Grand Canyon Rim to Rim

Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim Attempt
May 26, 2005
John Ridge

As you may gather from the title, this particular adventure didn't quite achieve my original goals. However, the results were still very
satisfying and memorable. I not only achieved a rim to rim hike while beating my time last year by one hour, I also met some new
friends from Germany and the far off land of Salt Lake City. And while this all was taking place my ever supportive wife was viewing
California Condors along the rim of the Grand Canyon. Vacations should be memorable and this one certainly fit this requirement.

We flew into Las Vegas on US Airways arriving on Wednesday, May 25th at around 11:45 AM. We picked up a Chrysler Pacifica
using Fastlane at Dollar Car Rental without any problem as usual and then immediately headed to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
The drive to the South Rim takes about four and a half hours driving at desert speed (75-85 mph). If you like the desert as my wife and
I do, you will think it is beautiful. We certainly did. The landscape seemed greener than normal due to the extraordinary rains earlier in
the year. When we drive long distances we like to listen to audio books. Sometimes it is a bit of a challenge to find a title we both
like. We were successful this year when I choose Michael Palin's (of Monty Python fame) “Around the World in 80 Days.” I
downloaded this a few days before off of www.audible.com where I have a monthly membership. I then burned it to cds so we could
listen to it. I won't go into too much detail but suffice to say that is a very enjoyable with humor and lots of information about cultures
other than our own. There is no agenda just a description of his interaction with people and places. Anyone who travels for pleasure
would enjoy it.

In any case the time went by very fast and we arrived at the South Rim around 6 PM. Check in at the Yavapai Lodge was quick and
smooth. We spent the rest of the evening visiting gift ships, eating dinner and got to bed pretty early around 9:30 PM or so.

As often happens on these types of trips I don't sleep very well and woke up around 1:30 AM and got up and took a shower and
actually considered starting the hike right then. But I calculated that this would put me in the bottom of the canyon on the return trip from
the North Rim right around the middle of the day. That wouldn't do because of the heat during that time so I went back to bed and was
able to fall asleep until around 3:45 AM at which time I did get up, woke my lovely wife and she dropped me off at the South Kaibab trail
head at 4:25 AM.

This hike was to have been the longest and hardest of my life with a distance of approximately 44 miles and with of course the
approximate 12,000 feet of vertical gain making it certainly an “extreme” day hike. But I had trained very hard for it and was psyched to
start it. As with anything hard in life you know that the biggest part of the journey is your head. If you think you can do it you probably
can. If you think you can't then save yourself the time and perhaps the danger and don't.

I had made myself two goals for this hike. That is assuming you don't count the goal of making it at all as the first goal. I had set up a
goal between my wife and I that I could make the hike in 24 hours. This is the general goal of most rim to rim to rim day hikers. I also
set myself a personal goal of 19 ½ hours where I laid out each part of the hike segment by segment with a particular time to complete.

The hike started off pretty cool with a temperature of 48 degrees. I put on a long sleeve wicking t-shirt under my normal wicking hiking
short sleeve shirt. I had just bought this short sleeve shirt from www.altrec.com (highly recommend) it was a Patagonia shirt that in
addition to wicking was supposed to counteract odor. Well, it was very light and comfortable to wear but I think my natural body
processes overwhelmed the latter feature of the shirt. But it was a cool color (white/gray) and did have the Patagonia logo so I liked it.
As expected, I took off the long sleeve undershirt at the first stop (Ooh-Aah Point). When you hike into the canyon it gets progressively
warmer as you descend. If I thought I was only doing a rim to rim hike I wouldn't have brought the long sleeve shirt but I was worried
about being cold in my planned early morning climb back out of the canyon to the South Rim. As things happened I could have left the
shirt in the room and saved a couple of ounces of weight.

I proceeded down the canyon towards the river at an acceptable pace but slightly below my initial goals. I had assumed that I could
average around 3 mph on the downhill section but this was optimistic. Even with trekking poles you still have to be careful while
negotiating the sometimes rough trail as you descend. Probably the biggest danger while day hiking like this is injury from a fall. Not a
catastrophic fall like over an edge (that would be bad) but injury from simply falling down. I would hate to be 4 hours from the trail head
and have to at the very least limp my way out just because I wasn't careful or tried to push it too fast. A note on trekking poles. Other
than boots they are the single most valuable gear you can buy. They take the load off of two points (your legs) and spread it over four
points. They have stopped me from falling many, many times. If you want to hike other than around your neighborhood then buy
trekking poles.

I crossed the river at 6:50 AM and made Phantom Ranch at 7:10 AM. Phantom Ranch is 7.1 miles from the South Kaibab trail head
and is at 2,526 feet. I stopped here to refill my water bottles but I hadn't really used that much. From this point on I was going to stop
every half an hour to make sure I hydrated with water and then an electrolyte mix (Gu H2O) and then have some salted almonds and
dried fruit. I was trying to avoid the nausea that hit me in my previous rim to rim hike. Based on my research I attributed this to lack of
salt and/or not eating enough. There is a condition called hyponatremia that is actually taking in too much water. This is what I
thought I had experienced on previous hikes. This wasn't the case as you will discover later.

It is about seven miles from Phantom Ranch to Cottonwood where you begin to start the ascent up to the North Rim. For the first half of
the hike you are shaded by a canyon you walk through as the trail pretty much follows the course of Bright Angel Creek. On this day it
was very pleasant. It was starting to get warm. Later on I found that Phantom Ranch had a high of 103 that day. However the creek
was running very high due to snow run off and the breeze that came through the canyon over the creek made for almost a natural air
conditioning system. I made good time through this section and did the seven miles in about two and a half hours.

I arrived at the Cottonwood campground at 9:44 AM and refilled my water bottles and made up another batch of GuH2O. This is where
I first met the three Germans that are to figure prominently in this story a bit later on. We exchanged pleasantries but I had to push on
because after all I was “on a mission from God.” Well, not really but I like to quote from movies (Blues Brothers).

About a mile or so after Cottonwood you come to a caretaker's cabin where there is water. This is where the trail begins its dramatic
climb up to the North Rim. I stopped here and once again hydrated and ate something. I was feeling a bit hot but in pretty good
shape. I was on pace according to my schedule to make it to the top in my goal of 9 ½ hours.

The first landmark is Roaring Springs which as the name suggests is water coming out of the side of the canyon. Last year it was
coming out at a good clip in one place but this year it is fairly rushing out in at least two places. Very cool to see. There is a side trail
that leads down to the base of the springs but I wasn't prepared for any deviation of my hike on this day. It was right at this point last
year (5 miles from the top and about 2,900 feet of elevation gain) that I became sick. This year I passed this and was feeling pretty
good thinking that my every half hour eating and drinking regime was paying off. Unfortunately it didn't work.

About ½ mile before the next landmark, Redwall Bridge, it hit me. When you think of nausea when you are feeling good you think you
can just work through it. Well, I did but it was uncomfortable, very, very uncomfortable. I didn't want to get sick because I thought that
would make it worse. So what I did was to walk slow and stop about every 100 feet or so to put my head down and the nausea would
pass a bit and I could go on. I passed the bridge and then began a steep ascent to the last major stop before the rim, Supai Tunnel.

Supai Tunnel is 1.8 miles and 1,400 feet in elevation gain from the rim. I stopped for water there and to use the rest room but didn't
feel any better. Or course, the evidence of previous mule visits were all around and attracting the normal compliment of flies. So here I
am 19 miles into a world class hike, hot, a bit tired, nauseated beyond what a person should ever be and I have to walk through this
stuff. I think for at least a moment I felt sorry for myself. But hey, it wouldn't be nearly as fun if it wasn't hard.

So I am trudging up the trail in my 100 feet increments and the hikers I had earlier passed are starting to pass me. Everyone is nice as
serious hikers always are. Eventually my German acquaintances pass me. First Hildegard and her younger brother. They say hi and I
give them some excuse that I am just tired and slowing down. Next the older brother, Gino comes by. But unlike the others he looks at
me differently and says, “Are you alright?”. I confess my condition and he says, “Come along and walk with me, I walk slow and we will
walk up together.” Well, we walk slowly up the trail and it is easier talking to someone as you do it. I still have to stop and despite my
telling him to go ahead he waits until I recover and we move on. He tells me that he is a physician specializing in gastrointernalogy! I
don't really believe in divine providence but there you have it.   He is, as I mentioned, a German, but practices in Belgium. In addition to
being a doctor that specializes in the problem that I was having he had traveled the world extensively and related to me several stores
about hikers having serious problems with altitude. After we walked and talked for awhile he said, “I don't think you are having a
problem with lack of salt or food. I think it is altitude.” This is something I hadn't seriously thought of before. I have hiked many times at
altitudes greater than the 8,200 feet of the North Rim but probably never as long and as hard. I became a believer after making it to
the top and then sitting for awhile and feeling fine without any additional food or salt. I did make the North Rim in ten hours which is one
hour better than last year despite my problems.

Well here I am sitting at the North Rim and now what to do? I obviously am in no shape to hike back like I have planned even though
the North to South route is easier than the South to North route I took. My wife, Maggie and I had discussed my fall back plan assuming
that I couldn't hike the second part of the adventure. We said that I would call her and she would drive the four and a half hours from the
South Rim to the North Rim and she would pick me up. This is what she had done by plan last year accompanied by my son Austin and
his girlfriend Kathy. However this time she would be doing it alone and in the dark for at least part of the trip. When my new friends
asked me about this they said they were going back via the Trans Canyon Shuttle. They had made reservations but perhaps I could
check and see if they still had space. Well, I did check and they indeed did have space so that's how I would make the journey back to
the South Rim, my wife and our next day trip back to Vegas. I called the Yavapai Lodge and left a message at the desk which they
dutifully put on our room door. My wife had spent the day at the South Rim viewing among many things the California Condors that are
in residence there. She is writing her own report on these and soon I will also post a link to it here.

We left the North Rim around 6:30 PM or so and had a very enjoyable trip back to the South Rim. I sat (laid) in the back seat and since
there were only four us plus the driver we each had our own seat to relax in. I slept a bit but spent a lot of time talking to Hildegard.
Hildegard was currently living in Salt Lake City with her American husband. She had some interesting points of view on how a woman
can get things done in Salt Lake City. Basically it involves telling the person you are talking to that “My husband wants it that way.” She
also said her husband is an avid hang glider and instructor and invited me for a lesson (tandem) if I ever was in the Salt Lake City
Area. Draper is the exact city I believe. My son Austin and I are going to be in California in late July participating in a volunteer
vacation repairing a trail in the Inyo National Forest. A trip across Nevada is one of the things I love to do so a detour to Salt Lake City
is not out of the question. Just don't tell my life insurance company. If you are interested in volunteer trail vacations go visit the
American Hiking Society. It is a way to give something back to the country and the hiking community.

We arrived at the South Rim right around 11 PM as planned. We dropped my German friends off at their car with promises to email
each other. During the trip I complemented Hildegard on her family. They were all friendly, open and seemed to enjoy life all the time. I
don't think any of us could wish more for ourselves.

Resources:

Grand Canyon Hiking Information
pictures from this hike