Gale force winds whipped across Mormon Flats this hitch, claiming 6 of our 11 tents...but nobody got it worse than poor Keith. As we worked on the trail, blissfully unaware of the destruction going on below us, our project partner hiked up to pass on the bad news. Of course the question on everybody's lips was, "Whose tent is it?". "Whoever is reading Moby Dick, your tent is f***ed." The 60 mph wind snapped the aluminum poles on three tents and destroyed the rain flies on three more, and with a storm coming in, the decision was to hike out and camp on the South Rim for the duration of the hitch.
The storm hit and dropped temperatures to around 20 deg F at night, in addition to dusting us with snow. NPS provided some sweet little Mountain Hardwear solo tents for those of us whose tents were destroyed on Mormon Flats, so we did alright.
Cold nights were softened with big campfires, and cold mornings meant trips to the Grand Canyon Cafe for breakfast burritos and fresh hot coffee! A tough hitch turned into something special as we soldiered through rough weather and treated ourselves to the perks of frontcountry camping.
After accomplishing some great work on the South Kaibab trail, including repairing an eroded Mule Bar at Cedar Ridge and covering all kinds of check steps, we were rewarded with a hike to view some hidden petroglyphs and a scramble down into a cave on the rim. This was the last hitch with all of the AmeriCorps members together and will go down for me as one of the toughest and most rewarding tours in the Canyon.
Gale force winds whipped across Mormon Flats this hitch, claiming 6 of our 11 tents...but nobody got it worse than poor Keith. As we worked on the trail, blissfully unaware of the destruction going on below us, our project partner hiked up to pass on the bad news. Of course the question on everybody's lips was, "Whose tent is it?". "Whoever is reading Moby Dick, your tent is f***ed." The 60 mph wind snapped the aluminum poles on three tents and destroyed the rain flies on three more, and with a storm coming in, the decision was to hike out and camp on the South Rim for the duration of the hitch.
The storm hit and dropped temperatures to around 20 deg F at night, in addition to dusting us with snow. NPS provided some sweet little Mountain Hardwear solo tents for those of us whose tents were destroyed on Mormon Flats, so we did alright. 
Cold nights were softened with big campfires, and cold mornings meant trips to the Grand Canyon Cafe for breakfast burritos and fresh hot coffee! A tough hitch turned into something special as we soldiered through rough weather and treated ourselves to the perks of frontcountry camping.
After accomplishing some great work on the South Kaibab trail, including repairing an eroded Mule Bar at Cedar Ridge and covering all kinds of check steps, we were rewarded with a hike to view some hidden petroglyphs and a scramble down into a cave on the rim. This was the last hitch with all of the AmeriCorps members together and will go down for me as one of the toughest and most rewarding tours in the Canyon.
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