North Kaibab Trail to Ribbon Falls

1/26/2010 I woke up this morning with the canyon shuffle in full swing-just imagine me sliding my feet, not really picking them up at all, in about 6 inch movements- really funny to watch. I know this because as I shuffled along I was able to observe my fellow hikers in the same situation, we all laughed as we tried to make our way up the stairs to the canteen. But, talk of a waterfall was too much to resist so I headed up the North Kaibab to Ribbon Falls.

Part 2: North Kaibab to Ribbon Falls , 12.5 miles round trip, approx. 6 hours

At the trail head were at least 30 mule deer, what a way to start the hike. They just slowly step out of your way, well, until this guy- he just stood on the trail, I bet I waited about 5 minutes, just watching him and then finally he strolled away. They are called mule deer because of the large ears that move independently.

Bright Angel Creek runs through Phantom Ranch and along the North Kaibab trail, it is a beautiful stream with rushing waters, the sound was wonderful as I walked. The trail is over to the right of the stream in my photograph.

This section of the trail is called the box because the canyon walls are so close together.

Even within the vast expanses of the canyon there were so many intimate textures and objects that caught my eye. I found it so amazing that in such an enormous place the little things still had so much visual power. I thought the textures of this decaying wood were absolutely beautiful, I took several photos but this was my favorite.

Petroglyphs and pictographs are not uncommon at Grand Canyon- this is a place steeped with history and the lives of people. On my hike I found a modern day petroglyph- left recently by I hiker like myself- though only days old it still seemed like an interesting human mark on billion year old rock.

This portion of the trail was actually a man made bridge over low rushing water- it was beautiful with the tall yellow rods growing on either side. I was able to walk the path and run both hands along the growth, which was much taller than me.

This is Bright Angel Creek rushing over rocks, brilliant in the middle of this dry canyon. There was a sense of safety in being able to hear the the rushing waters, I never felt lost as long as I could here that sound.

Walking along in a world of reds, browns and greys and suddenly I see this brilliant green growing on the shade side of a large boulder. Green, rust and mint colors covered just one side of this large rock, so beautifully designed that it could have been a painting.

OH! and then there was Ribbon Falls. I could see it from a distance and it was spectacular, a thin "ribbon" of water cascading into open air over the cliff's edge. I was mesmerized as I got closer, but then suddenly the trail seemed to end. Ranger Steve was telling me just the night before to be sure that I took the trail behind the falls so I felt certain that I was missing something. I looked for several minutes and still couldn't find it, so I climbed I tall rock (to get a better view) and had lunch. As I sat there alone, in the midst of a beautiful waterfall, 6+miles from the last person I had seen, reading a topographic map, I realized that I was truly as far from my day to day life as I have probably ever been- and I felt suddenly very motivated to find my way to the edge of the falls. I climbed down from my rock and found a way through water and over boulders to the edge of Ribbon falls and the beauty of it took my breath away an yet again grand canyon brought tears to my eyes. You can't see it in this photo but there was a rainbow in front of the lower portion of the falls- the falling waters and the brilliant colors were even more amazing in the rigid rock landscape.

The trail behind the falls was easy to find once I made my way to the waters edge. the view looking through the falling water was profound in such a dry landscape.

Still behind the falls I was enamored by the large moss/algae covered rock that the waters first landed on. It was the enormous living, bright green mass in the midst of all the red rock, talk about complementary colors.

Silhouette/Shadow portrait at the falls. I started to think of these as my own temporary/digital petroglyphs ( like the modern petroglyph pictured earlier), a digital mark in this prehistoric landscape. What you can't see in the photograph is that the shadow of the waterfall was rushing by me to the right, a constantly moving shadow.

View from the far side of ribbon falls.

Heading Back to Phantom Ranch. You can see the path of the trail by following the creek through the canyon.

Another intimate path, within the wide canyon floor, surrounded by growth- I was taken by how rough/hard/abrasive the plant life was- it would have to be to survive in such a harsh environment.

This last photo is of Phantom Ranch, sitting in front of the Canteen (were I stopped to get fresh drinking water)looking out through grass and trees at some of the cabins, a beautiful place.

The hike to Ribbon Falls was phenomenal and I would do it a thousand times more, even with the calves of fire! In that 12+ mile hike I only saw one person, but I also saw mule deer, a big horn sheep (a lucky glance to the right), ravens and a variety of other birds. There were all variety of plants that I have never seen to include the Agave, which I am now a smidge obsessed with.

I had dinner in the canteen that night- yummy veggie chili and delicious salad ( I had been eating food I hiked in, good, but nothing like real cooked food and fresh green stuff). I was so hungry that I am pretty sure I was eating with two hands, I don't think I elbowed anyone in my flailing attempts to cram food in my mouth. Met some really great people at the dinner table- all of us in the same state of awe, exhaustion, canyon shuffle and sense of community and instant friendship- some pretty spectacular folks. It is at dinner that I met Karen and Cyndee and they became I big part of the rest of my time in the canyon.

I had to walk a half a mile or so to my new home at the River Ranger Station after dinner, and let me tell you- Grand Canyon Dark is really different than the dark at home. I carried my head lamp which illuminated approx. 10 feet in front of me and thought awfully hard about the cougar sighting in the area a couple of nights before- I realized quite abruptly that I have never been trained in the art of dealing with a cougar-WHEW! I have probably never been so happy to get inside.

Down into the Canyon 1/25/2010

When I found out that I was coming to Grand Canyon I knew that part of my journey had to include a hike down to the bottom. One of the many things that amazes me about this place are all of the biotic communities represented here, and the only way you can experience that diversity is to go down in the canyon. I am not a hiker so it took a lot of planning, preparation and research to get ready for this adventure- and then the day came. I plan to write about the hike and my time at Phantom Ranch in several different installments, so here goes.

Part 1: Bright Angel Trail, 9+ miles, 1/25/2010

I was so geared up with all kind of stuff(crampons, gaiters, walking sticks) that I was not familiar with until the sky dumped four feet of snow on Grand Canyon. I was actually supposed to leave two days earlier but the trails were so covered in snow that it wasn't safe. So I took a picture in all of my gear, while still in the apartment at Verkamps, to make memory of the beginning of my career as a hiker.

As I walked along the rim trail I was taken by how beautiful the Canyon was covered in snow, and honestly a little terrified that I was about to embark on my adventure alone. I paused for a moment, took this picture and reminded myself that there was a whole other world for me to see below the rim.

This is the trail head, check out the snow. I am not sure if you can tell from the photo but the narrow trail was flanked by snow that was up to my knees in some spots and as high as my thighs in others.Wow!

As I walked down the trail I was immediately taken by how textural it all was, the view from the rim is so expansive that it can be hard to see the subtleties of the rocks and trees. This site of this red rock jutting out from the snow over the trail was amazing.

Then I turned my head to the right and this is what I saw.

The trail travels down through several switch backs, helping you to gradually (still felt pretty steep to me) get down in elevation. At about 4,000 feet suddenly the snow is gone and soon you enter the oasis that is Indian Garden (about 4.5 miles down). Indian garden is a beautiful area with trees and plants and little streams passing over the trail. I stopped there and sat on a lovely bench to have a snack, slightly overwhelmed that I was not yet half way down. As I was leaving Indian Gardens I saw this tree, it was beautiful all on its own but then look at the view behind it.

It is hard to imagine that I was in a landscape covered in three to four feet of snow just an hour earlier.

I am very far from where I started. Standing in this spot it is crazy to think that I have come this far down and still have a far way to go.

My shadow in the sand. For now these are my versions of self portraits in Grand Canyon. feeling tall and strong and firmly planted in the earth.

These are natural patterns in the rocks. I could not believe how clear and crisp the black/grey lines were. The markings could not have been more beautiful had someone painted them.

Finally, the Colorado River and silver bridge, I was getting really close. When hiking down the Bright Angel trail you do not see the Colorado until you are close to the end- what a joyful sight.



The hike to Phantom Ranch took me just over 6 hours, it was beautiful and challenging and even at the bottom when my calves were so tight that I was walking more like John Wayne than myself (they call this the canyon shuffle, and everyone is doing it) I was so glad to be there. I cannot explain in words how phenomenal the transition is from rim to canyon floor, it is as if you are entering different worlds, one after the other. When I finally arrived at the main ranger station (my home for the first night), I just sat and soaked in all that was there, the beauty, the aching calves and the satisfaction that I had completed the first part of my canyon adventure.

Views from the South Rim

The sun setting on the canyon- the reds are so brilliant.

Silhouette in the snow

The canyon is so expansive, deep and wide, that even while standing right on the edge it all seems unreal. I walked about 7 miles along the rim to a place called Mather point. The trails were so deeply covered in snow that for the majority of the walk I was knee deep. The views at every step will absolutely take your breath away.

Tomorrow I begin my hike into the canyon!!

The Journey to Grand Canyon

I have gone back and forth in my mind about how much I would share with you about my travels and tribulations to get here- but I decided that it is all part of the journey and therefore relevant (and a bit funny). So here goes- what it took to get to Grand Canyon:

Departure from Raleigh, NC was a breeze despite the fact that TSA didn't allow me to bring some of my tools. I boarded the plane to Phoenix, we sat in the the plane at the gate for over two hours- not a problem, we eventually took off and that is truly all that mattered. The flight was seven hours including the two hour delay but I had great neighbors and the flight went well. Yey! I was in Phoenix! I jumped off the plane running, my next flight into Flagstaff-Canceled. After several cancellations into Flagstaff (they were under 4 feet of snow) the airlines decided not to travel into Flagstaff at all, they advised all passengers to get a hotel room and re-assigned flights for the following day. My re-assignment was for 8:30 pm- Yikes! In the meantime I met Gloria and Bob, a wonderful couple from Australia, we had great conversations and yummy dinner.

I woke up Saturday morning , rushed to the airport and got on the standby list for the am flights. And they actually called my name( I really wanted to kiss the flight attendant)- I got on the flight to Flagstaff, which was absolutely amazing I was seventh on the stand by list. As we waited for the plane to depart the pilot announced that this would be the last flight of the day- wow was I feeling lucky. The view from the plane was astonishing! We arrived in Flagstaff to find a landscape blanketed in white- Beautiful.

The last leg of my journey required that I get to the Amtrak station in downtown Flagstaff to catch a shuttle to Grand Canyon. I called Friendly Cab, and they were there within minutes. Myself and another fellow (Jordan) hopped in the cab and started off, through streets lined with 6 foot snow drifts. The cab driver said "Oh, that's not good" and then black smoke began to fill the cab of the car. This poor car was in bad shape, we had to open our doors, as we rolled down the street, to allow the black smoke to escape. We pulled into a gas station and filled the car with oil, then took off again. We made it about a block and the car died again. This happened four times, four different gas stations until finally we had to push the car to its final resting place (at least for that day). I new cab came to our rescue and we were off to the station. I dropped off my bags and found a fantastic restaurant called Macy's in downtown, the food was delicious and affordable.

The shuttle ride from Flagstaff to Grand Canyon was amazing, as the sun began to set it seemed to be below us, radiating out from the snow covered trees and rock formations. I finally arrived at "The Hole" in the last moments of light- it made me cry, it was so spectacular! That moment made all of my traveling tribulations obsolete.

I am honored to be here.

P.S. next post will have lots of pictures

Preparing for departure- WOOHOOO!!!!!

The adventure begins!

I leave early( 4:00 am) tomorrow morning to catch my flight to Arizona. I have everything packed ( I think) in two suitcases- tools, clothes, the works!

So, here is the interesting news- Flagstaff, AZ (where I am scheduled to land) is expecting 4-7 feet of snow by late friday, that is taller than me. At this point it looks like I may be in Pheonix for a few days until things clear up- we will see!

Though sad that there are delays in my plans I am eager to see the canyon covered in snow- sounds pretty spectacular.

Enjoy this photo by Kaldoon.

Exhibition Schedule January - April 2010

WITHIN, Wearable Objects by Erica Stankwytch Bailey, Piedmont Craftsmen, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
http://www.piedmontcraftsmen.org/

Materials: Hard and Soft, Greater Denton Arts Council, Denton ,Texas

http://www.dentonarts.com/gdac99/about_gdac/programs/materials_hard_and_soft.htm

CHARMED, Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA

http://www.contemporarycraft.org/The_Store/Splash.html

The Ring Show, Pullen Arts Center, Raleigh, North Carolina

A.I.R at Grand Canyon- The Countdown

There are only 20 days until my departure to Grand Canyon! This whole opportunity still seems so surreal to me- I can't believe it is actually happening and yet I am so excited. As an artist I am sure that the experience will have a profound affect on my work and my ways of seeing.

So much of my work is about the small within the large- the cell within the larger organism, a shell in an enormous sea- and now I will represent the miniscule being within the vastness of Grand Canyon.

This is were I will be staying!!! Look above the Verkamps sign and you can imagine me standing there looking out over the Canyon.

I plan to blog frequently while I am there as a means to document my experience. I have a lot of fun things planned so I hope you will join me (via my blog) on this amazing adventure! You can subscribe to my blog by clicking a link in the upper right hand corner of this page.