Four rugged young men went on a trip to hike the Grand Canyon’s North Rim shortly after two graduated from high school. These intrepid explorers included me (age 18), a high school buddy (age 18), my brother (age 17), and a younger friend (age 15). We made it to the North Rim without incident. This is when youth and the unforgiving nature of nature collided.
We descended into the Canyon in the morning, carrying a four man tent, sleeping bags, and a few provisions. Shortly, we found out how ill-prepared we were. Three nights on the trail, as it turned out, did not require a tent. No rain, no need. You sleep under the stars. Food is more important, and we had a little more than nothing, having forgotten much of what we brought back in the car. So the four of us shared a can of beans and some soda the first night.
We walked to Bright Angel Campground the next day without our tent; my buddy tossed it behind a row of bushes. The tent was brand new. I questioned the decision. The reply, however, made sooo much sense. “We are the only stupid people who would bring it down, and we are the only stupid people who are going to bring it back up.”
Now you may wonder what this story has to do with daylight saving time. Well, stupid people do stupid things. And we continued to do just that. During our short seven mile walk to the banks of the Colorado River, where we knew there was a lodge and concession stand, we quickly were exposed to the sun as it rose over the rim rocks. The morning wore on, and the sun beat down. And we baked.
Finally, after reaching our destination, we left our gear at our campsite and proceeded down to a cool spring running through the area. We doused our sunburned bodies, and grimaced in agony and relief. When we returned to our site, we found squirrels had broken into our quickly dwindling stash of nourishment, my grandmother’s chocolate chip cookies. They were gone.
The only consolation to our misery was the concession stand, which sold $50 sandwiches that would normally go for .50 in an economy experiencing hyper inflation. Still, you know what? They were GOOD!
Later, we discussed our trip back. Our plan was to start out early to beat the heat. We would get up when the concession stand opened at 6:00 A.M., buy a our supply of sandwiches, and head out. So we rose early, made a bee line to the stand as planned, and waited for it to open.
Oddly, the stand did not open on time. We knocked on the window. And again. A voice finally directed us to go away, to come back when the stand opened. We were confused. It was 6:00 A.M.!
Then it dawned on us. It was 5:00 A.M. standard time. Arizona does not observe daylight saving time. So we were screwed. We had the options of waiting an hour and scorching in the sun; or leaving earlier without sandwiches, avoiding the sun bake. We chose option two.
It was a harrowing trip back. My buddy moaned how we were going to die. But we prevailed. I carried the tent back up, arriving with my 15-year-old colleague several hours ahead of my buddy and brother, just in time to have to wait an hour before the restaurants opened on the North Rim.