Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim Day 4

I was looking forward to Day 4 because we'd be walking on the flat again initially with a climb towards the end of the day.  We had 12 miles to go from Cottonwood to Indian Gardens.  That would set us up for a short 5 miles on the final day to get back to the South Rim via Bright Angel Trail.

We dropped about 1600 feet back to the canyon floor in the first few miles.  It was really hot down there!  Lots of humidity as well.  We had nice easy walking all the way to Phantom Ranch.



I came across Carrie taking a break and she commented on her crazy hair and then said to me "But you're giving me a run for my money!" So we decided a picture was in order.  Yeah we are smokin' hot! 



Flowers and cacti were just starting to bloom when we were down there.





Kind of hard to see but this is Ingrid and Carrie doing a gnarly river crossing.  Carolen, Nancy, and I opted to go a different way that didn't require water!



















We knew we were getting close to Phantom Ranch when day hikers started increasing.  They smelled good, had bellies full of food, and slept in a cushy bed the night before.  One guy stopped me and asked, "You guys have a guide, right?"  I said, "Nope, we are avid backpackers and do this all the time.  It's a blast."  Cue in shocked look and he said "What, you ladies?!!!"  What's up with the sexist comments out here anyway!  LOL.

We rushed the bathrooms at Phantom Ranch and as I was coming out, Nancy walks up and says "The store has lemonade!"  SHUT UP!  Beeline for the ice cold lemonade.  Ahhhhhhhh. 





We ate our lunches at a picnic table, got another lemonade, and decided a good frolick in the creek was in order.  We stripped down to our chonies and sat in the creek.  Delicious cold water on the sore muscles!



We reluctantly left the creek and started walking again.  As we strolled back through Bright Angel campground, who do we see sitting on a picnic table?  Camo Pants!  We asked him again where his group was and he didn't know- somewhere behind us.  We did find out that the older dude had a ranger drive him out from the North Rim because his knee was not good.  That was the last we'd see of Camo Pants although we would leapfrog a bit with the 3 other guys on the final ascent.

Got a picture of this deer just chillin' in the campground.



We had to get back across the  Colorado River on this crazy suspension bridge and I almost had a heart attack.  The steel grids under foot were all open so you could see the river rushing underneath and some weren't bolted down and shifted under weight.  I was gripping the hand rail with my right hand and holding my poles in my left, doing yoga breathing and trying to keep it together.  Ingrid kept stopping to take pictures and I couldn't even summon the breath to yell "Keep Walking!"  Every time we stopped it took me a minute to get going again. It was scary!







After we made it across, I had to stop a minute to catch my breath and ease the heart palpitations.











Nancy maneuvering a successful creek crossing :-)







Mule crap everywhere!



We had to ascend about 1300 feet to get to Indian Gardens but it felt like 3000. Switchback after switchback but the views were amazing.





This picture is "The One" that I will blow up.





Here's Ingrid on the switchback below me.






The closer we got to Indian Gardens, the more lush the landscape.  There were waterfalls, creeks, flowers, lots of greenery, and what looked like cherry blossom trees but probably were something else.







I should have taken the time to eat another snack because by the time we made it to Indian Gardens I was shaking.  I remember going straight for my food, getting the dried pineapple in the system, while the chicken and dumplings rehydrated.  I said some stupid stuff like I wasn't going to set up my tent and I was going to sleep on my tyvek.  I guess that's not stupid but the wind was picking up and getting chilly.  Once the pineapple hit my blood stream and the ole' brain cells got some of that sugar, I realized that I was indeed going to set up my tent.  I slept without the rain fly though and it was nice to be able to gaze at the stars.

Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim Day 3

Day 3 dawned cloudless and warm.  We hurriedly ate breakfast and drank coffee.  Ingrid gathered water for dinner since we would be back late.  We had a 14 mile round trip to the North Rim with an elevation gain and loss of about 8,000 feet.  This shit was about to get real.

Carrie and Carolen shot out into the morning like little rockets while Ingrid, Nancy and I moved at a slower pace. 





These old-time telephone lines were neat.







We had pretty easy walking the first couple of miles leapfrogging with Fishing Guy group.  They were super fast though and quickly passed us by. 

After this little bridge, the up and up began.





Ingrid and Nancy taking a breather.



It's difficult to relay the massiveness of the canyon.  At times, Nancy and Ingrid looked like they were about 1 inch tall next to the towering cliffs.







Eventually we climbed out of the shade and into the hot sun.  Long, winding stretches of trail clung to the cliff sides.  We kept a slow steady pace.  A lady called HD Mama passed us (part of Fishing Guy group).  We chatted for awhile and found out she was using R2R2R as training for the Continental Divide Trail.  I'll be following her journey: http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=17396



We took a break just past Supai Tunnel.  It was still warm but the temperature was dropping and the air was getting thinner.  I could feel it in my breathing.





We did alot of these step-ups and then step-downs coming back down.  Going back down was the real killer.  I was thankful I didn't have a full pack.





I have this bracelet that says "She believed she could, so she did."  When I started getting really tired, I repeated this over and over. 

We started hitting little patches of snow but they were totally manageable and not slick at all.  Ingrid gave us snow baths on the backs of our necks and really revived us.  She put snow in her hat to cool off her head.



We made it to the North Rim and there was quite a bit of snow.  Carrie had already been at the top for 2 hours!!!  Carolen had been at the top for about 45 minutes I think she said.  We sprawled out on the ground for lunch and rest.  Carrie and Carolen started their way back down while Nancy, Ingrid, and I took about an hour to recuperate.



Going up was tough but not as tough as I expected.  Going back down was a whole different story.  Those step-downs were killer.  My illiotibial band was not happy.  I tried to copy Nancy and alternate legs going down these things but it got to the point where I couldn't bend my left knee and had to step-down with my right leg, then swing the left one around without bending it.  I had a hitch in my giddyup.  Every time I stopped, the leg would totally freeze up and it would take a bit for it to loosen.  Longer strides seemed to help.  Ingrid was having some shin splint problems and she had KT tape all over her knee and shin and I could see she was struggling too.  I had serious thoughts that I would have to unfurl my quilt right there on the precipice and stay the night.  I had contingency plans rolling around in my head as I stumbled down off the North Rim. 



Not far below the North Rim, Camo Pants came striding up the trail alone.  We stopped to chat and asked where the rest of his crew was and he said "I don't know!"  Alright, we thought that was kind of weird since the rest of his group seemed to be struggling the last time we saw them.









When we made it down to the Supai Tunnel point, who do we see all sprawled out and looking beat down?  Camo Pant's group! The 3 younger guys and the one old dude were all sacked out looking very despondent.  We told them we had seen Camo Pants close to the Rim about an hour before.   One of the guys asked us if we ever took breaks.  I thought that was cute.  For the rest of the day we wondered if they had made it to the North Rim and what had happened to them.





We made it back to Cottonwood a little worse for wear.  It had taken us about 11 hours to do the round trip.  When we got back into camp, we found out the ravens had decimated Ingrid's water filter bottle and had dragged Nancy's Jetboil onto the ground and also got into some of Carolen's stuff.  So crazy!

I went down to the creek in the dark to filter water so I wouldn't have to do it in the morning.  The stars were twinkling at me; congratulating me on making it back from the North Rim.

Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim Day 2

We woke early on Day 2 to hikers packing up gear to hike back out, headlamps gleaming in the pre-dawn darkness.  I groaned and pulled my quilt over my head.  Eventually, the need to pee overcame me and I had to get up.

Day 2 was literally like a walk in the park.  The trail meandered along the canyon bottom the whole way.  We had nice shade and a swiftly running creek to walk beside.  The sun glinted off the canyon walls and made for spectacular highlighting on the rock faces.  I walked slow and savored every moment.  I stopped to look at flowers, rocks, lizards, cacti, and anything that grabbed my attention.  The air was delicious and I drank it in.















We took a little side trip to Ribbon Falls and were completely shocked at the lushness of the area.  It was like the Garden of Eden.  We soaked our feet and walked up behind the falls to a little oasis of green moss and pooling water.  Simply unbelieveable.















Behind the water fall.





I would have loved to hang out in this area for a couple more hours but onward we must trek.  We made it to Cottonwood campground early and there were plenty of sites to choose from. 

It had gotten pretty hot throughout the afternoon and I really wanted to get in the creek.  Nancy and I tried to go down and filter water but had a naked man alert so we turned around and went back to camp.  I went down another way while everyone was setting up their tents and found a spot where I could frolick and filter.  I plopped myself down in the middle of the creek, pants and all, and soaked for a bit.  Then I filtered water while I dried out.  It was delightful! 

Later on, Carrie happened to be brushing her teeth when a dude in camo pants walked by- henceforth known as Camo Pants.  She was spewing toothpaste into the bushes as he walked by and it was quite comical as he did a double-take on her tooth-brushing technique.  He also used the opportunity to scope out her whole package.  LOL.  A couple more younger dudes straggled by, obviously exhausted.  Then one more older dude in their group barely made it in because his knee was in bad shape. We hypothesized that it was an older scout troop or maybe some juvenile delinquents but they turned out to be part of the Arizona Backpacking Club.  Way off base!

There was one other group at this campground with about 7 people.  One guy carried a fishing pole the whole time and we leapfrogged with him as he would stop to fish.  He only caught 1 trout the whole time- he is henceforth known as Fishing Guy.  We don't get real names, we just make up trail names for everyone.









There seemed to only be a couple of groups doing the triple rim so we had a nice peaceful evening of drinking honey bourbon and stargazing. Day 2 was one of the the most peaceful days I've ever had backpacking.