You may remember I was passed by a biker on the trail days ago and he was racing the entire trail. Well, I met another one hiking down into the canyon. His name's Marshal. Since they can't ride through the canyon, they have to 'hike-a-bike' for about 20 miles from the south rim to the north. Marshal was planning to do this in one shot since he didn't have a permit to camp in the canyon.
After passing him, I tried to figure out how I could help. I tries to call the number on my permit to see if I could add a persn - no coverage. I kept my eyes out for a ranger that might change it for me - none around. Finally, when I got to Cottonwood camp, I asked the individual campsites there if they possibly had a permit for more people than were actually in their group - jackpot!
When Marshal drug into camp around 7pm, a spot was open to him and he got to rest before climbing the north rim the next day.
He got an early start but I caught up to him. We talked as we walked which made the hike less arduous, but no less steep. He gave me some 'RockTape' for my sore leg and I eventually moved on ahead. Once the rim top was reached and he could ride, he overtook me on the way to Jacob Lake where he decided to spend the night in a hotel.
How do I know? Well, I hitch hiked and got a ride and bummed his spare bed! More about all that next.