The hike

Along the way we saw some neat wildlife, and they let us get really close.

One of the first lookout points - Bradley and I got off the trail and walked over to the edge. Rick was a tad bit nervous, but still managed to snap a few photos. At this point, life is great. We are all soooo excited to be seeing the "big ditch" as Rick calls it. Our energy is excellent, even though it is really hot and sunny. Having on a black shirt didn't help matters much.

All along the trail there are these benches for people to sit and rest. At first, we were passing up about 5 or 6 benches at a time. As the hike progressed, we would pass up 3 or 4. Near the end, I was stopping at large rocks in between the benches if they were in the shade. What Relentless failed to mention in his whole "eat, walk, ride" mantra was that the "walk" was entirely uphill. At 1:00 p.m. The hottest part of the day. In extremely high altitude. With very little shade.


After about a half an hour, we came upon a sign. We had been .90 of a mile, and the hike up to Yavapai point was another .75 of a mile. You have got to be kidding me....we're only halfway? Oh well, we're committed now. By the time we were stopping between benches, even Bradley, who is in excellent shape, was complaining. Nobody cared about the big ditch any more. One view is the same as the other. The only thing pushing us forward was the promise of the bus ride down.

Yavapai Point. Sure would have been nice if we would have started here and walked down. Damn that Relentless PSA!!