Here is my post trip report from my recent Grand Canyon Rim2Rim2Rim 2-day hike. Sorry there are no photos as I just couldn't get them to download for some reason.
I arrived at the North Rim at 3 PM on Friday, May 29th. Because this was my very first visit to the canyon. I couldn't wait to see the views from the rim. I was at a loss for words and only remember saying “WOW” over and over. After checking out the views from the North Rim, I decided to go find the N. Kaibab trailhead. I then decided to hike down the N. Kaibab trail about 1.7 miles to the Supai Tunnel and back to get an actual feel for the terrain. This practice hike gave me a good feeling about my upcoming goal to hike 23 miles across the canyon twice in the next two days. I found a nice spot on the shoulder of the road near the trailhead and waited for darkness to arrive. Once it did, I climbed in my truck bed and tried to get some sleep.
I left the N. Kaibab trailhead around 5 AM on Saturday and made my way down to the river. I was able to get through “The Box” area before the projected 103- degree heat of the day, crossed the river, and started up the Bright Angel Trail to the South Rim. Everything was going smoothly until I crashed around mile 19 with four miles to go to the top. I was drinking and eating well and had consumed electrolyte supplements along the way so my bonk confused me. It finally occurred to me that I might be experiencing a version of “hitting the wall”. I have never run a marathon before so I didn’t have much to go on. I decided it was just my body wanting to stop and so now I needed to overcome it with my mind. This appeared to work as soon I was clipping along at the same pace I had before this happened. I was also humbled a bit as right before this happened I was almost laughing at how easy this first leg seemed to be up to that point.
I was able to finish strong and arrived at the South Rim in 9 hours and 15 minutes. I had guessed a 12 hour crossing so I was pleased with this given I was not running at all. Seeing I was feeling pretty good, I decided I would hike back tomorrow instead of taking the shuttle back to the North Rim unless I woke up feeling terrible. I found the shuttle to the Market Place store and went and bought a snack and food for tomorrow’s hike. I decided to just walk the one mile distance over to Mather Campground as this seemed quicker than the various connecting shuttles required to take me there.
The full campground was surprisingly quiet. I found my site, set up my tarp, tied my backpack off on a branch to protect it from any small critters, and decided to scope out how to get from the campground to the highway I would be walking on to get to the S. Kaibab trailhead in the morning. There was a shuttle that runs to the trailhead, yet getting from my campsite over to the Visitor Center involves a bit of walking as well and multiple shuttles so I just planned on walking.
I awoke after several hours of sound sleep to one of the most magnificent full moons I had even seen. As I was laying there trying to get back to sleep, I started thinking about hiking down into the Grand Canyon in the middle of the night. I guess the idea resonated well with my inner being because before I could determine if this was actually a good idea, I was up and packing up my stuff. I left camp at 1 AM and tip-toed through some surrounding sites as I tried to find my way to the highway that would lead me to the South Rim trailhead. I estimated it would be about a 2.5-mile walk.
With the help of the moon, I didn’t have too much difficulty retracing the route I scouted last night and soon I was on the highway. Not surprisingly, there was not any traffic on Hwy 64 (South Entrance Road). According to my pre-trip research, I followed this highway to a stop sign and turned right. That road would then intersect with the park’s Desert View Drive and then lead me to the S. Kaibab trailhead. I walked along Hwy 64 for about 20 minutes and it was nice to finally come to a stop sign as I thought this was a good indication I was in the right place. Looking right, I saw a sign showing the distance to far away towns, but, nothing about Desert View Drive. Would this lead me to back to the park and my trailhead or had I got turned around. I decided to walk it for 20 minutes. If I didn’t see any signs of the park again, I would walk back to this intersection and figure out plan B.
I hadn’t walked more than five minutes and my headlamp caught the piercing red color of six sets of animal eyes not more than ten feet off the road on the side I was walking. The moon helped me identify six large elk laying down in the grass. They didn’t move, although, I could see their eyes continually following me as I continued along. It was pretty cool.
As I continued along, I kept hoping I was on the right road towards the trailhead and not some Southern Arizona towns, yet, there was nothing that looked like a national park anywhere to be found. Luckily, my headlamp caught a merge sign in the distance and soon the park road and the Grand Canyon reappeared. I have to admit that was a very good feeling. I continued to follow the curved path as it followed the perimeter of this wonderful canyon. It was too dark to see clearly, however, the full moon gave off just enough light to see an outline of this magnificent and enormous place.
After another mile of path walking, I arrived at the S. Kaibab trailhead. It was 2 AM. While there were quite a few cars parked there, I was a bit surprised that I did not see another person. I filled up my water containers, took a few photos, and made my way towards the rim’s edge and the nine mile, 4,900 foot descending trail down to the river.
The night was incredible. It was about 50 degrees, a slight breeze, beautiful cloud formations, and a moon with the likes I have never seen before. Down and down I descended. If I wasn’t having the time of my life enjoying the canyon all to myself in the middle of what seemed like a magical night, I might have thought twice about what I was attempting. I intentionally moved a bit slower and more cautiously due to the uneven footing on the steps than made up the trail. There was a lot of exposure in places and a slip or stumble here could result in very long fall with a very bad ending.
On my way down to the river, I only saw four other people on the trail and they were all coming up. Once I arrived at “The Tipoff” it was light enough to turn off my headlamp. From there, it was two more miles to the river and then 13.2 more miles of climbing to reach the North Rim trailhead and the end of my journey. All in all, I felt pretty good going down the S. Kaibab trail, however, I was having a much harder time eating food and drinking water today as compared to yesterday. I knew the importance of each so I was forcing myself to do so, but, it sure wasn’t easy. I made it down to the river and due to my super early start, I made it through “The Box” in the morning hours and missed the heat of the day there again.
I wasn’t thinking quite as clear on my return trip and twice I forgot to fill up at the park's provided water sources on my accent from the river to the North Rim. I brought my water filter so I was able to get water from the Bright Angel Creek on one occasion, yet, I had to really ration water at one stretch later in the day. I struggled a bit more with the 104 high temp on my return trip. I believe this was due to more sun exposure, less water intake, and just an overall tired body. My body didn’t bonk on day two, yet, I definitely took more and longer breaks and climbing was a bit harder than the day before.
I arrived at the North Rim in 12 hours – almost three hours longer than it took to cover the canyon the day before. Overall, I still felt pretty good; yet, day two was quite a bit harder than day one. In closing, my Rim2Rim2Rim Grand Canyon hike was an amazing experience. For me, it was a lofty goal trying to cover 50 miles in 2 days with a full pack of gear in 100+ degree temps, yet, I was able to complete it. Seeing the canyon from the rim is amazing, yet, getting down in it was even more incredible.
