The Grand Canyon Duece!

Some years ago (May 2013 specifically), myself and my friend Joe completed a run from the south rim of the Grand Canyon to the north rim.  I had a raging case of plantar fasciitis at the time so a round-trip across the canyon was unthinkable.  And so we settled on me limping a gorgeous and iconic 25-miles across the canyon.  The plan was always to go back and make the round-trip once the body was up to it.

Fortunately I have a good set of friends here in Colorado Springs that are just as crazy as I am.  Our group heading out totaled twelve but seven of us caravanned (seen in the picture below the day before our run).

Do we really know what we're getting ourselves into???

The forecast was for cold, cloudy, and rainy weather for the entirety of our trip.  To be fair, Colorado and the higher elevations had it much worse.  We knew that at least at the bottom of the canyon we would likely be able to warm up just a bit (high of 40 deg on the south rim versus 65 deg at the bottom).  After beginning our drive to the Grand Canyon as a group around 0430 that morning and arriving at 1500 (we gained an hour driving west), we all attempted to get settled, eat, and get to bed fairly early.  We needed to start the run before 0500 to beat the Mule Train down the South Kaibab trail so we all agreed to meet outside the hotel at 0410 as we had to take our rental car to a bus stop, then hop on the bus to the trailhead.

My ridiculous breakfast at 0345, a cinnamon-raisen bagel with nutella and 4 slices of bacon.

Fortunately our plan of action to get to the South Kaibab trailhead went perfectly.  We started the run at 0445 with a light hail/rain mix.  As we descended the clouds began to break enough for us to see the sunrise.

We were able to get rid of the headlamps about 30min into the run.

Coming down the South Kaibab trail is a good choice if you're trying to get down the canyon quickly as it's roughly 2 miles shorter than the Bright Angel Trail.  That said, it's steeper and I could feel my calf and quadriceps muscles already getting stiff as we descended thousands of steps.

A short group photo-op just before sunrise.

The views coming down the South Kaibab were amazing and before we knew it we had reached the river.

A look down the S Kaibab Trail...lots of switchbacks to say the least.

Continuing to work our way down the South Kaibab Trail.

Photo-op at a tunnel just before crossing the river to Phantom Ranch.

Taking a restroom and snack break at Phantom Ranch.

Phantom Ranch has much more amenities than our next stop Indian Springs.

Phantom Ranch is a nice place to stay in the Grand Canyon if you like people and want to get in nature very easily.  You can ride Mules in and out of the canyon if you chose (or you can hike) and they have cabins or sites for you to set up a tent.  They also have fresh running water and a store/post-office.  You can even get a beer (we didn't partake, that would have been a disaster!).  The next stretch to Indian Springs campground is about seven miles of rolling hills (gaining elevation the entire time with short breaks).  This can be the hottest part of the GC crossing because you are exposed and at the lowest point of the crossing.  Fortunately for us this was not the case, if anything it was a little cold.  After Indian Springs we began our climb back out to the north rim.  This was probably the nicest weather section we had during the entire day.

Tim and Dean enjoying the easier climbs from Phantom Ranch to Indian Springs.  The rolling sections were liked by most of us after having finished the long and hard downhill of the S Kaibab.

Water fall as we started to gain more elevation on the North Kaibab.  This section signals where the real climb out of the canyon begins.

Great shot of some of the cliffs along the N. Kaibab Trail.  Seriously good stuff until the trail became muddy later (no photos were taken of the mud).

Bridge crossing along the N Kaibab Trail.

Melissa making her way up the beautiful N Kaibab trail.  This is before we hit the snow and freezing temperatures.

Coming up the N Kaibab it began to snow pretty hard.

We lost visibility of the canyon for awhile on the N Kaibab Trail.

While we were happy to finally get to the north rim, coming up in the snow was rough.  We were losing traction and the climb back down through very stick mud made it all the more difficult to keep moving at a steady pace.

Finally at the turn-around point and ready to get down to warmer temperatures.

I wish I had a picture of the snow line created at the canyon.  As we descended the N Kaibab trail the weather improved a little and we started to experience warmer temperatures and drizzling rain.  Eventually we reached Indian Springs and as we made our way back to Phantom Ranch we were greeted with significantly warmer temperatures and a little sunshine (although I would argue still not hot).

Crossing the river again towards the Bright Angel Trail.

The final 9.9 miles up the Bright Angel Trail were a challenge.  Ten miles on tired legs can be difficult on its own, but we also contended with sand the first couple miles before we started to gain elevation.  The elevation gain was much more gradual but we hit some areas higher along the south rim that were quite muddy and we began losing our traction again.  Melissa and I finished around 14.75 hours barely making it out before we needed to pull out the headlamps again.  And as we walked the final switchback and crested the south rim, a full blast of cold air hit us.  We saw and heard elk very close by as we walked the short distance from the Bright Angel Trailhead to the hotel. Once back at the hotel we cranked the heater and attempted to get warm again.  Unfortunately Melissa had a cold shower whereas 10-min later when I took mine it was pipping hot.

Our return trip home took a little bit longer (12 hours out and about 13.5 hours home) because we avoided a couple mountain passes due to snowy weather.  Was it a successful trip?  You bet.  Am I in pain now?  You bet!  Sore anyway.

May and June will be less adventurous than April as I have actual work to do (physical therapy stuff, Army stuff), but July will begin the final build up towards the Leadville 100, or as I like to call it, the Leadsuck 100.