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.

Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim Day 1

What is Rim to Rim to Rim, you ask?  Let me tell you.

The Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim hike (“R2R2R”) is a jaw-droppingly beautiful 50ish mile trek, with an elevation change of 20,000 feet and potential temperature swings of 70 plus degrees.   I love this straight forward warning online which sums it up perfectly:  "Warning – regular hiking tips don’t cut it in the Grand Canyon.  You need to do special training and take exactly the right gear or you might die."  Here's a little visual that I found interesting: 17 miles into the first day of the South Rim to North Rim hike you will climb up the Empire State Building 3.46 times at an average grade of 30%.  You must prepare for the following on any single day in the Grand Canyon:  high altitude, heat, low humidity, dehydration, 10,000 feet elevation change, 70 degree temperature swings, unstable trail conditions, filtering creek water, prolonged endurance activity, exhaustion AND no quitting.

Nancy, Carolen, Ingrid, Carrie and I made our way out to Williams, AZ to stay the first night and then drive the remaining hour to the South Rim the next day.  The little town of Williams on Route 66 was a hoot and we had fun looking at all the quirky shops.





Just a week before, we had been looking at really scary pictures of people sliding down the trail on ice so we all had our spikes.  When we checked into the ranger station, we were overjoyed to learn that the recent warm temperatures had melted the ice.  Less dangerous and less to carry!

We began our walk at the South Kaibab Trailhead.  We were all in awe of what we were about to attempt.  Looking out across the canyon to the North Rim seemed to be an impossible feat.  We all looked at each other and said " We're gonna walk all the way over there.....AND BACK!???"














The temperature quickly heated up and we were pouring sweat in no time at all.  The downward grade was tough on the quads and my illiotibial band started acting up immediately.  We were just in awe of the scenery though.  Words are not adequate to describe the enormity or the grandiose beauty of this canyon.  Pictures don't do it justice.

There were quite a few day hikers out but once we got past the day hiker cut-off point, we only saw a few people.  When people would ask if we were going all the way to the bottom, it was cool to say "No, Rim to Rim to Rim!"

One guy said with all us girls there must be a mall at the bottom.  WHATEVER!  We saw him again when we were eating lunch and Carolen set him straight, regaling him with stories of all our badass adventures.  The look on his face indicated that he was appropriately impressed and ashamed of his mall comment.  Or at least I'd like to think so.





















The Grand Canyon has these composting toilets every few miles and it was nice to be able to poop in a civilized manner!



Heating up!





We passed a couple of kids who were way beyond the day hiker cut-off point, it was near 80 degrees, and they only had one little bottle of water between them to make it back up.  Seriously.  It's a long way back up!  Carolen was kind and gave them some water.  I thought they were pretty stupid.









Colorado River



We talked to one guy who was so darn excited we were doing R2R2R that he left me smiling for quite a while.  His energy and positive attitude were so refreshing.  He was carrying a little ukelele and I was hoping he was going all the way to the bottom so he could entertain us that evening but he had to turn around.  I hope he's able to do a rim hike one day.









We made down to Bright Angel campground at long last- legs toasted and hot.  As we walked into the area, there were a crap ton of people already camped down there.  In fact, we got one of the last available sites.  We were shocked at how many people were down there.  This is a popular place for hikers who are just spending one night and then hiking back out.  The sites were teeny tiny and we crammed in all our tents. You have to camp in the designated areas in the Grand Canyon. 

The creek flowed right through the campground so we were able to soak our feet.







There was a bathroom with soap at this campground as well as a picnic table for every site.  Quite a luxury compared to what we're used to.  We were able to clean up a bit and wash our faces and hands.  It was a super warm night and the star gazing was excellent. 

Awesome first day!