On Justice and Poverty

Ruminate on those wise words while this blogger recovers from 5 weeks of driving:-)

The lone ranger/long distance driver/historical site sojourner has returned from his cross-country van exploration, after he and his wife visited with his son, daughter-in-law, and 3 grandkids on a Florida cruise. This was my first cross-country adventure since 1967. Then I had been drafted and drove all the way to Trevose, Pennsylvania in my Mystical Hippotamus Chevy van to begin alternative service at Eastern State School and Hospital, a medical facility for the treatment of emotionally disturbed children and teenagers.

Older, wiser (a little:-), and far more tired, here I go again, writing blogs:-)

Below is a picture of the ol' backpacker hiking down the Tanner Trail in the Grand Canyon several days ago. Triple play...it was my third time down into the Canyon via that seldom used trail. I was the only one on the trail, except for a guy from Pennsylvania who I told about it.

You can vaguely see the continuing trail in the middle of the picture in the side of the central greenish bluff. I didn't go that far. Last time I walked the whole way carrying 2 gallons of water in my backpack (as there is no water on the trail until you get to the bottom at the Colorado, and the Tanner Rapids).

It's over 8 miles long. And back then I spent the night in my Eureka tent, and watched a few boats run the rapids the next day. BUT I'm not up to that any more. Still, despite my bad back, lack of energy, etc., I was able to go for about an hour down the trail this time and made it back up:-)

Here I am paused part way down into the grandeur earlier this week.



The first time I backpacked down the Tanner was in the winter and I had to post-hole through knee-deep snow, often couldn't even find the trail, just descended gullies at times. On that freezing, snowy trip, I didn't make to the bottom either. Finally gave up after I camped on the Tonto Plateau, and another snow storm was moving in, and I decided to pack up my tent, and come again when it was warmer:-)
Long live the Grand Canyon:-)

In the Light,

Daniel Wilcox