I’ve got good friends to the left of me
And good friends to my right
Got the open sky above me
And the earth beneath my feet
Got a feeling in my heart
That’s singin’ “All in life is sweet”
Oh what a day! Oh, what a day! Glorious!
“Glorious” by MaMuse
Thank you Pandora for introducing me to MaMuse and this song. I love the message…good friends, open sky – what a glorious day! Long before MaMuse, a guy name Epicurus opined, “Of all the things that wisdom provides for living one’s entire life in happiness, the greatest by far is the possession of friendship.” In April of 2013 the Diapers and Depends group of friends set out to prove right both MaMuse and Epicurus…that being outside with good friends is glorious!
Our plan was to spend 5 days and 4 nights traversing the 40-ish miles of the Escalante route from Lipan point to the Grandview trailhead. Forty-ish miles of Canyon splendor. According to Grand Canyon literature the Escalante route is just that – a route. It is not a maintained trail. Thanks to Outside magazine, the internet, and idiots like me writing about it – the Escalante has become quite popular of late…well relatively popular. Compared to the Phoenix-esque rush hour traffic on the corridor trails, it’s still a very remote experience. I’m not, however, going to add to the traffic by giving step by step directions. Following the pattern I’ve used on other posts, this is meant to be more of a celebration of a good time spent with good friends in a (pardon the pun) grand place.
Our ‘Diapers’ contingent was composed of Karen “I never met an adventure I didn’t like”, Cailie “The Gnome Princess” and husband “Handsome Rob”, and Andrew (it would be impolite to share his nickname). The geriatric ‘Depends’ group included Dan Boss Backer, my lovely bride Sharon and yours truly. Our first day took us part way down the Tanner trail. After a side trip to the top of Cardenas Butte, we continued on to one of my favorite campsites in the Canyon, a site that offers amazing views of the entire Furnace Flats area. Following are pictures from all our campsites.
Night two brought us to Cardenas Beach.
Night three was another night next to the River at Papago Creek.
Final night…Hance Creek.
Views from the Trail.
Thoughts from the trail.
Time. People who venture into the Canyon often discover something known as “Canyon time.” It is a place where watches don’t matter. Almost immediately you begin to wonder, “what is this useless thing and why is it strapped on my wrist?” That is not to say that time ceases to exist. Even in the Canyon, one is very much aware of time. Spend too much time in bed, or lingering over the morning cup of java and the Orb of Death will introduce you to a special level of misery. Minutes spent traversing under a hot Canyon sun can seem like hours. Conversely, beautiful spots like our camps at Cardenas or Papago with good friends, and tempus fugit – time flies.
We experienced all the extremes of Canyon time during our too short time on the Escalante. Enroute to Papago Andrew, Rob and Cailie wanted to ‘make time’ and get to camp to maximize our lounging time on the beach. Especially with the Orb of Death making our lives miserable, Karen would have preferred to ‘take time’, spending extra time in the occasional shade and enjoying the views along the way. Once we made it to Papago and had the cooling Colorado close at hand, shade in which to lounge, Karen’s happy hour flask, snacks, conversation, quiet for contemplation – and time passed far too quickly. The climb from Hance to the Grandview trailhead seemed to take forever, and once we reach the parking lot and (curses) civilization – and instantly the trip went from being experience to a fleeting memory.
Friendship vs. Friendliness. Dan Boss, Handsome Rob, the Gnome Princess, Ass Man (OK – now you know), Sharon and I had all been to Nepal together, as well as other adventures. Dan and I had known each since high school and had a lifetime of adventures between us. Sharon and I had known Karen for some time and had shared enough to consider her a friend. I contrast that with many of the people I know from around town and from work. I am on friendly terms with and enjoy spending time with those folks. However, going on a trip like this really brought home the value and importance of friendship vs. friendliness. At various times, especially in Nepal together, we’d seen each other at our best, and at our lowest. We could talk about anything, and conversations ranged from deep and thoughtful to bawdy and hilarious…and always…every day, something poop related or medically disgusting. I’d say MaMuse and Epicurus got it right and I consider myself extremely blessed to have such friends.
Experience. The Canyon is such a magical place, I love introducing newbies to its wonders. It is also rewarding to introduce people to the joys of camping and backpacking. As John Muir once said, “The world’s big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark.” It’s nice to get people out into that big world. Having said that, it is also very, very nice to go backpacking with experienced people who know what they are doing. With people as experienced as our group, it is all about enjoying the experience – rather than trying to figure out how to enjoy the experience.
All too quickly this trip ended and another chapter was added to the book of Diapers and Depends Expeditions. In the words of one of Flagstaff’s famous sons, “Don’t be sad its over, be glad it happened.” Amen brother!
“The wonders of the Grand Canyon cannot be adequately represented in symbols of speech, nor by speech itself. The resources of the graphic art are taxed beyond their powers in attempting to portray its features. Language and illustration combined must fail.” -John Wesley Powell
(If you want to hear the song “Glorious” by MaMuse, you should be able to find it here. If this link doesn’t work, please let me know.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D75010fQY-0
I’ll leave this here for your viewing pleasure.
https://youtu.be/hzHOmiV0eGU
Hahaha…as far as Flagstaff is concerned – you are! And much more deservedly so.