Page 116 - AGC Journal 2018

GC JOURNAL
2018
A AGC JOURNAL 2018
Exercise Northern
Integrated
Serpent 2018 The border of
Arizona into
Nevada
By Corporal Jessica Denton
The aim of the expedition was to push
ourselves physically and mentally by
trekking across Arizona and California.
I had the opportunity to participate and
when I heard that this would be the last
time that this expedition was run I took
the chance to do something I’ve never
done before and challenge myself.
Las Vegas
Early on Saturday 18th August 2018, we headed to Manchester Airport for
our flights to Las Vegas, Nevada. We then met up with Warrant Officer
Class One Stephen Ashcroft, the expedition leader, and travelled by road
to the Grand Canyon South Rim.
Acclimatisation
The second day began with safety briefs, dividing up the kit and packing
the rations. Then we headed out in the minibuses to visit some view
points and explore the South Rim. A low maintenance day to allow
ourselves to experience the high temperatures.
Early Start
Day three began with an early start. Our team of nine headed to the
Hermits rest trail by bus and we began to trek down the trail into the
Grand Canyon. The journey was very arduous and ten miles long; when
the sun came out the temperature began to rise rapidly. We began to
tire and almost ran out of water; however, luckily at about midday it
started to rain, which cooled everyone down and raised morale. Soon
after, we got to our campsite at Monument Creek. It had a stream
running through, which we could filter and drink from. Once we were
all rehydrated we put up the tents, ate some lunch and rested for the
reminder of the day. A difficult start to a difficult week.
Tonto Trail
Another early start on day four and we walked in the dark to avoid the
heat as much as we could. We were trekking along the ten mile long
Tonto trail, which led to a campsite called Indian Gardens. This day was
a lot easier as we all had enough water and were in good spirits. When
we arrived at Indian Gardens we couldn’t believe how amazing it was. A
fantastic setting for a campsite, nothing short of a small oasis with lots
of tourists all enjoying the fantastic backdrop and the cool temperature.
We even met a Ranger who told us all about the different animals in the
canyon such as rattlesnakes, scorpions and mountain lions. Sleep was Sunrise at the
not going to come easy that night after hearing that I could wake with a
scorpion or snake relaxing beside me. Trailhead
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The Bright Angel Trail
Hoover
Dam We left Indian Garden at and ascended the Bright
Angel Trail out of the Grand Canyon. The trail was
tough but had water stops at every 1.5 mile point.
We arrived at the Bright Angel Trail head at sunrise
and were all proud of ourselves for what we had
achieved. I doubt there is a more beautiful and
challenging place to trek. Once we administered
ourselves we travelled by road to the Hoover Dam
lodge for some much needed rest which was on the
border between Arizona and Nevada.
Hoover Dam
The next day we visited the Hoover Dam and then
continued our journey through Nevada. On the
way we drove through Death Valley and visited
the Badwater Basin, which is famous for being the
hottest, driest and lowest point on earth at 282 feet
below sea level. Death Valley holds the world record
highest temperature. The highest was 56.7 degrees
in the year 1913. We then continued our journey onto
Lone Pine in California where our next challenge
awaited.
The Seventh Day
The team gathered at the Lone Pine Ranger Station
to pack our camping kit, collect permits and get a
brief on the route we were to be taking. We then
took a short trip out to the Manzanar Museum,
where we learned about the World War Two
Relocation Camp intended to house Japanese-
Americans. We then moved to the Onion Valley
Campsite to stay for the night as we would be
leaving from there to climb Mount Whitney in the
Sierra Nevada mountains.
Kearsage Trail
We left the campsite and moved to the Kearsage
Trail Head and began our climb up towards the
Kearsage Pass. Some of the team started to struggle
with the effects of high altitude as the top of the
pass was 11,709 feet. But we carried on as we knew a
swim at a fantastic lake near our campsite awaited
us at the Kings Canyon. Once we had arrived and set
up our tents we were able to swim in the lake and
enjoy our surroundings.
Trekking
through
the Grand
Canyon
The salt
plains of
Bright Angel Badwater
Basin
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