Grand Canyon- Double Crossing aka “Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim”- BPL Group Run

David- SK sounds good to me well at least we know where will end and start, now if if we could peer into the crystal ball and see where we head back at :)

Mike

My vote is SK-NK-SK too.

I'm flowing downstream with the rest of you fish, so SK-NK-SK.

still on the fence whether its gonna be
SK-NK-SK
or
BA-NK-BA

faster time v.s. harder workout.

enjoyed reading this one:

http://devoncrosbyhelms.com/2011/04/grand-canyon-rim-to-rim-to-rim-fastest_23.html

I'm gonna barrel down and crawl back up via SK-NK-SK

that was both inspiring AND painful to read :) congrats to those gals!

I will assume that silence in this particular thread is a good thing- hopefully everyone is doing well!

I'm adding a +1 to the list, got the thumbs up this morning on our run. My friend Dan C. is joining our company. His plan to hike the Hayduke with a buddy fell through so R2R2R it is I guess. He's currently living here in NM, but leaving for Bishop, CA at the end of the month for several weeks to climb, so will likely be heading towards the S. Rim around the same time as Craig and Adan. He expressed interest in carpooling. Any space left in one of the eastbound traveling vehicles?

If so I can put you guys in contact or try and get him to get in on this thread.

Hey guys! Hello. Ive been quiet cause ive been workin lots n have nothin new to say, ha. Ive just been doin my 6-10 a day 4 days a week (my job is a lot of physical-labor 6-7 hrs a day, thats why im only running 4 days, sometimes 5) Anywho…Im gonna run down Kaibab to the river n back today. Havent been down there ina few weeks.

OH! i remember now what i was gonna ask! Hey, since I work for the hotels here, I can get a big room with 2 beds anda couch for half price with my employee discount. Its supposed to be only for myself and/or family, but Pffft, they dont check, It also applys to me staying too, SO, if i reserve n pay for the room n tell them Its for me and friends, itll be cool. then you guys just reimburse me wen ya get here. Itll save ya lotsa money, its half off. BUT I can only get 1 room. but ya could sleep 5 in there if you dont mind sharin a queen sized bed w/another guy. I know theres more than 5 comin out, but thats the best i can do. Ide say ADAN gets a spot fo sho since hes the one i sorta know online/who invited me….then he can pick tha other 4. To make it fair, ide say the peeps with less income get the cheap room. whoever makes more/has better job hasta pay for there own. Obviously ya dont have ta do it that way, but thats how ide pick. Lemme know if ya wanna do this, then I'll make the reservation if theres a room available that night or nights..

Torrey, that's an awesome offer, thank you! I would offer my spot up to Craig and Eugene first for putting this together. You guys call it.

I'm good staying in camp or chipping in for a room. Craig's my ride so I'll just tag along wherever.

Cant wait to meet everybody and stand on the rim and look out across that thing and breathe it all in and push off finally. All thrilled and nervous just thinking about it. This is what it's all about. I'm a get some!

Thanks for the generous offer Torrey, but I will pass as well. I made reservations for campsite #161 at Mather on the S. Rim, so will stick with that. Not as lux as a climate controlled room and clean linens but that's alright by me. You're welcome to join us all over there. I think the other folks were going to get a site nearby as well.

Torrey, how are snow conditions along the N. Rim?

I'm actually anxious to camp out and finish out the days with a beer by a fire. I'll skip the hotel. Finding a hot shower Saturday night would be sweet…Did the campground have showers?

OK. no room, unless someone else say different. Yes there's showers at the mather campgrounds here in the park…dunno bout other places outside the park. And I have a place to sleep, I live here, in my dorm-room in the park. So I have a place, :) I will come visit ya guys at the campgrounds for sure though. If you guys stay at Mather campground, youll be pretty much right across the street from my building.

As to snow, we had a sad lil anti-winter here just like the San Gabriel mtns. Theres basically none here or at the north rim either according to the NPS reports I read this morning, the first 1/2 mile of Kaibab is a lil icy but it wasnt bad today when i ran down to the river thismorning. Ill let ya know if anything changes with the snow situation of course :) But if we dont get another storm, there will be nothing here.

torrey,

These guys like sleeping outside and showers are not that big of a deal to most :)

Ah, ok then :) If things keep goin the way they have been, sleeping outside might be nice even, temperature wise I mean.

I'm writing about my hike this year to do the R2R2R. My running days are over.

My intention is to go Memorial Day weekend (Saturday-Sunday) this year. The North Rim will be open by then.

I've hiked the SoBo twice (Memorial Day weekend 2010 [8.75-hrs leaving at midnight f/ North Rim] & Memorial Day weekend 2003 [8-hrs leaving at 4-AM f/ North Rim]).

A definite preference for starting at North Rim to Yaki and back. Heat, elevation loss/gain, timing and visibility are part of my planning. North Rim because 1) I'd rather finish going up the North Kaibab than the South Kaibab and, 2) then I'm that much closer to Zion/Bryce etc. Not to mention I feel that I have more in common with those that hang out at the North Rim than the South. Less crowded.

Since I feel it'll take me 18-19 hours (19-hours is what it took to do the OneDayHike 4-years ago), I'm inclined to start at 2-PM with the expectation of going downhill in the hottest period in the hike and starting up South Kaibab as the sun is setting so that the effort uphill is not exacerbated by the heat of the day and lack of shade. Pushing off from Yaki by 10:30 PM and hopefully arriving at Phantom by 1-AM and Cottonwood by 4-AM, leaves 4-5 hours to climb/crawl the last hellacious 7-miles to the North Rim before the sun could become overly oppressive. I like the fact there is considerably more shade on this portion than the same distance on the South Kaibab. 2-years ago at 3-PM at Cottonwood I heard it was 113-degrees at the trail water spigot the day I did my SoBo. This kind of knowledge factors into my choice of starting time.

I don't use headlamps for this kind of hike. You're not going to get lost and I'd rather have my eyes adjusted to all of my surroundings rather than the tunnel vision headlamps creates for me. Shadows can play tricks.

I hope y'all have a plan in effect in the event one of you succumbs to one of the many maladies the Canyon can impose at the worst time.

Hydration, fuel and electrolyte replacement are CRITICAL.

Cheers
JD

Torrey – a very kind offer, thanks. I might be interested. I figured Mike and I were 10 miles south at the Red Feather Lodge about $250 for the nights of April 13 and 14 ($125/night). But being inside the park would be closer to the campers, give them a free shower option, and a friend here in Alaska is thinking of going, so three beds would be sweet. I've been on the road the last 9 days, so I'll check when I get home if the Red Feather can be cancelled and confirm that my Alaskan friend is coming first. I'm hardly low-income and I agree anyone squeaking by ought to have first dibs on a bargain.

Is this for a room on the South Rim in the Park or south of the park in Tuseyan (sp?)?

-David

It would be for the south rim, in the park, most likely at Yavapai East. which is a 4 min walk from my place and a 5 min jog from where the guys are staying at Mather. lemme know ASAP! so i can put in a room hold request for those 2 nights. :)

Torrey:

Yes, I can cancel my Red Feather Lodge reservation with no penalty, so if you can, please reserve a room for me (David Thomas) and Mike Moore. I probably also have a friend coming with me from Alaska. We'll drive up from PHX Friday late morning, stay Friday night, Saturday night and drive back to PHX on Sunday.

Post here or PM me when you've made a reservation and I'll cancel my other one. If you can't, no problem, we're set as is.

Do I remember you're vegan/veggie? If not, I'll bring you some smoked salmon (which, by the way, counts as a vegetable in Alaska).

Thanks again for the kind offer. I'd it be nice to be closer to others and the trailhead, and to offer showers to others.

-David

Ok, i got reservation in yours and mikes name at Yakvapai East. And no, im NOT a vegatarian, im making fried eggs and porkchops for breakfast right now. I eat anything. well except Hummus, that stuff tastes like poopy dirt, blehk! So, yea, i eat fish, any meats, donuts, cake, watevr you got there :)

OH! but just to be safe, dont cancell your reservation at red feather until I tell ya, I just wanna be sure my request has cleared with the front office first, im sure it will…but just to be sure. Ill let you know when its 100% confirmed at the office. It shouldnt be any prob though :) Its just that when its an employee discount request, it has to go through 3 different departments! ha.

Torrey: Sounds great. Thanks so much! I'm in no rush to cancel my Red Feather Lodge reservations – I can do that up to 24 hours prior. I just PM'ed my cell phone number to you. -David

Alright, I'm in. I'll be arriving late Friday night and staying through Sunday afternoon. I'll likely have at least one other person in tow(Josh Malpass).

Sounds like most everyone is camping at Mather. Does anyone have room for an extra vehicle or shall I book another site?

Anyone started thinking about what time they'd want to start?

BB

I have room. You can find the site number in earlier post. Or I can hunt it down.

I was thinking in the neighborhood of a 4am start..?

Awesome, site #160. Thanks!

BB