The Canyon Trek

The trek is complete. Rim to Rim in one day. Saturday, May 17 was a day I will never forget. Ever thought of doing the Rim to Rim challenge but wasn't sure? Well, here is my experience and I'm already excited for next year!

We started our journey from Phoenix on Friday morning and drove to the North Rim. See photo to the right. The North Rim was breathtaking! I learned that not as many people journey to this rim because a.) it's only open for certain months of the year and b.) it's off the beaten path. At the Rim, there was a beautiful lodge and cabins that we enjoyed. After watching the sunset over the Canyon with a glass of wine in hand, we slept comfy in our cabins - complete with a fireplace and NO television. It was one of the most romantic places I have ever been (and plan to go back to someday)!

The morning of the hike started at 4:30 a.m. SHARP. Below is one of the first photos of the day. We dropped several thousand feet very quickly and I was glad no one injured themselves. In many places, there were very steep drop-offs next to our path and the gravel below us was not stable. I wore hiking shoes (not boots) and had a few slips, but nothing major. The one thing I didn't bring that might have helped prevent that were walking sticks. Who knew.

Along the way down (and really, the whole time), the key was to drink a lot even if you weren't thirsty. Not only water, but a drink like Gatorade that had sodium and calories in it as well. We stopped every few miles at water fountains / bathrooms along the way. In terms of eating, we snacked on PowerBar chews, pretzels, beef jerky and tail mix (salted). I did wear my Garmin watch to calculate our mileage, and as a rule of thumb, tried to make sure we were all drinking every 15 minutes and snacking every 45 (even if it was a small snack). We were also trying to make sure everyone was going "potty" - a sign of being hydrated if you had to go - as long as the urine was "light lemonade" and not clear or too dark (according to my marathon training knowledge, clear = over hydration; dark = dehydration).

One of the major milestones of the hike was Phantom Ranch. This "milestone" was slightly over half way (I believe about 15 miles in) and was one of the nicer rest stops. If we had would have wanted to, there were places to stay the night (very small cabins - not quite "roughin'" it, but almost), there was a place to get some food / drinks and it's actually where the mules stayed that brought people down from the South Rim. (FYI - I can't imagine riding a mule down from the top - swaing for that many miles would surely leave your "seat" a little sore the next day!) We had to watch our rest time at Phantom Ranch because the second half of the hike was extreme. It was hot and intense. The "Devil's Corkscrew" was after Phantom Ranch and that part of the trek involves A LOT of switchbacks and is in direct sun! Little did we know at this point that the temperatures were reaching 118 in the base of the Canyon. It was hot.

We started to head towards Devils Corkscrew and one of our hikers had to turn around. They were all of a sudden not feeling well so they returned back to Phantom Ranch. (Where, later, we learned, they were helicoptered out of the Canyon. After an overnight at the hospital and approx. 6 liters of sailene, they were good to go!). One of the other hikers went with me and we ventured up Devil's Corkscrew.

Up, up, up we went. We had to take a lot of rests because the other hiker that was with me was feeling the effects of the sun, dehydration, and altitude. We stopped at the remaining rest stops on the trail (there seemed to be one every 3-5 miles and at this point, our pace was 40-55 minutes / mile). At the 3-mile house (we had 3 miles to go), I learned we had roughly 4,000 feet to gain before we actually "summitted" out of the Canyon on the South Rim. Seriously?! I was used to a marathon where 3 miles could take 20 minutes. Now it was going to take several hours. None the less, we kept going. Step after step, sip after sip of Gatorade (and all of the other electrolyte drinks we were indulging in); we got closer.

When I trained for this, I did some StairMaster because I heard that would be ideal for the South Rim. Not until I got there did I realize that it was literally like stepping up for miles. There are rocks, logs, twigs, switchbacks, etc. majority of the second half that you are hurdling the whole way up.

After almost 14 hours and approx. 28 miles (my Garmin watch died after 11 hours); we finished! Below is a photo of the "Balloon Arch" of the Rim to Rim Hike. The reason I call it this is because in a marathon, you go and go and go and feel like you are completely out of fuel until see you see the finish line - a destination frequently marked with a balloon arch. When we see that Arch, you know you're almost done and you dig deep to find the energy to finish stronger than you ever have before. Below is The Arch of the Rim to Rim!People have asked me if I will do the Rim to Rim challenge again next year and I absolutely would! It was the most incredible experience I have ever been a part of. Although my running, hill work, speed work, weight lifting, yoga, Pilate's and diet all helped my legs and body complete the Challenge, my feet were not prepared for it. For next year, I will do a handful of long WALKS. I had forgotten that you use completely different muscles for walking!! Otherwise, who is with me for next year??