There are a couple things that I would like to share about this trip that I may have left out of the narrative. I'll just list them off the top of my head as I think of them.

People
There were too many of them. I hope no one thinks this sounds elitist or whatever, because it's not meant that way. I have no more right to the Grand Canyon than anyone else. And quite frankly seeing all those people did not annoy me in the least. I find the people I meet in the Canyon (as opposed to those who only peer into it from a point no further than 100 feet from a motorized vehicle) are almost uniformly fantastically nice, friendly, honest folk, who are quite willing to share whatever they have with a fellow Canyon enthusiast. However, I did not include in my report every person I ran into over my 5 night stay, and I would estimate that while I was in the vicinity of the trails, I must have averaged a human encounter every 2-3 hours. I would prefer it be less, and for that I will have to change MY habits and perhaps go to areas where human contact is less likely. Once again, this is my problem, nobody else's and I don't begrudge anybody their right to be where they are, even if I'm there, too. After all, the reason we're there is our love for and desire to preserve that big, beautiful ditch.

Pollution
It was terrible. I was shocked at how hazy the air was. I remember a *little* haze in the air on previous trips, but this was a quantum jump worse than what I have previously seen. It is quite visible in some of my photos. This was my first spring trip. Perhaps time of year has something to do with it.(???)

Airplanes
Not only airliners, but the tour aircraft also. There were times when I looked up and could see two fixed wing aircraft and one helo in the immediate vicnity of each other over the Canyon.

Dehydration
Or maybe false dehydration. Two points. I try to gauge my level of dehydration by how yellow my urine is. I also put Gookinaid in all my water until I run out. On this trip, every time I peed, it was darker than I thought it should be. And I thought I was drinking up a storm, including prehydrating to the point of bloating on some days. On the last day, I ran out of Gookinaid two quarts from the rim. My next pee was clear as glass. So, would I be safe in assuming that Gookinaid darkens your urine? Anybody know?

Food
I was real proud of myself on this one. I came out of the Canyon carrying two Clif bars and two packets of instant oatmeal, meaning I calculated my food needs for five days almost perfectly. Here are some things I would and wouldn't do again in the way of food. First of all, I subscribe to Backpacker, and it seems like every month they have some fancy-schmancy recipe. I'm here to say SCREW THAT. After a day on the trail, the last thing I want to do is take 45 minutes to break out the bone china and whip up a Cajun pepper lamb chop with banana-mango chutney. Fuhget about it. I want something that tastes decent, fills me up and I can fix in ten minutes or less. So here's some of the things I took, and the verdict on each.

Peanut butter. Too heavy. Too hard to clean off the utensils, and it makes me thirsty. I like pb at home but I think that's where I'll leave it.

Gorp. I am just so sick of gorp. I forced myself to eat it this time, but next time, no gorp. Sorry gorp fans, I'm just tired of it. Ix-nay on the Orp-gay.

Ramen Noodles. These were absolutely GREAT. The ones I got (made by Maruchan) came in a package about 4x6x1, if that big. Very lightweight, very small. The noodles cook in THREE minutes! THREE! Then you rip open a flavor packet about the size of a 50 cent piece and stir it in. Bingo, you're eating. Fabulous backpacking fare, IMO. Also the Lipton pasta dinners that come in the foil envelope-type packages are good, but they take longer (about 10 minutes) to prepare.

Cup meals. These look like they would be excellent, but the problem is the packaging. I taped the tops of mine w/ duct tape, but one opened in my food bag and spilled some of the contents before I even got out of my hotel room. The problem is that when wedged down in my pack and compressed, the cups deform, and the top rips away from the cup, spilling the contents. The meals in the flexible foil envelopes work much better.

Freeze dried backpacking meals. I like these for the most part, but they are so expensive compared to some of the other stuff I took. Maybe they are more "nutritious", I don't know. I suppose I will always include one or two of these for every trip, because I LOVE that Mountain House rice & chicken, but the meals I desribed above are a heck of a lot cheaper and more compact, also.

My personal favorite on this trip? I bought a can of Pringles at the supermarket and emptied the chips into a freezer bag at home. I then filled the Pringles can with Carr's Water Crackers. I picked the Carr's because they are round and fit into the can nicely. This worked out great. After all the smashing and smushing my food took being packed and unpacked, only one cracker in the can broke....the bottom one. To put on the crackers I bought one of those spray cans of cheese by Nabisco. Imagine my delight when I picked it off the shelf at the store and saw "No refrigeration required." Paroxysms of delight! My only regret is that I did not take TWO cans of crackers and TWO cans of cheese and I say this quite seriously. It tasted GOOOOOOOD down there in the Canyon and I damn near cried when the spray can fizzled out. These two things are also not very heavy and I think make a great quick snack along the trail.

Gookinaid. The only two other things I might mention is that I take a pile of Gookinaid on these trips. I figure about 6 a day works good for me. I put it in all my water until it runs out. I think it does a real good job of masking any mineral or other unpleasant taste in filtered water and encourages me to drink more. This time I took around 25-27 one quart packets and that was just about right. I ran out with two quarts of water left. As for predeparture water, I used to use spigot in the picnic area across the parking lot from Camper Services. It is no longer there. That area is all torn up with construction. So that's why I used my bathtub at Yavapai Lodge. Where to go in a case where you haven't rented a hotel room is a mystery to me right now. I didn't have time before or after to seek one out.

And one last word.....I can't say enough about my equipment. Water filter, stove....it all worked like a charm. They sure make good stuff these days.