The Hike of Hikes - Preface

I've finally mustered the energy to post more about the Grand Canyon trip! It's not that I've not done it on purpose, I've not done it because I've been too tired the last few days to do it. I posted a few pictures here of our first day, our first glimpse of the canyon. Now I'll talk about the second day. Thursday we did the most amazing hike ever. It's so amazing that it deserves a good, thorough telling of it. And lots of pictures. I have so many pictures (memory is cheap), there's no way I can post them all here. The Hike of Hikes is a story in 3 acts: Part 1 is "The Backstory," the events leading up to the hike and some background information. Part 2 is "The Descent," our descent down the steep South Kaibab trail, making our way to the river. Part 3 is "The Ascent," making our way back out of the canyon up the Bright Angel Trail.

So to begin.