OK, as promised, here is some input that will address my upcoming Grand Canyon rim to rim day hike.
Not quite sure where this writing will take me. Just know I want it to be interesting, helpful. Feel free to ask questions, either here or via PM. I'll post in this thread up until the time I actually go on the hike, then I'll post in the "Trip Reports" section.
And I'll warn in advance -- my mantra is to never write 10 words when 1000 will do better! :)
You need to evaluate what I say in the context of knowing a little about me, so you can best determine how what I say might apply to your own plans.
I'm 67, 6 feet tall, 150 to 160 pounds. I'm in pretty good shape. I walk or jog 2 or 3 miles a day (and I'll later tell you what I'm doing to train for the rim to rim).
Like Laura, I consider myself to be -- if not the luckiest guy (not gal) in the world, pretty darn close. I moved to fabulous Las Vegas from Orlando, Florida 5 1/2 years ago.
I could write forever about WHY it's so great to live here, but for purposes of Whitney Zone, and everyone's prime interest, ONE reason is the WEALTH of outdoors
opportunities in every direction from here and relatively close by. (If and when I win MegaBucks (currently about $ 13,900,000) I'll then know FOR SURE that I'm the luckiest
guy in the world!)
I am not a backpacker (meaning, to my mind, sleeping overnight in the outdoors). I'm not even a full fledged hiker in the sense that it's my prime avocation. It isn't. (That honor goes to being a restaurant hound. And I have other interests that also probably weigh in ahead of hiking, like travel, for instance.) But -- hiking and the love of the outdoors IS a strong peripheral interest.
The hiking activity probably started when I day hiked Whitney in 2004 at age 59. The travel interest at that point had exposed me to -- besides all mainland 48 states, all
except 4 state capitals, half the major league baseball parks, 30 of the 45 national parks within the continental US -- the lowest point in Death Valley (Badwater). The thought came to me -- if I've been to the lowest point, shouldn't I go to the highest point as yet another "bucket list" goal? So, I started researching online. It's doable -- NOT a technical climb. But it's nonetheless a challenge. And what's this? Doing it in a day? You're ON! The goal had been formed.
Continuing this "here is me" talk to, again, put what I have to say about the Grand Canyon rim to rim in context . . .
My Whitney day hike started at 4:00 AM, I summited at 12:45 PM, left the summit at 1:50 PM, back to the portal at 6:42 PM. Coming from lowland Florida, I DID acclimatize
over 3 or 4 days before the hike. My hydration concept was to pack 6 20 oz. Gatorades (of which I only drank 5). (I didn't want the hassle of water sources study, taking time to purify, etc. My concept might well be different next time, especially with learning how pure the water is on Whitney.)
(I preferably would like to post an 8 year old trip report -- unfortunately my source (emails to friends and family) for that was destroyed in a computer meltdown.)
When I did Whitney, I timed a major physical about the same time, while my body was lean and mean from the Whitney training. I do a major physical every three years, so I
fell into the habit of conceptually planning both events -- a major hike and my major physical -- every 3 years. I actually didn't do a big hike 3 years later in 2007, but DID one in 2009 (well -- "roughly" every 3 years!) and am now planning the rim to rim in 2012. (I'm tentatively planning the Mountaineer's Route on Whitney for 2015 at age 70.)
Mt. Charleston in 2009 (Southern Nevada's highest peak at some 12,950 feet) was a 6:00 AM start and finishing the whole shebang (18 miles round trip) about 3:30 PM. (I live at 3,200 feet elevation, was told by others that there was no need for acclimatization, found out that was the way it might work while doing some other climbs in the Charleston vicinity, and that's the way it DID work out.)
I've done Griffith Peak, Turtlehead Peak, Frenchman Mountain, Lone Mountain here locally, along with other mountains and other trails -- maybe 15 to 20 different things. I've done Camelback Mountain in Phoenix. Now that I think about it, Mt. Hunger in Vermont, 4 peaks in the Adirondacks (NY) much earlier in life.
So let's talk about the rim to rim effort now that you can paint what I'll say in the context of knowing who's speaking.
Arguably, it may be more fun to do the rim to rim over 2 or more days, but just like my Whitney hike, I like the challenge of doing it in a day. So that's what I selected.
If you're looking into this hike at all, and done any research, you've discovered that while the North Kaibab trail is the only corridor trail from the North Rim you have two choices when it comes to connecting with the South Rim -- the South Kaibab Trail and the Bright Angel trail. You also have the choice of going from north to south or south to north.
I decided on going from north to south. The prime advantage is less uphill hiking in that the North Rim is some 1,500 feet higher than the South Rim. And I decided on using the Bright Angel Trail coming up -- advantage is that while it's a little longer than the South Kaibab it's not as steep (duh!) AND it avoids exiting a fair distance away from the South Rim hotels.
You may have also found out that the TIMING of the hike is critical. It's hellaciously hot in the canyon much of the year. May and September/October are the prime times to hike. You know from my earlier post -- I decided October 3. (Before selecting that exact date I researched sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset times for that and other late September/early October dates.)
You've also found -- or will know now -- that some of the logistics for a rim to rim are a little tricky. The only way back to the rim from where you started is to hike across the canyon again OR take a shuttle (or have some sort of driving arrangement with private vehicles worked out in advance with friends or family, as Steve pointed out).
I'll be using the shuttle. It's a 215 mile 4 1/2 hour drive around the eastern end of the canyon. $ 85. Go here: http://www.trans-canyonshuttle.com/ Note that reservations are REQUIRED. (I plan on calling them about a month before my hike.)
Another reality is that -- unless you will be camping or sleeping in your own vehicle at EACH rim (sleep, hike in one day, sleep again, back to the other rim), you have to make reservations at hotel facilities EARLY. It's recommended up to a year in advance. While you may get away with less time than that I didn't chance it. I made my reservations LAST YEAR in the summer! There is only ONE hotel on the North Rim -- the Grand Canyon Lodge. Go here: http://www.grandcanyonlodgenorth.com/ You have a number of choices on the South Rim -- but the number of folks THERE as opposed to the North Rim is MUCH higher, so you can't delay making your reservation there either. Go here: http://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/ Note that one booking company takes reservations for all places on the South Rim and a separate company for the one place on the North Rim. (And --if you DO want to do something other than sleep in hotels you're on your own with your research -- I didn't look into that.)
Yet another logistical oddity is that the trailhead for the North Kaibab trail is a mile or three from the hotel (can't remember the exact distance and too lazy to Google it up again!). Whether it's one or three is irrelevant -- I don't think you want to hike this in addition to the 24 MILES from rim to rim, do you? The hotel offers a complimentary
shuttle to the trailhead but only twice a day. What times? Will they work for your hike planning? Last information I had was that one of those times was at 5:45 AM, which works for me because my planned hike start time is 6:00 AM. Also, when I check in the day before the hike, I will be looking at a medium sized parking lot (free) that is near the trailhead to visually ensure it's not too far from the trailhead AND is not about to be crammed with cars if I decide to use it the next morning. So I'm giving myself an option here. To use the shuttle, you have RESERVE it at least a day ahead. I will be calling to do that from Las Vegas before I drive there.
Are we having fun yet?
My detailed plans . . . I leave Las Vegas on October 2 to check in to the North Rim Grand Canyon Lodge in the late afternoon. Hike day -- leave at 6:00 AM. After much
thinking my best guess estimate for finishing time for the hike (15 miles down, 10 miles up) is NLT 7:00 or 7:30 PM. Sleep overnight (I'll be at the Bright Angel Lodge, right
NEXT to the trailhead I'll be exiting the canyon from), and catch that shuttle at 1:30 pm the next day, arriving back on the North Rim at 6:00 PM (it stops at BOTH the hotel AND that parking lot). I plan to drive directly back to Las Vegas then.
I'm going to put 4 20 oz. Gatorades in my pack for this hike. Your research will show that there are -- also -- multiple water sources on both trails. Food will be some GORP
and/or a bunch of Cliff bars. (I'll be looking forward to a NICE meal (with BEER!) at one of the many attractive dining choices available on the South Rim after the hike.)
If you knew what I know about those sky object set and rise times you'll know that I need to take a headlamp with me for
the hike. I will be! (Make sure you check all that out for yourself too. Even if you think you can do the whole shebang in daylight you still want a headlamp in case your estimate of time is way off or you run into an emergency.)
Emergency? I will -- and you should too -- let someone know what your planned finish time is, and give them an emergency contact # to start a search and rescue if they don't
hear from you by a certain time. For me -- I'm adding 3 hours to my planned NLT finish time. That time -- 10:30 ARIZONA time (adjust if your contact is in a different time
zone)-- will be the time for my contact to call emergency (haven't got that number yet, one thing I've got to confirm yet). Besides the right number to call, she will have my planned hike itinerary information, where my car will be (with it's description), where I'm staying, etc. You know the drill . . .
What haven't we talked about yet? Acclimatization? (In fact, the relative elevations for this hike are one bonus in comparison to the higher ones for Whitney.) For me, it won't be necessary. But -- the North Kaibab trailhead is still at about 8,500 feet. If you're a lowlander I would recommend, minimally, staying for a few days at that elevation before your hike. (When I did Whitney, flying in to California from lowland Florida, I drove to the Sierra directly from taking a cruise literally at sea level. I drove to Mammoth Lakes
at -- also -- about 8,500 feet. Stayed there for 2 or 3 days (with a side jaunt to White Mountain and 2 hikes through the Bristlecone pines and one hike from the gate to the Barcroft station and back -- oh, had a flat tire at 11,000 feet before all that!, drove to Lone Pine, went up to Lone Pine Lake and back that same day, stayed at the Dow Villa, next day hung around the portal, next day the hike. Buried in all that detail -- my head was REAL light in Mammoth Lakes that first night. As I stated -- I would recommend if you're coming from a lower elevation to give yourself a few days at 8,500 feet before your hike.)
Training for the hike? Gosh, we all have our own ideas for that sort of thing. Here's what I do. It's been a consistent regimen for any of my bigger hikes (that every 3 years thing). When I contemplated the 22 miles round trip for Whitney in a day back in 2004 I first thought -- but I've never hiked over 5 miles (and that was as a Boy Scout a LONG time ago). So I knew I at least had to hike 22 miles before Whitney to know I could do it. I first did a 4 mile hike, then a 15 one, then a 22 mile one. And this sort of segues in to my overall regimen.
I start training about 5 or 6 months before the big hike. (Remember, this is in ADDITION to my daily walk and jog routine.) I alternate on weekends (once a week) between:
# 1 -- doing those 22 mile hikes. Nothing sexy, just routes on city streets pre-plotted out. Takes 6 to 6 1/2 hours.
# 2 -- jogging 3 miles. (With 2 of the jogging days 5 mile runs.)
# 3 -- stair climbing. Specifically, here in Las Vegas, going up and down the 17 steps in my 2 story condo 150 times! (Takes about an hour and a half.)
In the last two months before the "big hike" I do all these things (including my daily stuff) with 20 pounds in my backpack. Which is (duh) on my back.
(I TOLD you I like to write!)
I think -- somehow -- my mind has run out of stuff to spit out. Which means, I hope, that most of the stuff that will be informative and helpful to anyone else has hopefully now been put out for you to consider.
If I think of anything else that might be useful to say I'll post again. And, again, feel free to ask question, either here or via PM. Or -- just make comments, especially if you think I'm missing something or should consider something.
