Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Grand Canyon- Rim to Rim interest?

Best of luck, Whitney Fan! (With your careful preparations, you likely won't need any.)

Shucks, you're just trying to be nice!

I'll still accept luck. Luck is the one factor we can't control, and it can turn an expected outlook around completely.

I wonder what everyone else's experience is with multiple long hikes? On Sunday I did my last city street 22 mile hike with my backpack on -- it was actually 24 miles because I figured I should at least technically have done a hike of that length before doing the rim to rim 24 miles. And I'd guess there was somewhere between 1,250 to 1,500 feet elevation gain involved total.

But my point is -- like ALL 22 mile hikes I ever take (and I've done over 20 of them between actual outdoors hikes and training hikes since 2004), they are ALL TIRING!

My hypothesis for others to comment on -- no matter what kind of shape you're in, no matter how many long hikes like that you've ever gone through, any hike of THAT length is STILL going to be somewhat exhausting.

What say y'all?

WhitneyFan,

I am fascinated by your story. I too have done very very little backpacking mostly because of family obligations, logistics and time. So that has left me with long day hikes such as a 22 mile hike from Tenaya Lake to Clouds Rest to Half Dome to Yosemite Valley last summer where my family dropped me off and I met them in the Valley. This summer a big day hike of Crows Pass here in Alaska that covered about 24 miles and included a major league glacier river crossing. A bear also killed a moose on the trail the day after my hike which closed the trail for a few weeks. Anyway, if a person is in shape, they are manageable and quite enjoyable. I love the concept of a rim to rim dayhike.

When training for an epic once a year hike I focus on the steepness and elevation gain. I figure I only have a limited number of 20 mile hikes in me and I save it for the real thing.

Yes, any 22 mile hike is a lot, but I do find that when I train it does get notably easier. For me, it is my feet that are all "beat up" at the end of the day. I guess if you hiked a lot, and often, even your feet would "toughen up".

For those of us that are not "full time" hikers, it would be interesting to see how we'd do on a Whitney or rim to rim type hike WITHOUT training for it. It would be interesting to see how much of a factor the training would have been -- comparing your hike without training to when you'd done it with training.

Would we even be able to accomplish it? And, if we did, how stark would the differences be in time taken, physical status at the end, etc.? It really would be an interesting experiment -- substitute the "normal" challenge of a Whitney day hike by "kicking it up a notch": can you do it with NO training at all?

(Not that I'm about to try that!)

Last post in this thread -- my rim to rim hike is just a couple of days away effective Monday. (Hike is on Wednesday.)

As I'd said, I'd post anything remotely helpful in terms of preparation for this hike.

Just about the last trip significant preparation job will be tomorrow, Monday. I'll call the Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim to reserve a spot for me on the 5:45 AM (Wednesday) free shuttle to the Kaibab Trail trailhead. My understanding is that the time, cost, and timing to make the reservation is what I've stated. If not, I'll learn when I call.

Also, assuming that reservation is made, I'll scope out the parking lot by the trailhead Tuesday when I arrive. If it looks like there will be no problem with finding a space, with no scary signs prohibiting anything (like overnight parking) -- then odds are I'll just cancel the shuttle reservation. That will give me more flexibility on Wednesday morning in terms of how the timing actually works out for me (by using my own trusty 2001 Celica GT).

Either way -- the Trans-Canyon shuttle (don't confuse THIS with the North Rim trailhead shuttle!) from the South Rim back to the North Rim stops at BOTH the Grand Canyon Lodge parking area AND the Kaibab Trail trailheade parking lot (when I return Thursday).

Over and out -- next report will be THE trip report, in the "Trip Reports" section. (It might not be RIGHT away, but it will be "complete" and with pictures, as soon as my timing and energy level allow after return to fabulous Las Vegas.)

Have a great trip! That heat wave that's going through So Cal right now will likely be passing through the Grand Canyon area in the middle of this week; so you might hit pretty hot temperatures down by the river and then through "The Box" to Cottonwood. On a hot day that side trip to Ribbon Falls is even better because you can get right under the falls and cool off.

Please do let us know how it goes. I'm especially interested in hearing how the fall colors are at the North Rim. There are some beautiful aspens at the North Rim.

My permit finally came through for the Thunder River / Deer Springs loop, but I have about 1.5 weeks before I head over to the Canyon.

Hopefully not to late; You can park your car at the trailhead parking space (if there is space). Just check how to get from the shuttle drop off at the lodge back to the trailhead. Perhaps the shuttle can drop you off at the trailhead parking-