Day 10 - AZT750

Bivouac - Tusayan - Grand Canyon Cottonwood Field - 60kms + 17miles hiking

By BIKEPACKING.BE

May 9^th, 2015

Paris roubaix

Last night, I was tired, very tired at 6 PM. I took my sleeping bag and bivy and slept next to the track, about 40k’s from Tusayan, the last town for resupply before going into the Grand Canyon.

I got up at 1:30 AM, left by 2 AM … it was cold but it got colder and colder. The tube of my Camelbak got frozen, I had to stop several times to warm up my fingers, although I had “winter” gloves.

I made it to Tusayan by 6:30 in the morning, went to the McDonalds, and Jens was there. We decided to eat breakfast, and as we both like “babyheads”, we watched the last 30k’s of Paris Roubaix on our mobile phones. One the important things were done, we continued our journey to the Grand Canyon, the South Rim.

Suddenly .. the canyon appears ... amazing!

See you on the other side …

Ready for 24 miles portage

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almost at the bottom

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farmer's ranch, bottom of the canyon

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The descent from the South Rim to the bottom is 10 miles. We decided to go on until Cottonwood Field, a camp ground, 7 miles further, a bit of climbing but not very demanding.

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let's call it a day: 60kms biking + 17 miles hiking ... +20 hours

At Cottonwood Field, we decided to stop and sleep. My feet were full of blisters and painful. Took some pain killers and went to sleep. Plan, get up around 5 and go on , 7 more miles, 7 very steep miles to the North Rim… there’s no alternative!