When we went to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in July, 2018 we stopped at the North Kaibab Trailhead. Looking down I knew I wanted to hike Rim to Rim (R2R) one day (Tom - no interest 😊) and was hoping this would be the year as I was on a waiting list with a group my brother, Michael, was signed up with. In anticipation of the hike I bought R2R t-shirts knowing that it would happen one day! They would not be worn until the hike was successfully completed!
North Rim to South Rim via the North Kaibab Trail (elevation 8,241 ft – 14.3 miles – mostly a descent) and the Bright Angel Trail (mostly an ascent – 9.6 miles – elevation 6,860 ft) which is a total of 23.9 miles - in one day!
Enough people backed out of the trip so in late summer/early fall I was officially added to the group. I believe originally it was to be 9-11 people. I had made a comment to my brother that it would be funny if it ended up just the 2 of us doing the hike as plans seemed to be sort of botched with several of the others.
In October there was a hurricane heading up Arizona from Mexico. Yes, unusual! However, it seemed the weather would be fine (pretty much a one day window) for our R2R hike. Yippee! The day before our hike we arrived at the South Rim at 7am and waited, with many other hikers, for the driver. The rest of our group was going to take the afternoon shuttle (down to 4 others at this time). When our driver arrived he said the shuttle would not be able to make it to the North Rim that day as part of 89A was washed out due to the rain from the hurricane. WHAT?! Long story short, we had an awesome driver and cool hikers that really wanted to make the trek no matter how long it took. So the shuttle company agreed to go the LONG route (out to Winslow and north from there) to get us all to the North Rim (8 hours later instead of 4). We got to know some great people on this drive!
After a nice dinner at the North Rim and a short night's rest, we got up early to get on the 4am shuttle from the Lodge to the trailhead. Several other hikers joined and it was a string of headlamps lighting up the trail.
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| 4:30am start from North Kaibab Trailhead |
It's beautiful to watch the first signs of daylight strike the canyon walls and to light up this incredible place.
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| He thinks he's such a cool dude! LOL! |
As if 23.9 miles was not enough, we (me and a couple we were with) decided, against Michael's wishes, to take a short detour to Ribbon Falls. It only added another mile - what's 1 more mile in the scheme of things! Michael felt he didn't want to hike with his pack so he left it on a rock (which we all advised as a bad decision) - moments later the crows swooped in, unzipped his pack and took some food they thought they'd enjoy. Quick little buggers!
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| Ribbon Falls |
Getting to Phantom Ranch was such a welcome sight around 11:15am as we knew we had some down time for lunch, buying a cold drink and taking off our boots! Along the way we heard from several hikers that we should try to make it out of Phantom Ranch by noon so we could get through the "box" on the south side before the intense heat of the day. We had our brief rest and hit the trail again around noon.
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| time to head up the other side - South Rim here we come! |
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| The bridge to cross the Colorado River |
I so clearly remember this point in the hike. Looking back over the river, seeing the enormity of this incredible place, where we came from, where we were hiking to and thinking how small we are in this big world.
On our way up I had a bit of a struggle. At the time I thought it was the heat, as I easily overheat, but looking back I believe I was simply not eating enough. Unfortunately, my regular stopping and slow moving for several miles up to Indian Gardens probably added about an hour to our trip. We ran into a woman at Indian Gardens who we had seen during the hike down the North Rim. She was feeling the same as me so we are able to hike together part of the way from there and really encourage each other. Thankfully, after a short while from Indian Gardens (4.5 miles from the top) I was fully recovered and moving along. 4.5 miles doesn't seem so far - right? WRONG! It's the longest 4.5 miles ever! We ended up stopping every mile to rest. And the last mile we stopped several times. It's incredible how tired your body can be.
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| the sun is setting in the Canyon and we are getting so close to the top! |
As we were approaching the top I was hiking ahead of Michael. I wanted to get ahead so I could get out the t-shirts to surprise him. He was not aware of the purchase I made in the summer and while we were at the North Rim (before our hike) he wanted to buy a shirt. I said don't bother, it's just a waste. Hee hee! So here comes Michael, trucking along, and I ask him to stop. He says no way as he's moving and we have a ways to go. I said the top is RIGHT THERE and you're stopping! I pulled out the t-shirts and he was thrilled. The anger quickly turned to happy surprise.
On the final approach to the top (nearly 13.5 hours after our departure from the North Rim) I called Tom, who was back in PA. I wanted him to "be with us" as we finished our goal. We were in tears as we took our final steps to the South Rim. I remember telling Tom that I didn't think I needed to do this hike again.
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| smiles of our accomplishment and covering the pain |
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| final view of the Grand Canyon before we headed back to Flagstaff |
WE DID IT! What an incredible journey this was! It was one of the most difficult things I've ever done and one of the most rewarding. Although I told Tom that day that I didn't need to do it again, I changed my mind the very next day and asked aloud, "When can we do this again?" Next time I want to do R2R2R! CRAZY! Well, this next dream may come true in May, 2020. I've been invited on an all girls hike and am super excited! What a great way for women to bond and accomplish such an incredible journey together. We shall see!
Til next time...Happy Trails!
