Stay at the North Rim

At the first evening there is something to be observed from the Lodge wherefore nobody can give a safe answer to me. At considerable distance suddenly a white fire ball ascends that leaves a white tail behind itself (under itself). The ball dissolves and first develops two red rings, that later transform into one red ring. That takes approx. ten minutes! Then the spook is over. My explanation seems to be the most plausible: It concerned an exploding tree in a forest fire area. To be said against is that no smoke is to be seen there.

The night of October 3st to 4th

For the countermarch at October 4th – meanwhile I cancelled a shuttle travel I had booked for - I would like to sleep as close as possible at the Trailhead. An idea with consequences. I set off with my backpack. To the trailhead I first have to pass the campground and then at the way to the backcountry office, the ranger station. I go along the road, the forest track was too dark for me. Every time a car passes, I turn on the flashlight I bought before briefly. I do not think about that the drivers do imagine that. There are rangers and other guys of the campground among them.

As I pass the campground, they expect that I turn off to it as a camper should do. But I don’t do that and unfortunately I also switch on the flashlight. That moment, approx. five seconds later a car starts the manhunt for me. Would I have stopped now, probably all would have been looking good. Since I camped already two nights wildly, I hide myself. A wild search action begins, that shood take the whole night. I twisted myself into the edge of the Canyon rim and thereby I stood where they’ve seen me first, just moved to the rim. My thought that they wouldn’t search there is correct. Two men start to search for me by foot. They only look for me in direction to the trailhead. The whole time I think not to be at the campground but at the backcountry office.

Cars drive as wildly back and forth. When finallythe search steadies, I move into the range where they already searched. Five minutes later a car comes from the campground and looks for me at exactly the place where I evenly still lay. That was scarce.

At 4⁰⁰ am the moon stands highly in the sky and I move to the trailhead. Finally because of my feet I want to have enough time. Unfortunately I must determine that several police cars are guarding the trailhead. I strike myself sideways into the shrubs again and wait. I am so close, that I can read their discussions, but so far away, that there’s no way for them to see me. The whole time lazy folks did not consider it necessary to search again. They even did not step out of their police cars.

The sun comes up. Quarter of an hour later they finally mosey. That they thereby don’t place to me a trap, I can infer from their discussions ("perhaps it is already since a long time in the canyon").

Around 6⁵⁰ am I set off with mixed feelings. But the action really had ended.

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