Rim to Rim

After hiking Havasupai last fall and enjoying it, Grand Canyon Rim to Rim was next on my list.  I had thought about doing it last year, but it takes a lot of advance planning if you want a permit.  If you hike the whole thing in a day, no permit is required, but I decided to camp at the bottom one night so I could take my time and enjoy it a little more.  Don Porter, in my ward, has done this a lot and gave me so much valuable advice as I planned the itinerary.  The road to the North Rim is closed until Mid-May because of snow, so I decided to shoot for the week after that.  That meant I had to apply for a permit in December.  To get a permit, I had to fill out a form with my whole itinerary, which trails, etc. and mail it in during the last 10 days of December.  Then, the first week in January the parks department did a lottery of applications.  Fortunately, they let you put a first and second choice date and then a range.  I did not get my first or second choice day, but scored a spot in the week I listed.  I had applied for 6 permits because it said more than that makes it much less likely to get a permit. After getting the permit I emailed a few people who had expressed interest in the past and found two couples to join in.  

I had really hoped Mike would be willing to go, but he wasn't up for it.  So, I was thrilled when Lisa said she'd fly out to do it with me.  In May it is already getting really hot at the bottom, so we wanted to start early.  We could have camped at the top, but it was in the 30s up there which meant we'd have to pack cold weather gear all the way across the canyon, even though the bottom would be hot.  So, we booked a cabin about a half an hour from the North Rim trailhead. We could have paid for a few shuttles to get us to the trailhead, but then we couldn't have started as early.  Instead, we used the money we would have paid the shuttles and paid Mike to come up with us.

We met at the Faller's the morning before the hike, drove to Flagstaff where we got lunch, and then drove to the South Rim.  We left a car at the South Rim and then all drove together in our van to the North Rim.  The cabin we stayed in was small and rustic, but warm and cute.  When I checked in they said, "There's no wifi, no TV, and no telephone; if you want to watch TV, you can come in here (lobby with restaurant), and if you need to make a call there is a phone here."

The view was beautiful at the cabins.  We all ate the dinners we had packed up and enjoyed the view, especially the amazing view of the stars.  There is nothing around for miles, so we could see so many stars, even the Milky Way.  We got to bed early in preparation for a 3:15am wake up time.

We didn't end up starting until about 4:30.  The car thermometer said 28*.  We started out on North Kaibab Trail which goes down over 4000ft in elevation in a little under 7 miles. After about half an hour, the sun was up enough for us to take off our head lamps. Within a few miles we were shedding our jackets.

Supai Tunnel

 I loved the red rock views.  If you look carefully, you can see the winding path down through the canyon.

 I didn't know we'd be following water the whole way, but that was a fun addition for a desert dweller like me.  Also, because of the hard work of past generations, there were bathrooms and drinking water regularly along the trail.

During the next 7 miles across the canyon we only went down about 1500ft in elevation.

 We had read that going across the canyon in the middle of the day was risky because of the "hot box" affect of being surrounded by stone that would radiate heat (like in a parking lot in a Phoenix summer).  Fortunately, most of our trip across was still shady, so it wasn't bad.

 Not far into the hike across the bottom of the canyon there is a detour to Ribbon Falls. Don told us to definitely stop there.  I think we were all a little hesitant to add distance to the hike, but we were SO glad we did.

The falls were beautiful! They looked like a fairy land.  The pictures don't do it justice.

 The water was cool and refreshing.

 Adam tried out the cave first and then was kind enough to loan his water shoes to those of us who didn't bring any.

 Inside the cave was a nest with very hungry baby birds.  Do you see their open mouths?

We had left our packs at the bottom of the hill leading up to Ribbon Falls, forgetting about the wildlife.  Lisa and I both had snacks that had been pulled from our packs and scattered.  Apparently the Ravens can open zippers.  When I got home I found a hole in the pocket on the waist band of my pack, but I didn't notice at Ribbon Falls, so I think the Ring Tailed Squirrels may have chewed into the empty pocket while I slept (even though my pack was hung from a pole).

  The end of the hike our first day did get hot, so we were glad to see this sign saying our campsite was only 3/4 of a mile away.  There was a thermometer at the entrance sign to the campsite that said it was just over 90* when we arrived.

Without the detour, our trip would have been just over 14 miles, so we guess about 15.5 for leg 1.

 I didn't know much about the campground and was worried about getting there before the heat of the day and then just sitting in the heat, so I was very excited that it was on a creek.  The Durdas and I brought a tent and the Fallers slept in the open air.  Lisa and I didn't pack sleeping bags because we knew it would be warm. The lows were in the 70s, so we were definitely fine with the lightweight backpacking blankets we brought.  Before water, my pack was 22 and Lisa's was 15, so not too bad.  We think it made a big difference in how we felt throughout the hike.

 The water was cold, but it felt great to cool off!  My hip had started hurting some during the hike, but overall, I felt fine.  The more we sat and hung out around camp, though, the more I started feeling tight.

Another nice thing about the campsite was that it was right by Phantom Ranch.  We got to listen to Ranger presentations about Condors and stories of "mistakes" made by visitors to the Grand Canyon.  They also had a canteen that sold lemonade and would mail postcards.

When the Ranger came by to check our permit, she told us it got to 102* and would be at least that hot the next day.  She suggested we be hiking before sunrise at 5am and that if we didn't get to Indian Gardens by 10 to stay there and wait until 2 so we would miss the heat of the day.  She also gave us tips on where to get wet so we could stay wet the whole way up.  She had us very concerned about hiking in the heat, so we decided to get up at 3:30 and try to leave by 4am again.


By the time we packed up and ate breakfast, we didn't hit the trail until about 4:40.  Lisa and I were surprisingly efficient.  We had our water boiling while we packed, so I think we could have started by 4 or 4:15.  Lisa was very on top of it for never having backpacked before!

We started the day by crossing the Colorado River.

 The first stop had access to the river, so we soaked our clothes, as recommended by the Ranger.

Then we started the climb up.  Our day would be 9.5 miles with about 4400ft in elevation gain.  One of the reasons we started at the North Rim was because it is higher than the South Rim, so we saved ourselves about 1000ft in elevation gain.

 Mike warned me multiple times to be careful while taking pictures and letting people by to not fall.  Those seem like common stories and he said he could totally see my stepping out of someone's way and getting myself killed being polite.  This picture was for him.

 Lisa's artsy photographer side coming out.

 The first really steep set of switchback is called Devil's Corkscrew.  Lisa and I were ahead of our group because we really wanted to beat the heat, but you could still see our friends coming up the steep switchbacks below us.

 See the corkscrew?

 We felt great and were so glad to be damp and in the morning shade.

Remember how we got up early to get to Indian Gardens before 10am?  We got there before 7.

I tend to overeat a little bit while camping on backpacking trips because I like to bring enough food that I'm sure I won't be hungry.  My stomach was not ready for my beloved biscuits and gravy before we started hiking, so I packed it prepared and ate it at Indian Gardens.  Actually, I ate it while walking, all 2-3 servings of it.

 Indian Gardens is an oasis along the way.  It gave us another chance to get wet before heading up the final ascent.

After Indian Gardens was 4.8 miles with lots of steep switch backs.  I didn't get a picture, but I liked one caution sign that said, "Going down is optional; Coming up is mandatory", as a warning not to go farther than you can come up.  This sign is also pretty good.

 We kept reminding ourselves to stop and check out the amazing views.  One of the advantages to doing this in two days is that it was still light enough for us to enjoy the views.

 We were going to try to be creative and have my arms framing that big long stretch of switchbacks behind me, but, after one try decided to just finish hiking instead.

 We had to stop for a mule tour, so we sat to rest, but they made us get up as they passed because apparently us sitting may be misinterpreted by the mules as us getting ready to pounce.

 Steep steep

Beautiful!

There were water and bathroom stops every mile and a half, so we stayed wet and surprised ourselves with how well we did getting up.  We made it to the top at about 9:40, so it only took us about 5 hours. 

 Adam and Amber Durda, me, Lisa, Lindsey and Steve Faller.

 Pointing out the groove we just hiked all the way across.  Lisa pointed out that this picture is very fitting since I planned all of the itinerary for this trip. The other two couples just showed up with their stuff.  I gave Lisa a detailed list of clothes to bring, but packed everything else for her.  It was a great group that was just glad to have someone else figure out the tricky logistics of this hike.

 THANK YOU Lisa for coming with me!  I'm so glad I got to do this hike and Lisa was the perfect companion!

Mike had driven back to Phoenix the day before and we all changed and piled into the van we had left at the South Rim.  We drove to Flagstaff for lunch, got lots of strange looks at the hobbled way some group members walked, and then drove down to Phoenix.  By the way, Phoenix to the South Rim is about 4.5 hours and South to North is about 4, so these days of driving were no joke!

This hike was amazing, and I can't wait to find my next adventure!