Grand Canyon
Rim to Rim Part III
September 26, 2006
The Introduction
This was to my third rim to rim hike at the Grand Canyon. A few months ago when I was planning a Vegas and surrounding area trip the
idea of another rim to rim hike came upon me. We (myself age 49; my wife, Maggie, age 47; and our friend Nancy, age 61) had planned to
fly into Vegas stay a few days and then go to the Sedona/Flagstaff area for some site seeing/shopping for the ladies and a couple of hikes
for me. Since I do the logistics for the trip the arrangements are usually up to me subject to the approval of the other participants but they
do grant me a good bit of leeway.
I had planned to hike Humphrey's peak, the highest peak in Arizona outside of Flagstaff when the idea of the rim to rim hike hit me. I had
hiked major day hikes in the Grand Canyon three previous times. The first was a South Rim to river and back hike in 2003. I also hiked rim
to rim in late May in 2004 and had attempted a rim to rim to rim hike in May, 2005 which turned into a rim to rim hike for the reason that I am
about to relay.
Let me say that I am not a novice hiker. I realize the difficulty of even a rim to river and back hike and I approach them with the seriousness
they demand. I train as best I can despite the lack of altitude in my home town (Rochester, NY). I also travel out west usually four times per
year using Vegas as a base but also to fulfill my hiking needs. I love the west of the United States and hiking in it. I consider myself in
excellent physical condition but I do lack the altitude acclimation because of Rochester's altitude. This has resulted in the problems I have
experienced at the Grand Canyon. Every time I have hiked an extreme day hike at the canyon I have had issues. These issues have been
exhibited as nausea in later stages of the hike. During my first south rim to river and back hike I became ill as I approached the rim on the
back leg but because I didn't eat properly (two Snickers bars) and because I felt better after a post hike double Quarter Pounder with
cheese I thought it was just because I didn't eat right. Then I did my first rim to rim hike. I wanted to prepare better so I made sandwiches
and brought snacks. I did all the right things but still became ill right around Cottonwood where the trail begins the climb up to the North
Rim. On my rim to rim to rim attempt the following May (Memorial Weekend again) I went so far as to time myself and eat and hydrate every
30 minutes. I still became ill even worse than the hike the year before.
I was sitting at Supai Tunnel only about two miles from the North Rim and feeling very ill. To add to the pleasure there were the usual mules
and their usual waste products all over the trail. As I was sitting by the side of the trail wondering how I was going to struggle to the top a
group of three Germans that were hiking from Phantom Ranch went by. I had exchanged some pleasantries with them earlier in the day as I
passed them. The last one of the group asked me if I was okay and I gave him my symptoms. He invited me to hike with him. He said he
hiked very slowly and we would hike to the rim together. It turned out that he was a doctor and as we hiked he thought my symptoms were
classic altitude sickness. Since I had hiked many times above this altitude and didn't get sick I had initially doubted this outlook but as they
say, when you eliminate everything else, what's left is the answer.
So I did a lot of on line research on the subject. Everywhere I read that the best way to prepare is to acclimate. That's fine if you live out
west and have the time but I don't and didn't want to waste a week of valuable vacation time waiting around until my body adjusted to higher
elevations. There had to be another answer. I found the answer in Ginkgo Biloba.
While this herbal supplement doesn’t have any clinical trials to prove it’s effectiveness I did find a lot of first hand evidence and I can now
add my own experience. My son and I hiked White Mountain Peak (14,250) outside of Bishop, CA in July and while it was hard we didn’t get
sick. I used the same routine this trip in that I took one Ginkgo capsule each day for two weeks prior to the trip.
The Hike
I wanted an early start so I set my alarm at 3:45 AM so I could be on the trail at 4:30 AM. We were staying at the Yavapai Lodge right at the
park. Of course I didn’t wait for the alarm and woke up for good right before the alarm would have gone off. I did get a good night’s sleep
by going to bed around 8:30 PM the previous night. That was a little surprising because I was very excited but I had hiked Bear Mountain
outside of Sedona as a warm up hike that day so I was a little tired. In any case, I was up showered, suited up and ready to go at the Bright
Angel trail head at 4:25 AM thanks to a ride by my ever supportive wife, Maggie. You may think that hiking an extra half mile to the trail
head is no big deal if you are planning on a 24 mile hike that day but it was and so I asked my wife to drop me off.
The moon was just a few days past new moon so I had almost a perfect sky of stars albeit a bit obscured by the lights of the South Rim
village. Across the canyon I could see the lights of the North Rim lodge which seemed to be floating in the blackness. Pretty cool indeed.
It was a bit slower going than normal because it was more difficult to see even though I had a head lamp on. The trail at the Grand Canyon
is really easy to follow but even so you have to slow down in the dark even with a light or you will be falling on a step or tripping over a rock,
all things you really want to avoid doing if you can. But using trekking poles, which are really an absolute necessity for anyone but the most
casual hikers, I was fine. I did come across a group of mule deer right on the trail. I don’t know who was most startled, me or the deer. I
found myself worrying about whether the deer would fall off the trail given the almost complete blackness at the time but I guess Mother
Nature has taken care of her own long before I came around.
It got light enough to take off my head lamp at about 5:45 AM. As I approached Indian Gardens (4.5 miles) from the rim I started running
into hikers hiking up after camping. The universal question was, “How early did you start?” They were all nice just like almost every hiker I
meet on the trail. As I passed through Indian Gardens around 6:15 AM I almost ran into some mule deer again including one I interrupted in
the middle of his/her breakfast. I don’t know if deer can look annoyed but they looked like that to me.
I reached the river around 7:30 AM. I haven’t hiked this part of the trail before. On my first real Grand Canyon hike I hiked to the South Rim
to the river and back but I stopped at the river and didn’t continue to the Bright Angel Bridge. This time I was going all the way so I
continued up the trail at a moderate incline. By this time I was passing by a number of hikers who were hiking from camping at the Bright
Angel campground or Phantom Ranch and going up to the South Rim. Most of them thought I was hiking from Indian Gardens and all gave
me great encouragement when I told them I had started from the South Rim and was going to the North Rim in one day.
I reached Phantom Ranch a little after 8 AM and stopped just briefly to refill my water. The snack bar was open and I was going to stop and
get one of the famous Phantom Ranch t-shirts like I had done on previous rim to rim hikes but you know, I just didn’t want to add the little bit
of extra weight 2-3 t-shirts would have added. I am sure I will be back again at some point.
Right after you pass Phantom Ranch you come across a trail sign indicating the distances to various points on the North Kaibab trail. In
particular, Ribbon Falls, 5.7 miles; Cottonwood 6.4 miles; and the North Rim 13.4 miles. At this point in the hike I don’t know if you want to
know that you have 13.4 miles to go with about 5,681 feet of elevation gain.
The trail then goes through a very nice shaded canyon. I stopped right at the end before I went out into the unshaded part of the bottom
canyon hike to have a sandwich, some nuts and some liquids. For this trip it was plain water and some Gatorade. They must be making
that stuff differently because it actually tasted good.
The next few miles of the hike I think are the toughest other than the climb back out and even then it’s close. You hike in the direct sun for
approximately three miles. Even though I started very early it was still around 10 AM as I was hiking through this area. Make sure you have
plenty of liquids and use sunscreen. Something else that works really well is a pretty simple thing. I always carry an all purpose bandana
that I never use on my head because I don’t have any hair to worry about but I find other uses for. At this time I just soaked it every once in
awhile in the very cold water from Bright Angel Creek and wrapped it around my neck. After the initial, “boy that’s cold” it feels quite nice.
During this part of the hike I saw one of the coolest things I have ever seen in my years and miles of hiking. I saw what looked like to me a
Golden Eagle swoop down perhaps 50 yards from me and grab a snake off the ground and fly back to a neighboring tree with its breakfast.
Here is a picture of the tree and the bird. With my point and shoot Konica this is at full zoom. Using the miracle of Photoshop IV I enhanced
the photo so you could see the bird and if you closely the snake curled underneath it.
As I continued up the slightly ascending trail I saw Ribbon Falls. As I said, this was my third rim to rim hike but I’ve never actually hiked over
to see Ribbon Falls. The trail used to spur off and went the ¼ mile to the falls and then connected back to the main trail. This was actually
the route you wanted to take because the main trail takes you up and then down a not unsubstantial hill. But alas this particular spur trail
has washed out and now to visit the falls you have to climb up and over the hill and then take a ¼ mile trail over to see the falls up close and
then come back to the main trail. You know, an extra ½ mile might not seem like a lot when you are hiking almost 24 miles but it is. I am
also always trying to beat my best time so I don’t take a lot of time wandering around. The other two times I hiked rim to rim it was much
earlier in the year (Memorial Week), so the water flow was also greater.
Soon after I passed through Cottonwood camp ground and refilled my water and took advantage of the toilets. There was a thermometer
here that read 82 degrees. Not bad, but hot enough. You really don’t want to hike this section with the temperature much warmer.
Not long after Cottonwood you cross the Bright Angel Creek for the last time and come up to a caretaker’s home. I have to admit I don’t
quite know who lives here but it looks to be a family as there are children’s toys and a basketball hoop set up. There is also nice shade and
another water source. I’ve read that sometimes the residents set out lemonade for hikers but I’ve been through here three times now and I
haven’t seen that. That’s certainly okay; it’s just nice to rest here for a few moments because this is where the trail makes a serious uphill
turn.
As I began my uphill climb, in full sun I might add, I started to worry if I was going to become ill again. As I passed Roaring Springs I felt
great. I was making great time and I felt great. I was passing by hikers and keeping pace with a very fit looking hiker in front of me. Just like
any athletic endeavor, when you have someone pacing you it is natural that you will do better.
It wasn’t that long until I was heading down to Supai Bridge . At the point that I was climbing back up I could see people looking down from
an overlook above me. I soon realized this was Supai Tunnel. Supai Tunnel is a major turnaround for more aggressive walkers from the
North Rim and also a switching point for the mule rides. All this means is that there are usually a lot of people and a lot of mules with the
usual lots of flies. At this time however, none of this was present. It was a beautiful day, the temperature was cooling as I climbed up and
there were very few people and no mules. The mules were actually behind me perhaps a mile back on the trail.
There was one mule wrangler which I said hi to and asked him if it was about three miles to the rim. He said that no it was less than two
miles. Do you know how good it feels and then end of a long, hard journey when you are expecting one distance and find out it is actually
less? How many times on a hike has that happened? I was one happy hiker at this point.
The rest of the hike is anticlimactic. I still felt great. I didn’t run up the trail but I don’t think I stopped even once on these last two miles to
catch my breath. I arrived at the North Rim trail head parking lot and took my usual self portrait.
I had hiked the 23.9 miles via the Bright Angel and North Kaibab trails in 10 ½ hours. I felt great with only one small blister. My wife and our
friend were soon there to pick me up and I was heading to Vegas.
Is life good or what?
John Ridge
American Hiking Adventures
Email me
Rochester, New York, USA
Rim to Rim Part III
September 26, 2006
The Introduction
This was to my third rim to rim hike at the Grand Canyon. A few months ago when I was planning a Vegas and surrounding area trip the
idea of another rim to rim hike came upon me. We (myself age 49; my wife, Maggie, age 47; and our friend Nancy, age 61) had planned to
fly into Vegas stay a few days and then go to the Sedona/Flagstaff area for some site seeing/shopping for the ladies and a couple of hikes
for me. Since I do the logistics for the trip the arrangements are usually up to me subject to the approval of the other participants but they
do grant me a good bit of leeway.
I had planned to hike Humphrey's peak, the highest peak in Arizona outside of Flagstaff when the idea of the rim to rim hike hit me. I had
hiked major day hikes in the Grand Canyon three previous times. The first was a South Rim to river and back hike in 2003. I also hiked rim
to rim in late May in 2004 and had attempted a rim to rim to rim hike in May, 2005 which turned into a rim to rim hike for the reason that I am
about to relay.
Let me say that I am not a novice hiker. I realize the difficulty of even a rim to river and back hike and I approach them with the seriousness
they demand. I train as best I can despite the lack of altitude in my home town (Rochester, NY). I also travel out west usually four times per
year using Vegas as a base but also to fulfill my hiking needs. I love the west of the United States and hiking in it. I consider myself in
excellent physical condition but I do lack the altitude acclimation because of Rochester's altitude. This has resulted in the problems I have
experienced at the Grand Canyon. Every time I have hiked an extreme day hike at the canyon I have had issues. These issues have been
exhibited as nausea in later stages of the hike. During my first south rim to river and back hike I became ill as I approached the rim on the
back leg but because I didn't eat properly (two Snickers bars) and because I felt better after a post hike double Quarter Pounder with
cheese I thought it was just because I didn't eat right. Then I did my first rim to rim hike. I wanted to prepare better so I made sandwiches
and brought snacks. I did all the right things but still became ill right around Cottonwood where the trail begins the climb up to the North
Rim. On my rim to rim to rim attempt the following May (Memorial Weekend again) I went so far as to time myself and eat and hydrate every
30 minutes. I still became ill even worse than the hike the year before.
I was sitting at Supai Tunnel only about two miles from the North Rim and feeling very ill. To add to the pleasure there were the usual mules
and their usual waste products all over the trail. As I was sitting by the side of the trail wondering how I was going to struggle to the top a
group of three Germans that were hiking from Phantom Ranch went by. I had exchanged some pleasantries with them earlier in the day as I
passed them. The last one of the group asked me if I was okay and I gave him my symptoms. He invited me to hike with him. He said he
hiked very slowly and we would hike to the rim together. It turned out that he was a doctor and as we hiked he thought my symptoms were
classic altitude sickness. Since I had hiked many times above this altitude and didn't get sick I had initially doubted this outlook but as they
say, when you eliminate everything else, what's left is the answer.
So I did a lot of on line research on the subject. Everywhere I read that the best way to prepare is to acclimate. That's fine if you live out
west and have the time but I don't and didn't want to waste a week of valuable vacation time waiting around until my body adjusted to higher
elevations. There had to be another answer. I found the answer in Ginkgo Biloba.
While this herbal supplement doesn’t have any clinical trials to prove it’s effectiveness I did find a lot of first hand evidence and I can now
add my own experience. My son and I hiked White Mountain Peak (14,250) outside of Bishop, CA in July and while it was hard we didn’t get
sick. I used the same routine this trip in that I took one Ginkgo capsule each day for two weeks prior to the trip.
The Hike
I wanted an early start so I set my alarm at 3:45 AM so I could be on the trail at 4:30 AM. We were staying at the Yavapai Lodge right at the
park. Of course I didn’t wait for the alarm and woke up for good right before the alarm would have gone off. I did get a good night’s sleep
by going to bed around 8:30 PM the previous night. That was a little surprising because I was very excited but I had hiked Bear Mountain
outside of Sedona as a warm up hike that day so I was a little tired. In any case, I was up showered, suited up and ready to go at the Bright
Angel trail head at 4:25 AM thanks to a ride by my ever supportive wife, Maggie. You may think that hiking an extra half mile to the trail
head is no big deal if you are planning on a 24 mile hike that day but it was and so I asked my wife to drop me off.
The moon was just a few days past new moon so I had almost a perfect sky of stars albeit a bit obscured by the lights of the South Rim
village. Across the canyon I could see the lights of the North Rim lodge which seemed to be floating in the blackness. Pretty cool indeed.
It was a bit slower going than normal because it was more difficult to see even though I had a head lamp on. The trail at the Grand Canyon
is really easy to follow but even so you have to slow down in the dark even with a light or you will be falling on a step or tripping over a rock,
all things you really want to avoid doing if you can. But using trekking poles, which are really an absolute necessity for anyone but the most
casual hikers, I was fine. I did come across a group of mule deer right on the trail. I don’t know who was most startled, me or the deer. I
found myself worrying about whether the deer would fall off the trail given the almost complete blackness at the time but I guess Mother
Nature has taken care of her own long before I came around.
It got light enough to take off my head lamp at about 5:45 AM. As I approached Indian Gardens (4.5 miles) from the rim I started running
into hikers hiking up after camping. The universal question was, “How early did you start?” They were all nice just like almost every hiker I
meet on the trail. As I passed through Indian Gardens around 6:15 AM I almost ran into some mule deer again including one I interrupted in
the middle of his/her breakfast. I don’t know if deer can look annoyed but they looked like that to me.
I reached the river around 7:30 AM. I haven’t hiked this part of the trail before. On my first real Grand Canyon hike I hiked to the South Rim
to the river and back but I stopped at the river and didn’t continue to the Bright Angel Bridge. This time I was going all the way so I
continued up the trail at a moderate incline. By this time I was passing by a number of hikers who were hiking from camping at the Bright
Angel campground or Phantom Ranch and going up to the South Rim. Most of them thought I was hiking from Indian Gardens and all gave
me great encouragement when I told them I had started from the South Rim and was going to the North Rim in one day.
I reached Phantom Ranch a little after 8 AM and stopped just briefly to refill my water. The snack bar was open and I was going to stop and
get one of the famous Phantom Ranch t-shirts like I had done on previous rim to rim hikes but you know, I just didn’t want to add the little bit
of extra weight 2-3 t-shirts would have added. I am sure I will be back again at some point.
Right after you pass Phantom Ranch you come across a trail sign indicating the distances to various points on the North Kaibab trail. In
particular, Ribbon Falls, 5.7 miles; Cottonwood 6.4 miles; and the North Rim 13.4 miles. At this point in the hike I don’t know if you want to
know that you have 13.4 miles to go with about 5,681 feet of elevation gain.
The trail then goes through a very nice shaded canyon. I stopped right at the end before I went out into the unshaded part of the bottom
canyon hike to have a sandwich, some nuts and some liquids. For this trip it was plain water and some Gatorade. They must be making
that stuff differently because it actually tasted good.
The next few miles of the hike I think are the toughest other than the climb back out and even then it’s close. You hike in the direct sun for
approximately three miles. Even though I started very early it was still around 10 AM as I was hiking through this area. Make sure you have
plenty of liquids and use sunscreen. Something else that works really well is a pretty simple thing. I always carry an all purpose bandana
that I never use on my head because I don’t have any hair to worry about but I find other uses for. At this time I just soaked it every once in
awhile in the very cold water from Bright Angel Creek and wrapped it around my neck. After the initial, “boy that’s cold” it feels quite nice.
During this part of the hike I saw one of the coolest things I have ever seen in my years and miles of hiking. I saw what looked like to me a
Golden Eagle swoop down perhaps 50 yards from me and grab a snake off the ground and fly back to a neighboring tree with its breakfast.
Here is a picture of the tree and the bird. With my point and shoot Konica this is at full zoom. Using the miracle of Photoshop IV I enhanced
the photo so you could see the bird and if you closely the snake curled underneath it.
As I continued up the slightly ascending trail I saw Ribbon Falls. As I said, this was my third rim to rim hike but I’ve never actually hiked over
to see Ribbon Falls. The trail used to spur off and went the ¼ mile to the falls and then connected back to the main trail. This was actually
the route you wanted to take because the main trail takes you up and then down a not unsubstantial hill. But alas this particular spur trail
has washed out and now to visit the falls you have to climb up and over the hill and then take a ¼ mile trail over to see the falls up close and
then come back to the main trail. You know, an extra ½ mile might not seem like a lot when you are hiking almost 24 miles but it is. I am
also always trying to beat my best time so I don’t take a lot of time wandering around. The other two times I hiked rim to rim it was much
earlier in the year (Memorial Week), so the water flow was also greater.
Soon after I passed through Cottonwood camp ground and refilled my water and took advantage of the toilets. There was a thermometer
here that read 82 degrees. Not bad, but hot enough. You really don’t want to hike this section with the temperature much warmer.
Not long after Cottonwood you cross the Bright Angel Creek for the last time and come up to a caretaker’s home. I have to admit I don’t
quite know who lives here but it looks to be a family as there are children’s toys and a basketball hoop set up. There is also nice shade and
another water source. I’ve read that sometimes the residents set out lemonade for hikers but I’ve been through here three times now and I
haven’t seen that. That’s certainly okay; it’s just nice to rest here for a few moments because this is where the trail makes a serious uphill
turn.
As I began my uphill climb, in full sun I might add, I started to worry if I was going to become ill again. As I passed Roaring Springs I felt
great. I was making great time and I felt great. I was passing by hikers and keeping pace with a very fit looking hiker in front of me. Just like
any athletic endeavor, when you have someone pacing you it is natural that you will do better.
It wasn’t that long until I was heading down to Supai Bridge . At the point that I was climbing back up I could see people looking down from
an overlook above me. I soon realized this was Supai Tunnel. Supai Tunnel is a major turnaround for more aggressive walkers from the
North Rim and also a switching point for the mule rides. All this means is that there are usually a lot of people and a lot of mules with the
usual lots of flies. At this time however, none of this was present. It was a beautiful day, the temperature was cooling as I climbed up and
there were very few people and no mules. The mules were actually behind me perhaps a mile back on the trail.
There was one mule wrangler which I said hi to and asked him if it was about three miles to the rim. He said that no it was less than two
miles. Do you know how good it feels and then end of a long, hard journey when you are expecting one distance and find out it is actually
less? How many times on a hike has that happened? I was one happy hiker at this point.
The rest of the hike is anticlimactic. I still felt great. I didn’t run up the trail but I don’t think I stopped even once on these last two miles to
catch my breath. I arrived at the North Rim trail head parking lot and took my usual self portrait.
I had hiked the 23.9 miles via the Bright Angel and North Kaibab trails in 10 ½ hours. I felt great with only one small blister. My wife and our
friend were soon there to pick me up and I was heading to Vegas.
Is life good or what?
John Ridge
American Hiking Adventures
Email me
Rochester, New York, USA
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