Grand Canyon R2R2R

Chase and Andrew and I headed back down to the Grand Canyon this week to run the Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim run again. A year and a half ago when we did the same run, Chase succumbed to the heat, and he wanted to "do it right" this time around. It turns out, we all did it right, and we all had a very successful run.

We flew into Las Vegas on Thursday, rented a car, drove to the Grand Canyon, and set ourselves up at Mather Campground on the South Rim. The North Rim is still closed this early in the year due to snow. We can see patches of snow on the South Rim as well, and camping is a little frosty, as the temperature dropped below freezing during the night. I was uncomfortably cold in the morning while waiting for the coffee to be ready after our 4am wakeup. We all moved a bit slowly while packing up camp, and we did not make it to the South Kaibab trailhead until 5:45am, a little later than we would have liked, although just in time for the sun to start brightening the sky.

I followed Andrew down the trail for the first few hundred yards, letting him slip on the dust-covered ice that coated the very top part of the rim, then once I was free of the snow and ice, I took off. Andrew and Chase followed behind, aiming for a 12 hour out-and-back. I hoped to run faster, and I planned just to see how I would do.

The South Kaibab trail drops steeply down to the river, losing 4700 feet over the course of 7 miles or so. Very quickly I removed any extra clothing I had and ran in shorts and short-sleeved T-shirt. Memories of last night's freeze were quickly forgotten. I noticed the lack of dust that had plagued us in October a year and a half ago after the trail had been churned up by the feet of hikers and mules all summer. The weather was still moderately cool and refreshing. I crossed Black Bridge in just under an hour, and cruised through Phantom Ranch at about 1:05 after I had started. The pre-dawn mule train was just turning around to head back up to the rim.

There is water at Phantom Ranch, but with a 100 oz bladder, I had enough water to last me all the way to Cottonwood, which was another 7 miles up the North Kaibab trail. The North Kaibab twists and turns its way along a creek all the way to Cottonwood, so it slowly gains elevation the whole way. I tried to run most of it, and I was thankful that the high canyon walls kept the sun out of this side canyon so early in the morning. I reached Cottonwood at about 8:15am, 2:30 after my start. A couple campers were just getting up for the morning, and they wished me well on my attack on the North Rim another 7 miles up the trail. I had already climbed almost 2000 feet up from Phantom Ranch, but still had another 3500 feet to go. I still had some water left, so I cruised another 1.5 miles to a caretaker's cabin where there is a year-round water source at a pump in the yard, and I filled up there. As I had run the R2R2R before, I was reasonably familiar with all the water stops and so I did not dally too much trying to resupply.

After the caretaker's cabin, the trail steepened quite a bit. It wound its way up to the rim, often precariously cut into the side of a cliff. I imagined old prospectors with dynamite-laden mules attempting to force a trail down from the North Rim by blowing it out of living rock. Seasonal waterfalls dripped down from above and cascaded across the trail in several spots, subtly hinting at the masses of melting snow above. I made good progress all the way up to the tunnel a little less than 2 miles from the North Rim trailhead.

After the tunnel, the snow started. At first it hid on the corners of the switchbacks or in other shady spots, but as I went higher, it filled the trail, until I was hiking over mounds of snow across the trail. I topped out at the North Rim parking lot in a vast snowscape. The trailhead kiosk was mostly buried under snowdrifts; winter still held the North Rim in its icy clutches. After a very short food break, I turned around and headed back down. 4:35 to the North Rim. I was really moving. I could take the return trip quite a bit slower and still finish in under 10 hours, although I had not encountered the heat of the day yet.

I worked my way carefully down the snow-covered sections, only slipping once and completely covering one leg in snowmelt mud. I passed Andrew and Chase on their way up about 20 minutes after I turned around; they were also having a pretty good day, and I estimated that they would top out at 5:25, well in line with their overall 12 hour plan. I passed the tunnel (no more snow!) and started working my quads some more as I quickly lost elevation.

I partially filled up my bladder at the caretaker's cabin again and then cruised down into Cottonwood Campground just before noon (6:00 after start). The next 7 miles was a gentler downhill all the way to Phantom Ranch. I tried to keep up a solid pace, but at this point I started to feel the wear and tear on my body as well as the heat of the early afternoon sun, and I stopped very briefly a couple times in the shade. I could feel my body overheating. I popped a few more salt tablets in my mouth and had a few more drinks of water. After interminable twists and turns, I pulled into Phantom Ranch at 1pm (7:10).

I had to have a glass of lemonade at Phantom Ranch, partially as tradition, and partially because I needed some sort of pick-me-up to get my 4700 feet up to the South Rim in the afternoon sun. I pulled the $20 bill out of my pack and waited in line for two minutes that seemed like forever in order to get my giant ice-filled glass of lemonade. The lemonade drained, I threw the ice cubes in my pack and filled my bladder to the top, then I was off.

I crossed Black Bridge about 7:20 and started to climb. At this point, the run was over; I just put one foot in front of the other and tried to speed hike as fast as I could. I looked at my altimeter watch and tried to count how quickly the elevation ticked away. I made a mental note that if I climbed at least 300 feet every 10 minutes, I would barely make my 10 hour goal for the run. I watched my watch, and after 10 minutes I had climbed 305 feet. After another 10 minutes I had climbed 300 more feet. Incessant forward motion.

On a couple of the steeper sections, I climbed more than 300 feet per 10 minutes, but there were very few hiding places from the afternoon sun, and I was hot, hot, hot and tired. I took a two minute nap in the shade, but now I was falling behind my goal again, and I had to keep moving. Up, up, up I went.

As I neared the top, I actually ran a couple of the flatter parts, and my climbs went a little faster. I had escaped the intense heat of the lower canyon. When I started passing hordes of tourists, I knew I was close. The last couple hundred yards brought some ice and snow again, and then I topped out at the South Kaibab trailhead. I never want to see that trail again. I finished in 9:47. Under 10 hours! I was happy. I decided to celebrate with a nap in the shade.

After napping, I hiked about five minutes back to our car and resupplied with bananas, chips and water, grabbed a book, then hiked back to the trailhead to get comfortable and wait for Andrew and Chase. I didn't have to wait for too long, as they came in as promised, just under 12 hours after they had started. I had been worried that Chase might succumbed to the heat again (it certainly affected me a bit), but he finished strong, and both he and Andrew looked great. We had optimistically made dinner reservations at El Tovar (a really nice restaurant on the South Rim), and everything came together perfectly. We had just enough time to drive over to the Bright Angel Lodge, check into our cabin with a canyon view, jump through the shower, and hobble over to dinner and celebratory drinks at a job well done.