What's going on here?

So, what's going on here?

The IU Rugby Club is celebrating its 50th anniversary on September 8. The Mayan calendar "runs out of time" a couple months later, and some believe that this may portend the end of the World. Whether that's the case or not, we intend to make this a celebration for the ages, and have branded this event as the EOTW Celebration.

Being rugby guys, we've got some crazy plans for the weekend. Like a golf tournament, a parade, an "old boys" match against our arch-rival Purdue alumni, and a banquet at the IU Memorial Union, from which the rugby club was once banned. Just a guess, but I think that a couple of our favorite college bars might also see a spike in business.

I've always wanted to do another cross-country ride on my Harley, and just in case the World really does end, I figure I can kill two birds with one rock by riding my bike to the EOTW Celebration from Newport Beach, CA. The round-trip distance of my intended route looks to be just over 5,000 miles, and I'll be travelling through 13 states. So I'll give myself +/- 3 weeks to get'er done.

I plan on making some fun stops along the way, including 6 national parks, and will try and invoke my usual biker travel-habits as much as I can; like taking smaller roads when possible, staying away from chain restaurants, and starting a conversation with a local at each stop. I always learn some interesting stuff this way.

A lot of friends like to follow my travels when I do something crazy like this, and I've found these blogs to be a pretty fun way of sharing a story. If you follow this one, I hope that you enjoy the ride! If you'd like to read about some of my other adventures, just click on one of the links at the bottom right.

Friday, August 31, 2012

Hiking the Canyon

I would say that I woke up at sunrise, but I'm not sure that I ever really went to sleep.  What a miserably cold night!  I rolled out of the tent in my biker leathers and caught a look of concern from the parents of the family that was having breakfast at the campsite next to me.  All I could do was smile and laugh, but they showed no sense of humor.


After shaking off the cold with a cup of coffee and a can of chili for breakfast, I headed over to the rim and the trail-head of the Bright Angel trail.  If you click on the picture below to enlarge it, you can see the trail as it extends out through the what appears to be the valley floor.


It's about 8 miles out to the point where it looks like the trail stops.  But actually, it's another 1.3 miles from there down to the river.  There are rest-houses along the trail at 1.5 miles and 3 miles.  Both have water, but you're on you own outside of that.  After a 10-hour motorcycle ride and a cold, wet night with little sleep, I figure I'd be doing good to get to the 3-mile point and back.


The picture above is from the 1.5-mile stop.  The 3-mile stop is that little point sticking out near the middle of  the shot.  It's a 2,000 ft elevation drop from the rim to the 3-mile stop, so the trail is pretty steep.  On top of that, it was 96 degrees when I got there.  So much for being cold and wet.


 They advise that it can take twice as long to hike up from the trail as it takes to hike down, and that a reasonable fit person can make it down to the 3-mile house and back in 4 to 6 hours.  I did it in 3:15, so I'm going to claim to be in pretty good shape for an old guy, and ready to play in the rugby game next weekend.

After the hike, I found the park's general store, where I was able to buy a new sleeping bag for $130.  Not nearly as nice as the one I lost, but I'd have paid twice the price to not have to repeat last night.
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