little as a 1 liter bottle), etc. is a constant challenge for the National Park Service there. There are any number of folks who die each year.

The trailheads for both locations are at about 6800 ft above sea level, and during summer the South Rim temperatures at the top average 87 F with little shade as one goes down into the Canyon. However, the temperatures can reach up to 122 + Fahrenheit by the time they reach the inner canyon. No certain water refill sites can be counted on either, especially along the South Kaibab trail.

Getting into the Canyon involves gravity assist, full hydration, energy levels at their peak, and the excitement of new exploration Getting out of the Canyon involves the Will to Live :)
Thank you for helping the rangers and assisting the many foolhardy folk who ignore the well-marked and copious warnings about Ill-prepared hiking into the canyon. My husband and I hiked north rim to phantom ranch on October 1 this year and then up bright angel to south rim the next day (our second time spending the night at the bottom- lucky, lucky us winning the lottery twice in 3 years!!). We had stayed in Camino shape all summer and fall after finished sjpdp to SdC in 31 days (w Samos) in May-June. But we took it slow because we are late 50s/60 and we are not idiots ( and I’m an arizonan- hence respectful of desert, elevation, etc). On our walk we saw one helicopter evacuation of a 40ish man from phantom and heard about a second one on the same day, we met a 50 ish man who had to spend the night in emergency shelter halfway up north kaibab as he attempted a one day rim to rim, and we met two couples at 3 mile house on bright angel who had slept on picnic tables overnight at havasupai gardens (finally renamed!!!) after attempting a down and back in one day the previous day. They were 45ish with zero hiking experience and thought that was a reasonable idea. It took them about 30 hours to finally get out.
 
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There you are @davebugg

Thank you for the update Dave.

In our previous communication I said I was working on the Via de La Plata itinerary and it's nearly finished so I will send it to you soonish (Australian time) as you've requested.

What an interesting volunteering job you have - and you get tips! Wow!

The only tips I get, are mostly from my spouse and younger brother, if repeated here, would see me banned from the forum for a while.

Anyway, it is really good to see your update and in writing and posting it, you have made my day - absolutely have.

In the unlikely event you have any questions about the Portuguese Camino, don't hesitate to ask. Apparently, I walked that one in 2017, unknowingly carrying heavy things from my spouses backpack in mine.

Pack your own backpack folks - there is no knowing what your partner may put in it before you begin your day!

Wishing you lots of health and happiness!

Graham
 
Down bag (90/10 duvet) of 700 fills with 180 g (6.34 ounces) of filling. Mummy-shaped structure, ideal when you are looking for lightness with great heating performance.

€149,-
Thanks, Graham. To be sure, I worked for wages and tips as an Interpretive Guide on tours, but the monitoring of hikers was strictly volunteer based during many of the days I was off.

I look forward to seeing your VLP itinerary. And thanks for your willingness to share :)
 
The trailheads for both locations are at about 6800 ft above sea level, and during summer the South Rim temperatures at the top average 87 F with little shade as one goes down into the Canyon. However, the temperatures can reach up to 122 + Fahrenheit by the time they reach the inner canyon. No certain water refill sites can be counted on either, especially along the South Kaibab trail.

Getting into the Canyon involves gravity assist, full hydration, energy levels at their peak, and the excitement of new exploration Getting out of the Canyon involves the Will to Live :)
I was there with my wife in early March 1981 and we decided to walk down and then back up the next day.

It was snowing at the top, we saw beautiful Spring flowers and an eagle soared just out of reach as we descended. At the bottom it was so hot that we slept out under the stars.

The next day my wife did her knee in and she is still known to complain about how I prodded her with a stick from behind to keep her moving so that her knee didn't seize up 😁. Probably one reason why she never comes tramping with me these days.
 
Down bag (90/10 duvet) of 700 fills with 180 g (6.34 ounces) of filling. Mummy-shaped structure, ideal when you are looking for lightness with great heating performance.

€149,-

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