Mister Fixit's World

 December 15, 2020 Today's hike was just to climb the rest of the way out to the south rim. I took very few pictures because my past experience told me it wasn't worth the bother. In winter the top of the BA is continually shaded and the contrast between the sunlit and shaded canyon is just too great for either my camera sensor or my limited editing skills to overcome. If ever there was a scene that begged for the latitude of C41 print film this is it! I have hundreds of photos coming up BA from my previous trips and all either have blown out highlights or blocked up shadows. The geography of this particular place is such that midday in summer is the best time to photograph it because the sun is high enough in the sky to light it evenly and fully. But, for the sake of completeness here are a couple of photos from near the top. I did quite a bit of fiddling with the second photo to preserve as much detail as i could. Upon reflection I can't say that bringing the 10mm lens wa...

 December 14, 2020 Today I headed up the Bright Angel Trail to camp at Indian Gardens. The first time we came to the canyon we hiked BA all the way to the rim, but we weren't carrying camping gear or heavy packs. I wasn't in any hurry so staying at IG makes the trip a lot easier, and it gives you the bonus of being able to hike out to Plateau Point which IMO is the best view in the canyon. The first two miles are actually not on the Bright Angel Trail. When you cross the silver bridge you are on the River Trail until it ends at the base of BA. This is looking back toward the campground and Phantom Ranch. You can see the silver bridge and then the black bridge beyond it at the base of the SK. The water pipeline of the south rim crosses the river under the silver bridge. Another view from the River Trail. Here's where the BA trail begins. After about a mile you arrive here, and this is where the real fun begins. This is the bottom of a section called the Devil's Corkscrew...

 December 13, 2020 Today's hike was the return to Bright Angel Campground back down the North Kaibab. I started the morning with frozen water bottles so I couldn't get a drink until I thawed them out. Ever stick a frozen quart of water under your armpit in December? After the disappointment of being turned back the day before I added another disappointment because my planned side trip to Ribbon Falls was hampered by the same rain that fell the day before. The creek was running so high I couldn't find a place to cross that wasn't over my boots. Since the air temperature was near freezing I wan't about to take them off and wade it in my camp shoes. I suppose visiting Ribbon Falls is something I'll just have to add to my "If I ever get back to the Grand Canyon" list. Naturally the sun came out on my way back down thru The Box. You can see how direct sunlight in August could really be a problem here when temperatures can reach 120 degrees in midday. Passin...

 December 12, 2020 The goal for today was to see how far I could go up the North Kaibab trail. I had hoped in my most optimistic dreams to make it all the way to the Supai tunnel. I was a little sore from the two days of walking but I was otherwise optimistic. Alas, it was not to be. I have precious few photos from the whole day because I had barely left camp that morning when the wind began picking up and a wintery rain/snow mix began falling. I had to put my camera in my pack to protect it from the rain and only took it out for a few seconds to grab a couple of quick pictures. The water was off at Cottonwoods so I had to filter water the night before. Amazingly it was still on at the Manzanita rest area so I drank like a parched rhino even though I was freezing once I stopped moving. Looking up toward the rim I caught a glimpse of what was headed my way. Notice how the snow is obscuring the detail up near the rim. I only made it as far as Roaring Springs (a little over two miles ...

 December 11, 2020 The goal for today was to hike the 7+ miles up the North Kaibab trail from Bright Angel Campground to Cottonwood Campground. The farthest I had ever been up the NK was to the junction with the Clear Creek Trail where I had hiked up to the Phantom Ranch overlook a few years ago.  This hike took me thru the section of the canyon called The Box. This is the narrow canyon carved out by Bright Angel Creek, and in summer it's quite dangerous. The dark rocks and close walls trap the heat and will bake hikers during the midday when the sun is beaming down. Because it was winter there wasn't any direct sunlight until the middle of the day, and it was actually quite comfortable. In summer the NPS tells hikers only to enter this portion of the trail in early morning and late afternoon. Once out of The Box the trail passes thru some interesting areas, including a few areas of heavy vegetation. All the way to Cottonwood the trail never ventures very far from the creek. N...

 December 10, 2020 This is the 5th time I've hiked in the Grand Canyon. All of my hikes have either been in late December or early January. This is the first time it was above freezing at the trailhead and the first time I didn't have to wear micro spikes. I had never seen the South Kaibab trailhead not covered in ice. It was cloudy and threatening rain, but off I went at about 8:30 in the morning after catching the first hiker shuttle from the Backcountry Office. Photographic note: all images were taken with a Nikon D3300 DSLR with a 10-24 lens. The D3300 is a DX camera so the 1.5x crop factor applies, making this lens the 35mm equivalent of a 15-36. On all my previous trips my widest lens was a 28mm equivalent and I deliberately brought this wider lens to see if having the superwide perspective helped to better represent how I perceived the canyon visually. Most of the photos were taken at the 10mm setting for that reason. I'll share my thoughts on how I feel about that ...