Hi this is TA calling in from the south rim of Grand Canyon National Park. We came off the river yesterday; we had a most wonderful last morning of floating down the last few rapids and didn’t want to get to the take out. It often feels when you finished rafting in the Grand Canyon that you are now only prepared to go and do it all again. Several of us would have gone right back up to Lees Ferry to start again. Despite the norovirus we fought off, the super cold temperatures and the big winds, the head winds we had to row into we had a marvelous, amazing time.

It’s a rapid transition, we got dropped off at Williams yesterday around 4 hit the Grand Canyon at 5, rapidly packed up the food for our backpacking trip and started to get people ready. The crew is coming together beautifully and we are heading off to the grand view trail head in a few moments. My ankle is doing pretty well we have decided that I am just going to be carrying a daypack to see how it goes, looking forward to using my poles. I did go for a 4 mile hike in Havasu Canyon where I was very, very mindful of every foot placement. The next eight days will be a very tough mental challenge of paying close attention to every time my right foot goes down and which foot I lead with, but I’m just feeling very privileged and blessed to be able to go.

A big shout out and hello to my buddy Karen, my phone card wont let me make a second call so cant leave you a message on that, so I’m saying hello to you here and hoping that you are having a grand April. Hi to my family and to all the friends and family of the folks that are traveling with us here in the Grand Canyon.

We are heading down the grand view trail to Horseshoe Mesa tonight and then Hance canyon tomorrow and then Hance rapids and then Escalante beach over to Tanner beach, then up over the red wall and back to Tanner and then for the shock of all shocks head into Las Vegas. So looking forward to walking for eight days, glad my leg has healed enough to at least allow me to start.

We will talk to you when we get back from the canyon,

Thanks for coming along…Take good care

TA