And in total opposition to my nature, i didn't really research any of it (this fact will be important, in retrospect)... just went with what my dear brother told me...
Well, here is the story ...We all (my parents, the puppies, L & L, the kiddos, and Chris and i) drove up to the South Rim on Thursday and set up camp to get a good night's sleep... some deer and elk were quite happy to meander right through the campground, much to the delight of the kiddos...
Luke and Lucinda started on Bright Angel Trail on the South Rim around 3:30am on Friday...you can see all the photos from their half of the trip on their facebook pages...
Meanwhile, Chris and I drove the 5 hours up to the North Rim to meet them where they would be coming out on the North Kaibab Trail...they had estimated that it might take them 10-12 hours... boy, did we miss the mark on that one!
As you can see, it didn't take long to get dark, and by the end of the first 7 miles of solid downhill, my knees felt like they were being held on by rubber bands that were about to break...
We really started to hit a wall around midnight, especially Luke, since he had been awake and on his feet for over 20 hours straight... but we had to press on, so he resorted to talking to himself ("go, Go, GO, walk, Walk, WALK!...) and I kept alert by herding him with my walking poles when he would get wobbly near the cliff side of the trail... i knew there was water below, but only from the sounds... it was so dark sometimes it felt like we were walking in a cave... cool and creepy at the same time... i told Luke outright that if he fell off, i was not going down to get him! our goal was to make it to Phantom Ranch, which we finally did at 2am... we were both in pain by then and Luke was beyond exhausted so we found a bench and took and an hour and half nap, before we regrouped and headed up the South Kaibab Trail at 4am...
Here is a good spot to insert some "fun facts" that i found AFTER we did this...
| Planning your Grand Canyon Rim to Rim Hike |
| A hike from one grand canyon rim to the other requires careful planning. (Ooooh, PLANNING!!! I forgot, that is what i USUALLY do when i haven't gone completely crazy!!) The 25 mile (approx.) hike offers a fine physical challenge (and a complete mind#$%* when you don't plan it properly!) and serves up endless wonderful views. Here's a brief summary of issues to consider when planning your rim-to-rim hike: |
Plan to spend at least 3 days and 2 nights completing your rim-to-rim hike. DO NOT attempt to do a rim-to-rim hike in a single day. - See that, dear brother??? and that was only Rim to Rim, not Rim to Rim to Rim!!!!!!
Here are some sample itineraries that begin at the South rim:
Day 2: North Kaibab Trail to Cottonwood Campground
Day 3: Cottonwood Campground to North Rim via North Kaibab Trail.
Day 2: Bright Angel Trail and River Trail to Bright Angel Campsite.
Day 3: North Kaibab Trail to Cottonwood Campsite.
Day 4. North Kaibab Trail to North Rim.
TRAIL FACTS: North Kaibab Trail
| The Trail Facts Explained |
| Brief Description: | describe |
| Length (approx): | 13.00 miles |
| Starting Elevation: | 8180.00 feet |
| Ending Elevation: | 2768.00 feet |
| Elevation Change: | 5412 feet |
| Average Grade: | 21.00% |
| Trail Head Location: | North Kaibab Trail parking lot located about 2 miles North of Grand Canyon Lodge. |
| Trail End: | The Colorado River |
Now here's where we came to the really "fun" part.... going UP the South Kaibab... which i found out NOBODY does...not only because it is so frickin' steep and every mile feels like at least 5 miles, but there is also NO water.
oh yeah, look here what the nice little website info says:
Use the South Kaibab for descending only. There is NO WATER along the South Kaibab Trail. Besides, you'll want the canyon before you as you descend this ridge running trail.
TRAIL FACTS: South Kaibab Trail
| The Trail Facts Explained |
| Brief Description: | A ridge-following trail that offers spectacular views while descending. Best for descending due to no water along the trail. |
| Length (approx): | 5.62 miles |
| Starting Elevation: | 7188.00 feet |
| Ending Elevation: | 2694.00 feet |
| Elevation Change: | 4494 feet |
| Average Grade: | 21.00% |
| Trail Head Location: | Yaqui Point |
| Trail End: | At the River Trail |
| Water, Reliable: | NONE |
The picture above is hilarious to me because i was thinking at this point, about 5am, we only had 3 miles left to go, when in reality (which i was about to lose my tenuous grasp upon), we had more like 5 and it would feel like 15...
And some of these chipper, fresh faced energetic people were actually RUNNING in groups down the trail... at this point, it took all of my self restraint to not stick out a walking pole and send the whole lot of them tumbling over the edge like a stack of happy little dominoes!!! I was pretty much only thinking in long strings of swear words, sometimes in several languages...
so beautiful....
so evil....
i believe this was one of the points of contemplation where throwing ourselves off the edge sounded like a sweet release....
Well, we finally emerged just after 10am on Saturday, taking around 16hrs to for my Rim to Rim and having been awake for 24hrs almost solid... Luke did the entire ridiculous insane undertaking in about 30 hours...
I would have taken a picture of the bottom Luke's feet, but I didn't want to make anyone ill... just imagine putting them through a meat grinder...
I had a weird breakdown after mom & dad picked us up and just started crying in bizarre gasping gulps for a few minutes, from a build up of emotion and sheer exhaustion, i suppose....
We definitely learned a lot about ourselves and I'm glad I did it with my brother.... it is an experience I will never forget.
