Stanna has been more productive than me this last week. She’s almost done with another shawl. It takes at least 4 times as long to plan, warp and thread the loom as it does to weave it. Right now she’s weaving, enjoying the “dessert” of the efforts.
All I managed was a measly sun shade for the upcoming desert hike. It’s long been on a list, but the crux move was locating an ultra-light fabric. Fortunately, friend Janet had a remnant piece available and even gave me a pattern. Velcro fasteners are heavier than the fabric shade itself so it barely adds any weigh to my load.
Mike Taylor and I knocked off a couple of training hikes for the Grand Canyon adventure this last week and one mountain bike ride. A couple hours into the ride we wondered why we were on a trail we wouldn’t even enjoy walking on. Unusually heavy Fall rains had really rutted the tracks to the point of taking the fun out of the ride. Fortunately the three hikes (left traced on Google Earth) offered smoother trails and lingering Fall colors.
The big November adventure will be an 8-day hike down into the Grand Canyon following the Royal Arch and South Bass trails. If we’re lucky we could be some of the first to glimpse the results of a 96-hour flood release from Glen Canyon Dam to replace the sands and silting along the Colorado River beaches and bends. Map on the right is the GPX tracks pre-loaded on my iPhone GPS app.
This will be one of the longer ultra-light backpacking trips I have taken. Most interesting is that the weight of the food, 9.75 lbs, weighs more than my entire base weight (pack, gear and clothes) at 9.59 lbs. Biggest unknown is water sources this time of year, so we’re set to carry 4-5 liters each when necessary. My starting load is calculated to be 27.5 pounds and will decrease by 1.5 pounds of food a day, plus 2.2 pounds less for every liter of water I consume. If all goes well I should be able to climb out of the Canyon with only the 9.5 pounds plus a little water.
Food prep is always a fun part of the preparation. It takes lots of dehydrated ingredients, a kitchen scale and lots of ziplock bags. We like concocting our own meals, so we can keep the weight down, calories high and taste palatable. 8 dinners, 8 lunches and 8 breakfasts plus snacks takes a bit of work to try and achieve 3,500 calories in 1 1/2 pounds a day.
And Stanna’s still getting out with the Wednesday Women’s Group. This week they had a private tour of 3 ruins in McElmo Canyon 60 miles west of Durango. She’s been Trail Boss for the past two seasons, organizing weekly hikes when we’re home.
