Grand Canyon Rim to Rim, Version 2017.7

Leaving Indian Gardens we were as fresh as we could possibly be at the time.  We were told that we only had 4.5 miles to go, with stops at the 3 mile and 1.5 mile Resthouse between here and the top.  How hard could it possibly be?  

Excruciatingly hard, I would discover.  The constant uphill was every bit as bad as it sounds and as exhausting as I had feared.  My feet felt like concrete blocks, my legs screaming in pain.  The long day of eating granola, jerky, and other bird food while drinking water incessantly had begun to wear away at my belly.  I could finally feel a blister forming in a really unusual location on the rear outside of one foot. And I was filthy, canyon dust caked by face and arms.  Even lifting my arms long enough to take my hat off when in the shade took some self-convincing.  My heart rate was off the charts high, beating away with an intensity that had me a bit frightened.  I really felt I had to stop at the top of every single switchback just to catch my breath and get my heart calmed down a bit.  Then I would do it all over again, put my head down and climb to the next switchback.  I was on the ropes.

These pictures paint a pretty accurate picture of how we were feeling.

These signs are amazing.  There are quite a few of them located on Bright Angel, and I actually found them motivating.

Here is a great view of just a few of the switchbacks, as well as one of the resthouses, I honestly don’t know which one because they were both a blur for me.  I remember sitting at the 3 mile Resthouse, tending to my blister with mole skin, and eating a Stinger waffle.  I remember thinking that I would never do this again, the hike was better than me.  

In this short video, that is me trudging along, and one look at my cadence and my dependency on my walking sticks should affirm what I have been telling you.  Scott is making fun of my socks pinned to my pack drying out, I’m sure it was quite a sight.  But boy was it worth it to have some dry socks to change into along the way.

Here is one more video from same area, and I love how Scott pans to the trail behind us and the view down into the canyon.  This was somewhere towards the end, not really sure where, but an absolutely amazing view.

It was also not far from here that my feet began to feel lighter, my heart rate slowed down a bit, and there was light at the end of the tunnel.  I began seeing casual hikers, people with no pack and just carrying water bottles.  People not caked in dust, just covered with smiles and kind words.  Everyone who saw us knew we were on the last leg of our rim to rim and they had words of encouragement and even cheered us on.  I found these brief interactions with strangers on the trail very powerful, and hoped that one day I would be able to return the favor to some poor sap struggling to get to the top.  It was also near here where one of my favorite photos was taken.  It’s a look back towards the north rim, and you can see many miles of the trail we just walked, trace it into Indian Gardens, then out the other side before it falls off the side into the inner canyon below.  I think it is a unique perspective.  

I sprinted ahead the last ½ mile, hiking solo to the bottom of the stairway leading up to the trailhead.  I called Debbie to let her know I was OK and that I had finished.  I also cried.  This hike was mentally and physically exhausting, and I don’t know exactly what I was crying about but I guess I was just overcome with emotion.  When Dan and the last few men caught up, we walked the last stairway together to the top.  It was anti-climatic, the real victory was somewhere down in that canyon.  We took some obligatory photos, opened a cold beer, and found our way to the El Tovar Lodge where we were staying for the night.

The survivors at the Bright Angel Trailhead.  Me, Nick, Dan, Scott, David, Adam, Tony, Chris, Mike & Terry.  Brothers forever, couldn’t have done it without these men.

Pizza and beer from from balcony at the El Tovar lodge overlooking the canyon

That day, the next day, and every day for weeks I told everyone that would listen to me about that hike.  I opened the conversation by saying it was the coolest thing that I would never do again.  I tried to explain the elevation change, the heat in the box, the joy of Phantom Ranch and the Colorado River, the scenery too beautiful to describe adequately, and I tried to put it all into a tight little 5 minute story.  I failed miserably.  Often I babbled on for far too long as I tried to put into words my experience in the Grand Canyon.  I fear that I have done it again here, taking 7 posts for one day.  However, if you have been there, if you have walked into that canyon and across that space, you understand that nothing I have told you could possibly do it justice.  And even though I said I would never do it again, I was kidding myself.  I’m going back this June, with Dan and Scott from the original crew and 6 new hikers.  I challenge you, if you are still reading this, to find your own way into the Grand Canyon some day.  I plan one more post discussing some of the gear that worked for me and some training that was helpful for me and some that I wish I had done more of.  I will also share some links to other websites and people who were helpful for me preparing for the rim to rim.  Read what I have to say, follow the links to those much smarter and more experienced than me, soak it all in, and then just do it.