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Well, many of you have asked, what happened to my Blog. So, I thought I owed it to all of you to post something of an explanation.
My last blog post was over a month ago, when I achieved the near impossible. Nearly impossible for me anyway, I conquered Punk Out Point!
After that I received news that I was not able to get the cabins/accommodations at the bottom of the Canyon at Phantom Ranch. To get those cabins you have to apply through a lottery 13 months ahead of time, and I did not win for October 2022, nor did I win for November 2022. With this news I felt the wind leave my sails. The Canyon trip was off, and I would have to wait another year! I was getting ready to unpublish my site!
Why did the trip need to be October/November you may ask? The reason is that the Arizona Monsoon season runs from June through the end of September which is also the hot of summer not really the optimum time to hike the GC. During Winter months the upper portion of the trails near the rim can get icy. So, the sweet spot to hike the canyon is after Monsoon season, after summer when it is a little cooler at the bottom and before Winter where there is little to no ice at the top near the rim.
Then just as I was unpublishing my website a news feature came on TV and it was about this Russian guy, a double amputee, who had just climbed Mt. Manaslu in Nepal with only his hands pulling himself up the mountain! On top of that this was the first-time mountaineers have scaled Mt Manaslu in the autumn season in the last 45 years! Here is link to that article:
This guy was an inspiration to me. He makes my problems seem very, very, trivial!
Then, enter my friend from UK, Caroline Hope, who is a fellow hiker. Caroline very sternly suggested that there were alternatives that I needed to check out and that I was not going to quit! She offered alternatives such as a hiker outfitter/guide that would provide the gear and campsite to camp at the base of canyon.
And my wife who prodded me to get moving again!
Then my Doctor Karima Hirani sort of gently prodded me to continue and sent me this following link that really got me to get this post out.
I can only think these were all messages to get off my butt, stop sniveling and get after my goal somehow someway! So, I am currently investigating options and talking to a couple of outfitters. More to come on that! As soon as I nail something down, still targeting October/November 2022, I will let you know. In the meantime, I am reinvigorated to start my hiking back up so I am prepared for whatever goal presents itself that may be Grand Canyon or it could be Mount Whitney or something else entirely. So will be posting that progress.
Thank you all for your support and encouragement and prodding and threats! Rex
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