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Backpacking Light

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You are here: Home / News / Expedition News / Rudow & Atwood Complete Grand Canyon Rim Traverse

Rudow & Atwood Complete Grand Canyon Rim Traverse

by Eric Vann on April 18, 2016 Expedition News

Introduction

On the afternoon of November 20th, 2015, after 57 days on the “trail,” Rich Rudow and Chris Atwood floated just below the Pearce Ferry Rapid completing the 700-mile traverse below the Grand Canyon Rim. This is a difficult task. More people have climbed Mt. Everest and completed the Triple Crown (AT, PCT, & CDT) than have completed this route.

But, I wondered, “Could I do it?” Would my 50-year-old body hold up to the rigors of a thru hike on some of the most difficult terrain on the planet for 57 continuous days? – Rich Rudow

Route, Rudow Grand Canyon's Rim Traverse News Story

The Grand Canyon Rim traverse route. Map made by Rich Rudow.

This route has been a lifelong goal for Rudow, who has been passionate about exploring and preserving the Grand Canyon’s allure for decades. When compared to other commonly accepted outdoor challenges, a traverse below the Grand Canyon Rim seems to trump them all including K2 (technically more difficult than Everest with worse weather) which has only 300+ successful climbs. Even the moon (which has been visited by 24 astronauts) can’t hold a candle (maybe a little hyperbole here) to the Grand Canyon Rim traverse which has only been completed by 12 people.

Why is the traverse of the Grand Canyon Rim so difficult?

So all this begs the question, why haven’t more people completed or even attempted this route? We talked to Rich on the phone a few weeks after his trip, and he emphasized that this traverse took one year of planning preceded by several years (maybe even decades) of preliminary planning, research, and exploration of the area. We mean it when we say that this route is no joke.

Class 5 Scramble, Rudow Grand Canyon's Rim Traverse News Story

Low class 5 scrambles are standard when doing attempting this route. Photo by Rich Rudow.

  • Access to safe drinking water is limited
  • Flash floods are common
  • Route requires low class 5 scrambling
  • Route-finding is extremely challenging
  • Terrain is hostile as it chews through clothing, gear, and shoes
  • Weather is unpredictable
  • The temperature is hot but can quickly change
  • No towns or resupply for much of the 700 miles
  • Mostly off-trail
  • No guidebooks or beta

I did it—57 days and 20 pounds lighter. I thru hiked the Grandest cathedral on the planet. How? I wondered that myself. But, I’ve spent half my life preparing for this trip. – Rich Rudow

Vishnu Temple, Rudow Grand Canyon's Rim Traverse News Story

Climbing Vishnu Temple. Photo by Rich Rudow.

How did the trip go for the group?

After spending months crafting a day-by-day, detailed route, the crew started with six hikers at Lee’s Ferry. Only three were slated to finish the whole trip (Rudow, Atwood, and Dave Nally), but even some of those that were going part of the way found the heat too much to handle and left earlier than expected. Both Nally and Rudow suffered from Giardia during the trip, and Nally left on day 23 due to a respiratory illness.

Throughout the traverse friends brought them fresh food to lift their spirits, satellite notifications informed them of inclement weather, and eight caches filled with food, new approach shoes, trekking poles, maps, and sleeping bags propelled them forward.

In the end, Rudow and Atwood emerged victoriously, a lifelong obsession with this wild place momentary abated and a renewed sense of commitment to make sure this place lives on.

Early Morning, Rattlesnake Canyon, Rudow Grand Canyon's Rim Traverse News Story

Rattlesnake Canyon in the early morning light. Photo by Rich Rudow.

More on this adventure:

  • Rich Rudow did a write-up for Hyperlite Mountain Gear which provided some of the gear for this trip
  • Rich also wrote down his initial thoughts about the trip and posted some photos from the adventure on his Facebook page 9 days after he and Atwood completed the trip

Chris Atwood, Grand Canyon, hyperlite mountain gear, Rich Rudow

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Comments

Home › Forums › Rudow & Atwood Complete Grand Canyon Rim Traverse

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  • Apr 18, 2016 at 8:09 am #3396585
    Eric Vann
    Spectator

    @ericvann

    Companion forum thread to: Rudow & Atwood Complete Grand Canyon Rim Traverse

    Traversing the Grand Canyon’s Rim is one of the hardest outdoor feats. Read how some friends turned this dream into a reality.

    Apr 18, 2016 at 11:08 am #3396630
    Ed Biermann
    BPL Member

    @longstride

    http://blog.hyperlitemountaingear.com/rich-rudow-grand-canyon-thru-hike link does generate income

    It’s a free blog post from February on HMG’s site. Easily navigated to on your own.

    Apr 18, 2016 at 11:21 am #3396636
    GK Lott
    BPL Member

    @gklott

    Locale: Texas Hill Country

    Glad to see more trekking following in the path of Colin Fletcher from 1977, as described in his book “The Man Who Walked Through Time”.

    Apr 18, 2016 at 11:40 am #3396641
    Ken Thompson
    BPL Member

    @here

    Locale: Right there

    Great book!

    Won’t be clicking on the supplied link, and no Facebook for me either.

    Apr 21, 2016 at 1:29 am #3397167
    Jörgen Johansson
    Spectator

    @jorgen

    Locale: www.smarterbackpacking.com; www.fjaderlatt.se

    To me Colin Fletchers book about his, the first, traverse of the Grand Canyon NP “The Man Who Walked Through Time” is probably the best book about backpacking ever written. Rivaled by his other book “The Thousand Mile Summer”. So it is indeed interesting to read about latter day treks in the great canyon.

    Apr 22, 2016 at 9:20 am #3397390
    David Chenault
    BPL Member

    @davec

    Locale: Queen City, MT

    I hope Rich comes out with a more complete account of his trip.  Would make for interesting reading.

    Even allowing for the vast differences in information/technology, Fletcher’s hike pales in comparison to the Rudow/Atwood route.  Fletcher defining the Grand Canyon as what was at the time the national park sort of made sense, but hiking Havasupai to Nankoweep is slightly more than 1/4 of the whole canyon, and on trail (albeit rough trail) for all but the first quarter.  Reading “The Man who Walked through Time” gives one the sense that Fletcher was a punter with great determination who did just enough prep to get through.  Rudow’s hike is an expert putting years of experience to work and still just barely getting by.  They could have floated over to the south side and walked the whole Tonto, which would have made things A LOT easier.  Maybe contrived to stick to a full north side route, but inarguably admirable style.  I have no idea how HMG counts the number of GC thru hikes, but I’d argue that Fletcher should absolutely not count towards that number.

    And yes, the Avantlink is bad style.

    Apr 23, 2016 at 2:38 pm #3397606
    Jim Colten
    BPL Member

    @jcolten

    Locale: MN

    “I hope Rich comes out with a more complete account of his trip.  Would make for interesting reading.”

    +1 many times over!

    Though I’m not tempted to compare Fletcher’s hike with this.  IMO, any reading of The Man Who walked Through Time would make it obvious that his purpose for his trip was very different from that of Rudlow&Atwood.

    Comparing this feat to others as done in the first few paragraphs of the article?   Seems rather arbitrary, if now down right silly.

     

     

    Jun 3, 2016 at 9:43 am #3406758
    Ed Biermann
    BPL Member

    @longstride

    Don’t forget about Fletcher’s book, The River. About the 1700mile trip from the Colorado River’s source to the sea.

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