The Grand Canyon is a great place. I used to spend the end of my summers as a kid exploring the bottom. My mom used to drop us off at the north rim and pick us up the next day at the south rim. She always worried about the Colorado river. There are some really good trails that will take you to the bottom and across the river. Phantom Ranch is a good watering hole for the trip out and has a giant foot bridge. The best was exploring the north side which is the pretty side. The best view of the Canyon is from the south looking north but, if you really want to explore some country you'll need to do it from the north side. There are hundreds of dirt roads along the north rim that lead to somewhere that can be explored. We ounce found little canyon tucked back into some mountains that we could get to the bottom with some mules. We had planned to get some beer down there with some dry ice and sell it to the river rafters and make a fortune.
The heat was a real killer. We ounce recorded temperatures over 115 degrees F. at 3:00 in the morning. Our temperature gauge only went to 115 so who knows how hot it really was. Those big red sandstone rocks can really hold in the heat and let it all out at night. I was young so I never took a camera. Looking back I see my mistake but I can still see those big waterfalls tucked back into some slot canyon with hundreds and hundreds of drop.
But its those stunted mule deer at the bottom that impressed me the most. The deer would grow to just under 3 feet tall and then put on the most massive horn mass you could imagine.
Once I was looking for the Colorado river down a narrow canyon, I could hear the river and knew I was close. When you get that close to a big river in the bottom of a huge canyon there is not much else to hear except a giant roar. Sometimes it is so loud that you can't even hear your self scream. I had almost worked my way around a boulder on a narrow trail with some drop off to one side and came face to face with one of these stunted deer. He was a massive horned buck. He was coming up the trail and I down. There was no way for him to turn around and I've never seen a deer back up but a few places. The boulder was to massive and steep to climb and the drop off was sure death. There was only one option and that was for me to back peddle up and out of there before I became a rack ornament. And sure enough here he came. I had positioned this buck into a fight or flight situation and there was no room for him to fly so the game was on. Lucky for me I was young and could move. It was about 15 feet to where there was enough room for the both of us. As soon as he passed three more bucks was right behind him.
It took about 30 minutes before I could move my shaking legs, I had so much adrenalin I don't think I could have tied my own shoe laces. And the entire ordeal there was no sound heard expect the deafening roar of the river. What an experience.
For those who like to stay on the trial. I say get off it and see something. If you've never been to the Grand Canyon do as Doc did and get out there and see it. You will never regret it. I can promise that.
-Middleshot-
