I got up around 6:00 and had coffee with Chuck and spent a little time updating my journal until other people started showing up, around 6:15. Breakfast was simple this morning... just coffee and cold cereal with milk. Chuck had a number of different cereals for us but everyone seemed to go for he banana nut stuff... that's one of my favorites.

We took off for our work project for the day around 8:00, heading down along the Bright Angel Trail to a point where we could cross Garden Creek. We then followed the base of the Tapeats cliffs out to just below Plateau Point where we spent a couple of hours picking up trash. It was interesting to see some of the stuff that will get blown or thrown off of the point. There was the usual paper, bottle and can trash but also hats, sunglasses, film canisters, coins… We even found some interesting historic trash. On the way back to the ranger station some people broke away to head out to Plateau Point but I headed back to the ranger station. I got back there around noon and I had my lunch on the porch while waiting for others to return.

I hung around the ranger station during the afternoon and exchanged a few e-Mails some on-line friends. I still think it is pretty damned cool to be able to do that from such a remote location. It's not fast as the speed of the line is limited to 14.4 and I doubt you get that most of the time... but it is a connection... and you can be on the net. I actually look forward to the day when I can be on-line from anywhere in the Canyon and can stay up at night and surf, or chat or download music to listen to or even movies to watch. Nights in the Canyon can be way too long sometimes.

After dinner and dessert I started my hike out. I left Indian Garden at 8:15 and was back on the rim at 10:15. I was going to drive all the way to Phoenix but decided to stay in Flagstaff for the night and drive down to Phoenix early in the morning. I checked into the Motel 6 around 12:30 and updated my journal before going to bed.