The mother of them all
Whew, it’s been a while since I last posted, but what a great experience has this been! We went out Tuesday morning, had a comparatively short hour-and-a-half drive to our campsite, set up camp, and set out on our first working day: gathering regular-shaped stones that would eventually get used as steps in a rock-built staircase.
The next two days were spent working on the anti-erosion measures at the Bright Angel trail, the busiest of the trails at Grand Canyon, especially near the top. Why? Because it has resthouses with toilets and drinking water at regular intervals (1.5 miles down, 3 miles down, etc.). Anyway, we were moving rocks, clearing sediment from blocked ditches, creating paths for the water that run away from the trail so it doesn’t erode, and other fun stuff like that. We really had a good time out working on the trail, despite the rain coming in one day.
Look at the view I had from my workplace! If that’s not a huge motivator, then ACE might not be something for you, because picking away at rock-solid soil, shovelling the dirt to other places, moving rocks, and getting the trail walkable again can be physically exhausting activities, especially with the sun high in the sky and humidity soaring on some days in monsoon season.
On our evenings, we were either just relaxing by the campfire, going out to the rim for an amazing view down the abyss (I even went there once at night. Everything was pitch-black, and you could see all the stars, and the milky way as well!), or to the staff recreation center to go for a drink, some soccer or WiFi.
Inbetween two periods of working on the trail, we had two days of fencework to do. The National Park Service asked us to put up a fence around some piles of rock that they had specially selected for use on some trails later on, and didn’t want the subcontractors to use in their work the coming weeks. So, we started doing again what I did back in Bryce: pounding in posts, and getting the orange plastic mesh up on them.
On the next-to-last day, while working on the trail again, we even stumbled upon this little fella
Now, the scorpions around Grand Canyon are not lethal (at least not for fit, healthy young people like us), but they will make you feel extremely miserable for a couple of days. That’s why we always wear gloves while working, and lift rocks away from us so any critter under it doesn’t go running towards your legs!
On our last day, we only had to work until twelve, so it would be a waste of time to go back on the trail (we were working a bit more than a mile down at that point, and hiking up and down the trail every day, carrying our equipment with us), so the Park Service got us to build some armour for a rainwater underpass, so that the rain doesn’t erode the road. I must say I was pretty good at getting these rocks in the right way, must be the son of an architect đŸ™‚
After that, we returned back to Flag, with our minds already set on the 25ct-per-drink (yes, any drink! Go Vodka-Coke!) happy hour at the local bar. I had already made plans for a roadtrip on project (more about that when we return), so we’ll be off tomorrow until monday. See ya!