RickM
New member
My brother Steve and I completed a double crossing of the Grand Canyon, commonly know as Rim to Rim to Rim, on November 5, covering the 42 mile roundtrip from the South Rim to the North Rim and back in 15.5 hours. Our route was a descent of the South Kaibab trail, which begins at 7,260 feet altitude and descends 4,860 feet over 6.5 miles to the Colorado River. It's then 14.5 miles to the North Rim via the North Kaibab trail. The first seven miles of the North Kaibab trail to Cottonwood campground ascends gradually, gaining only about 1,600 feet. Over the final seven miles the trail rises more steeply, gaining another 4,241 feet before reaching the North Rim at 8,241 altitude. We then returned to the South Rim via the same route.
We first went to the Grand Canyon a year when we did Rim to Rim to Rim over three days with backpacks, staying at Bright Angel camprground and Cottonwood campground. We were struck by the incredible beauty of the area and how the colors change constantly with the lighting. On that trip, we encountered two groups that were doing one day Rim to Rim to Rim trips, starting in the early morning hours and finishing in the evening. Such an outing seemed out of reach, but we made plans to do a two day trip in the spring.
We returned this past May armed with overnight reservations at the North Rim Lodge so that we could go each direction with day packs. The North Rim can get considerable snow and its facilities are open only from mid-May to mid-October. The Grand Canyon is like an upside down mountain, with the coolest temperatures encountered at the start at the higher elevation on the Rim. We discovered that, although not yet summer, the high sun yielded warm conditions and we encountered 100 degree temps in the Canyon during the early afternoon heading in each direction. We had ample water in our Camelbaks and took electrolyte tabs, but found it hard to drink enough to keep up with what we lost through sweat. But we felt well enough at the end to think about trying a one day Rim to Rim to Rim in the fall when temperatures were cooler. We scheduled it for the first weekend in November to coincide with the full moon.
On Saturday, November 4, we drove the six hours from Steve's house in Albuquerque and checked in at the Maswik Lodge on the South Rim. We caught a few hours of sleep and got up at 1:45 A.M. to finish packing and then drove the 15 minutes to the parking area which is about one-third of a mile from the trailhead. The temperature was in the mid-30's as we walked along the road to the trailhead and my bare legs were a bit cold. But I knew things would warm warm as we descended. We headed down the trail a few minutes after 3 A.M. under headlamps and, in minutes, I was down to the t-shirt and shorts I wore throughout the day.
The South Kaibab trail descends a prominent ridge and has sweeping views into the Canyon during daylight. In the album of photos I have attached, the first five photos are of the trail during our first trip a year ago to show some of those views. As it was, were descending into a dark void. The full moon under clear skies provided some light, but not enough to discern the footing safely, so we used headlamps. The trail was quite dry and dusty, which caused the first person to kick up a cloud of dust which was then illuminated by the second person's headlamp which made it like looking through fog. Some of the illuminated dust can be seen on the photos. It was unlike any hiking I had done before and was a neat, dreamlike experience.
About 20 minutes down the trail we caught up with a local celebritry named Maverick about whom I had read in a Yahoo Grand Canyon forum. Maverick, who lives on the South Rim, turned 80 this year and decided to do 80 Rim to Rim hikes in commemoration. He hit 80 crossings earlier in the fall and decided to try for 100. We encountered him embarking on his 93rd Canyon crossing. He takes a couple of days to do the one way trip and was heading 14 miles to Cottonwood campground that day.
We descended the 6.5 miles to the Colorado River in just about two hours and refilled our water at Bright Angel campground. As we walked past Phantom Ranch in the darkness we encountered a herd of deer. We covered the seven miles to Cottonwood campground in about two hours, during which time the sun rose. The temperature at 4,000 feet at Cottonwood was a comfortable 60 degrees.
After the final steep sections on the upper North Kaibab trail, we reached the North Rim 21 miles and 7.5 hours after leaving the South Rim. We spent about 10-15 minutes on the North Rim before heading back. As we descended the North Kaibab trail we had nice sunny conditions. That trail has some magnificent sections where the trail terraces along cliff faces, as can be seen in the photos. About two miles below Cottonwood we again met Maverick on his way up.
When we returned to Bright Angel camprgound, our choice was to either ascend the 6.5 miles up the South Kaibab trail or to ascend the longer 9.3 mile Bright Angel trail. The Bright Angel trail is generally the better choice to ascend on a hot afternoon, as it has more shade and a couple of water stops along the way, while the South Kaibab trail is more exposed and has no water. During our May trip we had ascended the Bright Angel trail. When we got to the water stop halfway up at Indian Garden in the early afternoon the temperature was near 100 degrees and the area in the shade near the water was a like a refugee camp of heat exhausted hikers waiting until later in the day to continue their ascent. This trip, with the temperature at 70 and heading down, and the sun low on the horizon, we decided to re-ascend the South Kaibab trail as it would put us near our car rather than six miles away.
The sun set as we ascended and we were forced to use head lamps the last 20 minutes, as we finished at 6:30 p.m. in the darkness. After walking back to the car and driving back to Maswik Lodge, we showered and went to the sports bar where we drank beer, ate Mexican food and watched the New England Patriots lose to the Indianapolis Colts. All in all a great trip.
Photos are attached here:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=1Abs2rZo0aMXPA
We first went to the Grand Canyon a year when we did Rim to Rim to Rim over three days with backpacks, staying at Bright Angel camprground and Cottonwood campground. We were struck by the incredible beauty of the area and how the colors change constantly with the lighting. On that trip, we encountered two groups that were doing one day Rim to Rim to Rim trips, starting in the early morning hours and finishing in the evening. Such an outing seemed out of reach, but we made plans to do a two day trip in the spring.
We returned this past May armed with overnight reservations at the North Rim Lodge so that we could go each direction with day packs. The North Rim can get considerable snow and its facilities are open only from mid-May to mid-October. The Grand Canyon is like an upside down mountain, with the coolest temperatures encountered at the start at the higher elevation on the Rim. We discovered that, although not yet summer, the high sun yielded warm conditions and we encountered 100 degree temps in the Canyon during the early afternoon heading in each direction. We had ample water in our Camelbaks and took electrolyte tabs, but found it hard to drink enough to keep up with what we lost through sweat. But we felt well enough at the end to think about trying a one day Rim to Rim to Rim in the fall when temperatures were cooler. We scheduled it for the first weekend in November to coincide with the full moon.
On Saturday, November 4, we drove the six hours from Steve's house in Albuquerque and checked in at the Maswik Lodge on the South Rim. We caught a few hours of sleep and got up at 1:45 A.M. to finish packing and then drove the 15 minutes to the parking area which is about one-third of a mile from the trailhead. The temperature was in the mid-30's as we walked along the road to the trailhead and my bare legs were a bit cold. But I knew things would warm warm as we descended. We headed down the trail a few minutes after 3 A.M. under headlamps and, in minutes, I was down to the t-shirt and shorts I wore throughout the day.
The South Kaibab trail descends a prominent ridge and has sweeping views into the Canyon during daylight. In the album of photos I have attached, the first five photos are of the trail during our first trip a year ago to show some of those views. As it was, were descending into a dark void. The full moon under clear skies provided some light, but not enough to discern the footing safely, so we used headlamps. The trail was quite dry and dusty, which caused the first person to kick up a cloud of dust which was then illuminated by the second person's headlamp which made it like looking through fog. Some of the illuminated dust can be seen on the photos. It was unlike any hiking I had done before and was a neat, dreamlike experience.
About 20 minutes down the trail we caught up with a local celebritry named Maverick about whom I had read in a Yahoo Grand Canyon forum. Maverick, who lives on the South Rim, turned 80 this year and decided to do 80 Rim to Rim hikes in commemoration. He hit 80 crossings earlier in the fall and decided to try for 100. We encountered him embarking on his 93rd Canyon crossing. He takes a couple of days to do the one way trip and was heading 14 miles to Cottonwood campground that day.
We descended the 6.5 miles to the Colorado River in just about two hours and refilled our water at Bright Angel campground. As we walked past Phantom Ranch in the darkness we encountered a herd of deer. We covered the seven miles to Cottonwood campground in about two hours, during which time the sun rose. The temperature at 4,000 feet at Cottonwood was a comfortable 60 degrees.
After the final steep sections on the upper North Kaibab trail, we reached the North Rim 21 miles and 7.5 hours after leaving the South Rim. We spent about 10-15 minutes on the North Rim before heading back. As we descended the North Kaibab trail we had nice sunny conditions. That trail has some magnificent sections where the trail terraces along cliff faces, as can be seen in the photos. About two miles below Cottonwood we again met Maverick on his way up.
When we returned to Bright Angel camprgound, our choice was to either ascend the 6.5 miles up the South Kaibab trail or to ascend the longer 9.3 mile Bright Angel trail. The Bright Angel trail is generally the better choice to ascend on a hot afternoon, as it has more shade and a couple of water stops along the way, while the South Kaibab trail is more exposed and has no water. During our May trip we had ascended the Bright Angel trail. When we got to the water stop halfway up at Indian Garden in the early afternoon the temperature was near 100 degrees and the area in the shade near the water was a like a refugee camp of heat exhausted hikers waiting until later in the day to continue their ascent. This trip, with the temperature at 70 and heading down, and the sun low on the horizon, we decided to re-ascend the South Kaibab trail as it would put us near our car rather than six miles away.
The sun set as we ascended and we were forced to use head lamps the last 20 minutes, as we finished at 6:30 p.m. in the darkness. After walking back to the car and driving back to Maswik Lodge, we showered and went to the sports bar where we drank beer, ate Mexican food and watched the New England Patriots lose to the Indianapolis Colts. All in all a great trip.
Photos are attached here:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=1Abs2rZo0aMXPA
