April 7, 2006

Cosima came up with a great last minute idea for our fourth wedding anniversary..........we'd go to the Grand Canyon for a hike.  I got to pick the hike!  With a little help from my guide book, and a fair bit of past experience, I quickly came up with Lookout Point on the "unmaintained" Hermit Trail as our objective.  It would be a moderately strenuous 10 to 11 mile day hike, but well worth the effort.  Click here for a map.

Approaching the beautiful rest hut at Santa Maria Spring.

I had done it as a backpack three times in the past, but Cosima had never seen it.  I remembered how beautiful it was, so we got a last minute reservation at the Grand Canyon Inn in Valle and headed off to Arizona for our 3 day trip.

The Grand Canyon's Hermit Trail  began as an Indian route, as did many other Grand Canyon trails.  Hermit was originally know as Horse Thief Trail by prospectors.  It  was a prospector named Dan Hogan who began construction of the modern Hermit Trail in 1896.  His trail was further improved by the Santa Fe Railroad about a decade and a half later.  They used this trail as an entry into the canyon in an effort to bypass the toll that was currently being charged for use of the Bright Angel Trail.  The Santa Fe Railroad constructed a small camp called Hermit Camp at the end of the trail near where Hermit Creek cuts through the Tonto Platform and descends to meet the mighty Colorado River.  Hermit Camp, as it was called, provided a stop-over point for parties headed for the river and was active until the 1930's.   For much more information click here.

The best part of the trip was not the perfect  hike, or the incredible "Grand Canyon IMAX Movie", but a short, but oh so sweet, ceremony that we performed on our last day of the trip.  We renewed our wedding vows!  I gave Cosima a Turquoise ring that she picked out herself (so I know she loved it). I came away from the ceremony feeling completely renewed myself.  Thank you again Cosima.......I truly do love you!

Our photo gallery attempts to illustrate a few of the amazing views that we encountered.