Holy Cow! That was incredible! I exclaimed with as much enthusiasm as I could offer after completing a twenty-six-mile rim to rim hike at Grand Canyon National Park in a little over eight hours. "I wish I could do that with you someday", Bianca said in a wistful manner. With some effort I climbed into the car. I was grateful that she'd picked me up at the trailhead, saving me a 3-mile hike to our campsite. What was left unsaid was that she was unable to join me as her bad knee wouldn't allow it. Maybe someday I thought as I crawled into my sleeping bag.
Fast forward to March of 2024 and Bianca had a knee replacement. She set a goal of being able to do a rim to rim in Spring of 2025. By May of 2024 she was hiking again!
We decided on doing our hike in mid-May 2025. This is when the rim-to-rim season starts, as the highway to the North Rim is closed, along with the North Rim itself, from roughly December 1st until May 15th every year, due to the massive amount of snowfall they receive at 9K of elevation. We'd be joined by a couple of friends, neither of whom had ever seen the Grand Canyon, much less hiked in it. Bianca had hiked quite a bit in the Canyon but had never attempted a rim-to-rim hike. None of them had ever done a long dayhike before, so I did my best to let them know what they were in for. It was cool to realize that they would all be having a new experience.
A few weeks out from our trip I received word that some of the trail closures that have been going on in the Grand Canyon over the last few years, off and on, would unexpectedly continue on through the summer. Well, Crud! Not ideal! The GCNP is replacing and upgrading a lot of desperately needed infrastructure, including the main water pipeline and water treatment plants. The trail closures were by no means any kind of a catastrophe, but basically, we'd be getting 4-5 bonus miles on top of the already 23 miles-ish we'd be doing. I was actually quite enthused about it as we'd be detouring onto a trail that I had not hiked since my very first Canyon trip in 1986, and who doesn't love more Grand Canyon miles? I'm not sure how enthused the rest of the group was, but nobody bailed out. I decided that we'd do a lot more night hiking as the temps would be roasting hot and the trail that we'd be detouring on was very exposed and waterless. We'd add a bit more night hiking to the trip. How little did I know.
We met on the afternoon before our hike in Tusayan, the small hamlet that is the gateway community to the South rim of GCNP. We got settled into our rooms at the Red Feather inn and then we went into the National Park for a little walking around and sight-seeing.
A Grand Canyon general store in Tusayan offers growler fills from a number of excellent local Arizona breweries. What a beautiful thing! Sadly, a growler wouldn't fit in my pack.
We took a selfie on the rim, right outside the ice cream shop. Looking down into the Canyon, it's impossible to fully understand the size and scope of it. It becomes a bit easier when you're down in there. We hit the ice cream shop, and I was able to house a large mint chocolate chip in a waffle cone. Much to my chagrin, they didn't have maple cree-mees.
We ate dinner later that evening in Tusayan, at a restaurant called "We cook pizza and pasta". Over the years I must have driven by that place a hundred times and chuckled at the name of it. I'd never actually eaten there before as I almost never find myself in Tusayan at dinner time. The last few trips though, we've stayed in Tusayan, so we've now eaten there several times.
Bianca and I ordered a ton of pizza and two large orders of spaghetti and meatballs. We saved one order to leave in the fridge for when we returned to our rooms late Thursday night after our hike. We anticipated a late-night return to our rooms and knew that there would be nothing open that late. I would eventually be extremely grateful for my foresight in ordering this extra spaghetti dish. Somehow, after a delightfully tasty repast, I staggered back to our room in a carb coma, overloaded with pizza and pasta. The leftover slices of pizza would be thrown into our packs for a tasty trail snack. You know, all in the name of carb loading. If you're ever in Tusayan during the dinner hour, I can recommend the joint. They also happen to have an excellent beer menu, though I didn't partake given our huge hike the next day.
The next morning came early. We made our way into the park and then cooked some breakfast while we awaited our shuttle departure.
Hard to go wrong with oatmeal and blueberries before a hike. Coffee is always a must, and some of the gang enjoyed some fresh squeezed orange juice that Lynn brought from her tree.
Soon enough it was time for our 8:00 AM departure. We loaded up and settled in for the 4.5-hour trip to the North Rim. There is a stop after roughly an hour and half in Cameron where you can stretch your legs a bit, get some snacks, etc and use the restroom. The shuttle vans are actually quite comfy and the scenery for most of the way is quite spectacular. The second stop comes a couple of hours later in Jacob Lake, which is an excellent little community with a great Inn and Cabins. They are also world famous for their homemade cookies. I didn't partake as it was likely that I already had way too much carby, sugary junk food in my pack to begin with.
After Jacob Lake it's 30-40 minutes until you hit the entrance station to the National Park and then another 15 minutes until you arrive at the trailhead. The anticipation just continually builds, and you begin to think that you'll never get there. The final stop happens at the North Kaibab trailhead where the fun actually begins!
We pulled in around 12:40 PM. The temps were in the 70s and there was a beautiful breeze. We took our time getting our packs fiddled with, re-adjusted, making sure food and water were accessible, applying sunblock, using the restroom one more time, etc.
We snapped a couple of pics and then got on down the trail. When I do a solo rim to rim, it usually takes me around 8.5 hours or so to complete. I knew that we'd be much slower. I anticipated no longer than around 12 hours to complete our hike. This would prove to be a comically inaccurate estimate on my part. In some ways the drastic amount of time that this hike took was an absolute blessing. I truly enjoyed 95% of the hike, save for a stressful time going up South Kaibab. I digress.
We'd hike for less than a mile before we'd get our first great view of the Canyon at Coconino overlook. Always an exceptionally beautiful spot.
We sashayed and moseyed down the trail at a fairly slow and easy going pace. To me, this is the hardest part of the entire hike. The first 5-6 miles of the North Kaibab (NK) trail are a plunge. It's super steep downhill and extremely rocky. Thus, it is hard on the knees and wrecks the legs. The trekking poles can help to mitigate the damage, and the fitter you are the less damage is done, but it is still challenging. After maybe two miles or so you come to the first rest stop. It's called Supai Tunnel. There are restrooms and usually potable water. Unfortunately, there was no water on the day we went. We all ate, drank, and took care of whatever chores needed to be done.
Housing an amazing lemon scone that I picked up at Sprouts.
Folks removing layers. As we descended, we got hotter as we were working hard, and we were losing elevation rapidly, so it was getting warmer. Between the top and bottom we'd lose close to 6000 feet of elevation in 14.5 miles.
As we got up and started to pull out of Supai, I looked forlornly at the restrooms. They'd be the last we'd see for well over three miles. At that point I started to notice just the slightest, faintest, so infinitesimally small as to be almost imperceptible hint of a whisp of a whiff of gurgling and bubbling and absolutely the slightest amount of GI discomfort that you could possibly have and still call it discomfort, in the darker, deeper recesses of my digestive system. At the same time a conversation was taking place between two disparate entities, buried somewhere in my prefrontal cortex. I eavesdropped in on the conversation. Hey Mac, we've got a potential situation here. I'm picking up a gurgle and some rumbling down there. We're over three miles from the next bathrooms, but we're at a bathroom right now. I say we head into the bathroom and see what we got? Response: Are you crazy? We're pulling out. We've got 25 miles ahead of us and this thing will probably go away. Have a couple of sips of water and this thing will be fine! I'm not going to turn the whole show around because you've got a rumble. Ignoring the problem and hoping it will go away is the strategy here. Son of a bitch!! Little did I know the shitshow that was about to rear its ugly head!
Anywho, we continued down the trail, sans the last second bathroom break. We stopped and took the obligatory pictures at the tunnel of Supai Tunnel. The scenery was dominated by stark and brilliant hues of red and green.
This section of the trail is steep and unforgiving. The constant stepping over of the water bars across the trail becomes mind numbingly exhausting and seemingly never ending. They are always about 1.5 steps apart, which adds to the irritation.
We cruised into red wall bridge which is pretty cool to see. It is the first of many bridges to cross on the hike. Roughly 3-3.5 miles into the trek.
This is definitely one of my favorite sections of this hike. Such drastic views and perspectives. Makes you feel so tiny and insignificant as a human being. Our human lifetimes are probably less than a nano-second when compared to the millions of years showcased in the Canyon.
It was here that the old "Ignore the problem and it will go away" strategy took a catastrophic turn. The problem had never gone away, but thankfully it had not gotten any worse. Now, it was rearing its ugly head and progressively getting worse. I looked at my GPS and knew that we were still more than a mile away from Manzanita, our next rest stop. I doubted whether I could make it. I questioned the choices that led me to this moment. I gritted my teeth with fortitude born of years of hiking and soldiered on. Outwardly calm, cool and collected. Inwardly, suffering and in great turmoil. This lasted for a few minutes. I announced to the group, "Either we have to drastically increase our pace or I am going to move on alone to get to Manzanita". Temporarily relieved of my guiding duties, I increased my pace. I was loathe to speed up too much as I didn't want to accidentally speed up the seemingly inevitable denouement, if you will. I also didn't want to dilly dally and not be at the correct spot for the denouement. A real conundrum.
I began to recognize the familiar outskirts of Manzanita, and a sense of hope began to course throughout my being. I knew that barring disaster, I was going to make it. I made it to Manzanita a few moments later and worked my way to the outhouse. I sprinted up the steps two at a time, despite being laden with a heavy day pack, and five miles of fatigue having accumulated in my legs. I urgently grabbed for the door of the first stall I encountered. Mercifully it was unlocked.
I'll spare you the gory details, gentle reader, but if you've ever seen Dumb and Dumber in the scene where Harry goes to his dream girl's house after Lloyd has spiked his drink with a powerful laxative, you'll know exactly what ensued. Google it if you need the visual.
After that bit of unpleasantness, I felt a thousand times better. I found a bench and sat down. I refilled my water and dug out some food while I waited for the others. I unearthed a McDonalds cheeseburger and a twinkie from my pack. Gotta have some healthy nutrition on a long hike like this. Surely these would settle my stomach.
I did feel a lot of relief, but my stomach was definitely not at 100%. I didn't have much appetite, though I knew that I needed to eat. I knew that I'd be ok as long as I could keep food down. Hiking 27+ miles, especially many miles uphill, demands thousands of calories, as well as close management of fluids and electrolytes. You won't make it if you don't keep fueling yourself. I was able to eat my food and soon enough it was time to move.
I noted that we had covered the miles at less than a 1.5 mile per hour pace. I began to realize that we were in for a long night. Under normal circumstances I'd be deeply concerned, but in this instance I wasn't remotely alarmed. We had a glut of calories and my plan had us getting through the waterless portions of the trip in the cool darkness of night. We would have plenty of water and electrolytes all night, and especially when we really needed them. As long as we kept moving, no matter how slowly, we'd be fine. If we stopped moving, for whatever reason, the rising sun the next morning would have us in a furnace.
This rat-like squirrel thought he had another sucker on his hands. He was trying to get my twinkie. No chance that that was going to happen. The little shitbird was lucky that the most lethal weapon I had besides my mind, was a trekking pole. I was able to successfully fend off the little cuss with that pole.
It was not even remotely cold. The sun hoodie is so great for sun protection.
I probably have a million videos of this small waterfall. I love it and take a video each time. The sound is incredibly soothing and I always marvel that such a lush place exists in such a desert environment.
On to Cottonwood Campground, the next place where we could rest and get some water. It's only a couple of miles down the trail.
Within no time we were pulling into Cottonwood. We didn't need much as we hadn't left Manzanita long ago. We sat down to take a load off. I hammered a liter of water mixed with electrolytes, as we topped off our water knowing we wouldn't see a water spigot for seven miles until we reached Phantom Ranch. After a few minutes we moved on. The sun was rapidly setting.
This mule deer doe appeared to not have a care in the world. Living in that area looks like it would be tough for a deer to find a square meal. Apparently they do, though.
Hard to tell in this picture, but it is nearly dark. I realized that we didn't have any photos of the two of us together so I snapped this quickly before it got dark.
The gang brought fake mustaches, a first for me on a Grand Canyon trip. Come to think of it a first for me on any trip. Or non trip. Nothing wrong with a little whimsy in the middle of a trip I guess!
One of a number of bridges that criss-cross the creek on the way to the bottom. It wouldn't be long.
The cacophony coming from the creek was so cool. You'd never imagine hearing that in a desert environment. Those are the sounds that you'll only ever get to absorb by hiking at night. It's a completely different canyon at night. I would argue that it is magical!
What a delightful feeling every time I see this sign. I was ready to sit down for a bit of an extended break. I'd hoped that the canteen would be open. I always enjoy one of their famous lemonades when opportunity and availability coincide. 14.5 miles down and 13 miles to go.
Luckily the canteen was open. There were numerous folks in there drinking beer and playing games. Those camping at Bright Angel Campground or staying at Phantom Ranch will often hang out in the canteen after the dinner service. It is heated or air-conditioned depending on the time of year. We would not be lingering.
We had a proper feast. I ate a slice of pizza, my last McDonalds cheeseburger and a cherry cream filled croissant. I tanked up on water. Drank a couple of liters mixed with electrolytes and carried 3 liters out of there. It would be 7 miles until our next water source. The first 2.5 miles would be real steep. Temps were in the low 80's at such a low elevation. Thankfully it was really windy. After 20 or so minutes it was time to go. We loaded up and got on the trail. My stomach was just feeling less than ideal. I could eat, but I didn't want to. I managed to keep everything down.
By this time it was pitch dark and 9:00. We crossed the bridge over the mighty Colorado River, roaring deeply below us, and immediately began the steep climb up the South Kaibab trail. I imagined that this would be the hardest part of the day for some of the group. Some folks were really struggling with exhaustion and the steep terrain did not help. Within minutes two of our group went ahead of us and their headlamp beams gradually became more and more distant. I was not pleased. We had committed to staying together for safety reasons. Splitting up a group can lead to trouble. My hiking partner was struggling with exhaustion and some GI distress. I started to question whether or not we were going to make it. Luckily she had an extremely positive attitude. At one point she wobbled a bit and was staring up at the sky. I asked her if she was about to be sick. She said, "No, I'm admiring this beautiful night sky". We shared a chuckle. At that point I knew that her positive attitude and her ability to appreciate the beauty of the situation, despite the misery, would get her to the top. She was right, the sky was as clear as could be. There were no clouds at all and the waning crescent moon provided little light. There was zero light pollution from any man made light. Every single constellation was as bright and vivid as I had ever seen them. Though we were moving at a snail's pace, we never stopped moving. Shortly after that she was able to take care of her GI distress, I began to feel more positive about our prospects.
The folks that had taken off on us had waited for us at the top of the climb. We finally made it. I felt a tremendous amount of relief. Now we had 4.5 relatively flat miles ahead of us to get to our next stop which would have water and bathrooms. At that point we'd have water and bathrooms every 1.5 miles all the way to the top. At that point I'd feel like this hike was in the bag.
We blew through those 4.5 flat miles in less than two hours, which was a really good pace for us. The miles were flat, and it was getting cooler. There was a heck of a breeze. It was glorious! In the midst of the trail we were inundated with bugs that were attracted to our headlamp beams. I felt like I was living in a cloud of moths for the better part of an hour. I began to feel odd sensations and seeing dark shadows across my face and forehead. I began to realize bats were coming down and grabbing the moths millimeters from my face! Their wings were brushing up against my face. Ruh Roh Raggy!! I became paranoid at the prospect of being bitten and becoming a vampire or of getting rabies and the such. Thankfully none of those terrifying events occurred. Eventually I began to savor the experience. I'd never had such close encounters with bats. We also saw the biggest scorpions I've personally seen, at over 3 inches long. We saw a few several inch long centipedes. Such are many of the joys of night hiking in the GC. During the entirety of the 4.5 mile trek on the Tonto we saw two female trail runners that had just begun a rim to rim to rim. In fact during the entire night hiking portion of the trip which was approximately 10 hours we saw hardly anyone. Just the way I like it!! I was too focused on the hike and it was so dark that I got almost no videos or photos during this leg of the trip.
All at once I could hear the flow of Garden Creek and I knew that we were close to Havasupai Gardens. Our next stop and our safe space. We'd have access to all of the water we wanted for the last 4.5 miles. We'd be hiking out in the dark with plenty of calories left. Barring some kind of cataclysmic occurrence, we'd be just fine. Most of the team was ready to knock out the last few hours and be done. I had committed to savoring every minute of the hike and just being grateful for the opportunity to do this. It was the first time I'd ever made this kind of a commitment on a long event.
We steamed into Havasupai Gardens and sat down. I had been up for a while and it was nice to sit down and take a load off. My stomach was ailing a tad. Nothing that would impact my finishing the hike in style, but I felt like eating nothing.
I doffed my pack and opened it up. Resignedly, I stuck my hand down into the pack and began to rummage around. I felt a twinkie, no thanks, been there done that. I then felt a cream filled croissant. No. Not in the mood. I palpated a large sack filled with nuts and dried fruit. If that was the best I could come up with, that would have to do, but I wasn't inspired by it. I rooted deeper and deeper, much like a hungry hog in his slops. I felt the slippery, foily sensation that a pop tart wrapper provides. I knew that I still had a blueberry poptart left. That actually sounded somewhat appealing. That would do, but one more feel. As soon as I grasped the heavy, thick object in my hands, I knew at once I had my next meal. A large Cheshire cat like grin spread across my face from ear to ear. I was positively as giddy as a school girl who sees the star high school quarterback. Eureka, I whispered to myself. I removed the item. It was a large log of Christmas fruitcake. I came out a few years ago as a fruitcake fan. My family now accepts me for it, but it was tough for a while. I find it to be delicious and it is an excellent trail food. It doesn't spoil, it's durable and it's loaded with sugar and fat. It also happens to be one of the tastiest substances known to man, in my opinion. I simply could not believe my good fortune. I devoured a large 3 inch chunk of it and I put the rest in my feedbag. It would get me out of the Canyon.
The first vestiges of daylight began to appear around 04:30 or so. I turned around and saw this scene and had to snap a photo. The sunrise on the upper left, the moon on the upper right and a headlamp beam further down the trail in the right center of the photo.
One of the rest houses we'd stop at briefly for water and a bathroom break! We were getting closer!
Lynn powering up one of the final switchbacks! She kicked ass for 16.5 hours!
Bianca finishing with a smile on her face! Awesome job! So freakin' proud of you!!!
The obligatory trailhead pic! We finished by about 06:30! We immediately went back to our rooms to try to get a couple of hours of sleep before we had to check out at 11:00. When we got back I fired down that entire XL order of spaghetti and 8 meatballs. My hunger had returned in full force!
Later in the morning on the drive down to Flagstaff a beautiful shot of a still snow covered Humphrey's Peak.
Some random pictures of our Flagstaff rest and recover mission!
Thanks for reading and checking out my post. I appreciate it! I mean it, I sincerely appreciate all four of you!
All photos and videos were taken by all members of the trip.
