Story:
Hiking Rim-To-Rim in one day has been my dream for some years. This week in the beginning of Sept 2010, the dream came true with a number of friends visiting Grand Canyon. I, by myself, performed this solo Rim-To-Rim from Bright Angle at South Rim, to North Kaibab at North Rim. The total distance is 24 miles, with elevation gain of about 6000 feet, about the same as Mt. Whitney, at lower altitude, but higher temperature. I finished it just less than 10 hours, with one rest meeting with my friends on the bank of Colorado River.
I started at 3:30am at Bright Angle Trailhead, to take advantage of morning cool weather down in the Canyon. It's dark with some light from half moon. With aid from my LED flashlight, it is quite easy to follow the trail because it is quite wide, suitable for mule and people. After about 1 mile down the canyon, I saw a flashlight coming up towards me. One guy was hiking up the canyon! Who is starting hiking in the midnight? I then talked to the guy and got total surprise. He has spent 21 hours hike Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim, from South to North and back to South. A very crazy hiker, a wonderful guy too. This further encouraged me to finish this Rim-to-Rim in one day.
The weather is cool, but not cold. Going down the canyon is certainly easy but the stairs on the trail bothered me. The distance between the stair are strange for normal person. If you want to cover each level of stair with one step, it is too long. But if you cover it with two, the step is too small. So I had hard time to move fast. The sky is full of stars, with the Milkyway clearly seen as cloud in the sky. We usually do not see these many stars in the city because of "light polution".
As I moved on, the sky was getting brighter. In less than 2.5 hours, I had reached the bank of Colorado River. I met all my friends, who have hiked down from North Rim the day before, stayed in Phatom Ranch in the night. We cheered each other, took photos and continued on. I went crossed the river through the beautiful suspension bridge and reached Phantom Ranch. I did not stop there and continue.
In about half mile,two young hikers passed me. I then simply followed them hiking towards Cottonwood Camp, 7.5 miles from Phantom Ranch. I was surprised by myself that I can follow them for about 3 miles through the narrow canyon with the trail following a running creek. It's about 8-9 clock and I was totally in the shade because of the narrow canyon, and temporature is quite comfortable, thanks to the early start. After following those two young hikers for 3 miles, they stopped for the rest. I continued, passed them. I did not see them again during the hike. It took me about 2.5 hours for 7.5 miles from Phantom Ranch to Cottonwood Camp, with elevation gain of about 2000 ft (very gental accent).
At Cottonwood Camp, I filled my empty water bottles in about 2 minutes, and continued on. From here, it has more than 4000 ft gain in elevation, and it becomes much tougher to keep speed. Also I was exposed to sun light towards the noon time, consumed more water because of the rising temporature. Fortunately, as I gain the elevation, the temporature supposed to drop, and as day time went to noon, the temporature rises. So they cancel each other to some degree and the temporature is about 86 degrees, relatively cool in Grand Canyon standard. I kept walking up, constantly drank water, and ate energy bars. When I reached Supai Tunnel, I knew it's less than 2 miles from the trail end. I started to feel muscle cramp on my right leg. So I tried to manage to use mostly my left leg to step up and my right leg for level walking, quite awkward way of walking.
Finally, in less than 10 hours, I reached North Kaibab trailhead, the end of the Rim-To-Rim hike. Although feel very tired, I feel proud of myself. At the age of 51 and with hiking history of about 2 years, I accomplished this hard hike in record (my record) time. I believe then that if you constantly push youself to the limit, there is nothing you can't do.
Hiking Rim-To-Rim in one day has been my dream for some years. This week in the beginning of Sept 2010, the dream came true with a number of friends visiting Grand Canyon. I, by myself, performed this solo Rim-To-Rim from Bright Angle at South Rim, to North Kaibab at North Rim. The total distance is 24 miles, with elevation gain of about 6000 feet, about the same as Mt. Whitney, at lower altitude, but higher temperature. I finished it just less than 10 hours, with one rest meeting with my friends on the bank of Colorado River.
I started at 3:30am at Bright Angle Trailhead, to take advantage of morning cool weather down in the Canyon. It's dark with some light from half moon. With aid from my LED flashlight, it is quite easy to follow the trail because it is quite wide, suitable for mule and people. After about 1 mile down the canyon, I saw a flashlight coming up towards me. One guy was hiking up the canyon! Who is starting hiking in the midnight? I then talked to the guy and got total surprise. He has spent 21 hours hike Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim, from South to North and back to South. A very crazy hiker, a wonderful guy too. This further encouraged me to finish this Rim-to-Rim in one day.
The weather is cool, but not cold. Going down the canyon is certainly easy but the stairs on the trail bothered me. The distance between the stair are strange for normal person. If you want to cover each level of stair with one step, it is too long. But if you cover it with two, the step is too small. So I had hard time to move fast. The sky is full of stars, with the Milkyway clearly seen as cloud in the sky. We usually do not see these many stars in the city because of "light polution".
As I moved on, the sky was getting brighter. In less than 2.5 hours, I had reached the bank of Colorado River. I met all my friends, who have hiked down from North Rim the day before, stayed in Phatom Ranch in the night. We cheered each other, took photos and continued on. I went crossed the river through the beautiful suspension bridge and reached Phantom Ranch. I did not stop there and continue.
In about half mile,two young hikers passed me. I then simply followed them hiking towards Cottonwood Camp, 7.5 miles from Phantom Ranch. I was surprised by myself that I can follow them for about 3 miles through the narrow canyon with the trail following a running creek. It's about 8-9 clock and I was totally in the shade because of the narrow canyon, and temporature is quite comfortable, thanks to the early start. After following those two young hikers for 3 miles, they stopped for the rest. I continued, passed them. I did not see them again during the hike. It took me about 2.5 hours for 7.5 miles from Phantom Ranch to Cottonwood Camp, with elevation gain of about 2000 ft (very gental accent).
At Cottonwood Camp, I filled my empty water bottles in about 2 minutes, and continued on. From here, it has more than 4000 ft gain in elevation, and it becomes much tougher to keep speed. Also I was exposed to sun light towards the noon time, consumed more water because of the rising temporature. Fortunately, as I gain the elevation, the temporature supposed to drop, and as day time went to noon, the temporature rises. So they cancel each other to some degree and the temporature is about 86 degrees, relatively cool in Grand Canyon standard. I kept walking up, constantly drank water, and ate energy bars. When I reached Supai Tunnel, I knew it's less than 2 miles from the trail end. I started to feel muscle cramp on my right leg. So I tried to manage to use mostly my left leg to step up and my right leg for level walking, quite awkward way of walking.
Finally, in less than 10 hours, I reached North Kaibab trailhead, the end of the Rim-To-Rim hike. Although feel very tired, I feel proud of myself. At the age of 51 and with hiking history of about 2 years, I accomplished this hard hike in record (my record) time. I believe then that if you constantly push youself to the limit, there is nothing you can't do.
Tips:
Drinking water is in Cottonwood Camp and Phatom Ranch, also in Indian Garden and along Bright Angle Trail. You can also fill creek water between Phantom Ranch and Cottonwood Camp. There is no water from Cottonwood Camp all the way to North Rim Kaibab trailhead for 7 miles. There is also no water from Phantom Ranch to South Rim through South Kaibab Trail.
Drink water and eat something easy to digest constantly in small portion, which keeps you energy level high. Wear cloth light in color, preperably in white to reflect heat.
Drinking water is in Cottonwood Camp and Phatom Ranch, also in Indian Garden and along Bright Angle Trail. You can also fill creek water between Phantom Ranch and Cottonwood Camp. There is no water from Cottonwood Camp all the way to North Rim Kaibab trailhead for 7 miles. There is also no water from Phantom Ranch to South Rim through South Kaibab Trail.
Drink water and eat something easy to digest constantly in small portion, which keeps you energy level high. Wear cloth light in color, preperably in white to reflect heat.
Tags:
grand canyon, south rim, North Rim, Bright Angle, rim-to-rim, day hike, Colorado River
grand canyon, south rim, North Rim, Bright Angle, rim-to-rim, day hike, Colorado River
Comments (0)
Facebook
