My first Rim-to-Rim hike at the Grand Canyon, 5/22/2021

AKA the hardest I've ever worked for a steak and cheese brisket with a side of fries and an Orange Crush soda. 

And yes, it was harder than Mt. Whitney. 

All the guides say not to do this. "Do not attempt to hike to the river and then back up in one day!" But, because we are not pansies, we of course ignore this advice, and do it anyway. 

I wasn't sure whether to post this at A&A or here. I think I'm going to do it here, then crosspost to A&A after I finish a few other trip reports -- before Memorial Day Weekend if possible. 

GRAND CANYON 2021

Hiking the Grand Canyon rim to rim had been a bucket list item for me for a long time. Doing it in one day was the only option, because me + my OCD + backpacking do NOT mix. Plus, it was more of an endurance challenge that way, and it meant I'd have to carry less gear. 

My dad has hiked R2R many times, and I was always inspired by him. I always knew that I wanted to make the trip myself, and considered doing so many times -- but was always sidelined by some issue or another. Dad also did a double dip (R2R2R) and I will say that this is when I finally used the knowledge I had from the First Aid merit badge (before I quit Scouts) about how to treat shock. :P It is also why I've never really believed in ice baths. So, I determined that I definitely wanted to do R2R and definitely did NOT want to do R2R2R. 

Anyway. 

TRAINING

Running, elliptical, or stationary biking for 30-60 minutes per day, if possible (longer on Saturdays — usually 90-120 minutes), plus walking twice a day for 30 minutes and trying to include hills. An OK amount of weight training (but not as much as I should've been doing), and 55 push-ups per day (trying to increase). Also, lots of walking around Lagoon on the weekends. Swimming season doesn't start until Memorial Day weekend for me. Next time, I will lean closer to 60 minutes per day, and incorporate more hills (Aspen hiked the Y a lot; I should have done this). I had two half-marathons under my belt already for 2021. 

THE BUILDUP

The weeks leading up to the hike were very stressful. I was worried about a few residual blisters from the Provo City Half Marathon, as well as a lot of logistical things. I packed an absolute crapload of food, including excessively large amounts of Scooby Snacks, and a delicious bag of Flaming Hot Cheetos: Limon. I also packed a first aid kit, sunscreen, lotion, hand wipes, sunglasses, a spare flashlight, a Coleman headlamp, hiking poles, a Gatorade, and extra water. The Thursday before we left, we went to Alcatraz escape room in Draper for work. We won it in 48 minutes and then the rest of the day I could not focus on work. I pushed one code change to production, and sometimes looked at some CSS files, but I kept getting up to continue packing, get a haircut, etc. I was just nervous about what was to come. It was not the most productive day and hopefully I will make up for it next week. I left early at around 3:50 PM so we could head down to St. George. 

DAY 1: THURSDAY

On Thursday, Aspen and I headed down to St. George. I did not sleep well that night, as it was ridiculously hot. I generally love heat and the summertime, but only if I have a good fan and some nice, roaring cold AC to sleep in. On the ride down, I could not really concentrate on my work. I wrote around 200 words of Carnivile, sort of sketched, and sort of read my control systems textbook. Dinner was a bit of a fiasco, but we eventually settled on Subway. 

DAY 2: FRIDAY

We took a brief walk around St. George, then headed to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. During the drive, I did an hour of art (sketching a water park) and just under an hour of reading my control systems textbook. We got there super early and took a brief hike down to Bright Angel Point. After that, we mulled around the gift shop, and I got some lukewarm mac and cheese at the deli. The consistency of the cheese was excellent, but if only it was hotter. The staff was all very new since the season had just started, so they didn't have very much food available when we arrived (about 10:58 AM Arizona time). 

It was freezing cold at the North Rim, which I was not prepared for. We huddled in the car for a while and then finally it was time for our shuttle to come. We were about 3 hours early, and let me tell you, there is not 3 hours' worth of activity to do at the North Rim. There is also almost zero cell service. You can send texts, but pictures won't go through. And no, there isn't any WiFi. First world, first world problems! (My maid is cleaning the bathroom, so I can't take a shower! When I do, the water starts getting cold after an HOUR!) 

Regardless, it was better to be there too early than too late. Our shuttle arrived, and we had parked at the North Rim Lodge (a mistake which I will elaborate on later) instead of the North Kaibab Trailhead. Charlie was our driver, and he was super cool. We threw our luggage in the trailer, though I kept my backpack with me, and we started on the long haul to the South Rim. Aspen and I were the only ones (I think) who hadn't hiked R2R yet; everyone else had finished and was heading back towards their stuff on the other side. I was somewhat jealous of them having already accomplished their feat. However, it’s better to worry about missing a dinner reservation than a shuttle, so I was happy with our choice. 

The shuttle ride was incredibly productive. I wrote around 1300 words of Carnivile, and read a few pages of my Pokemon Black & White comic book. I forced for a little and then fell asleep while listening to Sky Sailing and a little bit of good ol' T-Swizzle. I read a few chapters of Operation GEAR: The Angel of Reckoning, one of my Pokemon fanfics that I've been rather invested in as of late. Nekou had transformed into a monster again and was battling against a Genesect controlled by a mind-controlled Giovanni. And Matt and Nekou are so perfect for each other; I just want them to be happy and in love forever! Yes, it was awesome, though I did not catch up to the current chapter since we kept losing internet coverage. I also read a bit of a mathematical proofs textbook on my phone, but did not get very far. 

We made a few stops, including one at a gas station that had some beautiful paintings on the walls. We picked up a few more passengers, including one guy who was trying to double dip, but backed out after going across once (despite finishing in 6 hours). Really nice guy. Also, nobody cared about masks, which was fantastic. In fact, not a single person wore one in our shuttle. 

Upon arriving, we met Tricia and the others while checking into the Yavapai Lodge. I found the hotel to be fantastic; comparable to a Hampton or a Doubletree. There was free WiFi, though sending pictures still didn't work very well. Most of us ate dinner at the Yavapai Restaurant and Tavern, while a few others went outside of the park to find food. I ate a personal pizza and some of Aspen's leftover potato chips. I practically buried the pizza in a mountain of Parmesan cheese, and it was amazing and glorious and blotted out all the pain of this mundane mortal existence. The service was fast and the staff were friendly. Then, we took a trip to the store and I bought myself a moisture-wicking Grand Canyon long sleeve shirt for the hike. 

That night, I took a nice hot shower, brushed/flossed/etc., and then passed out at around 10:15 PM. Well, at least I tried to. The first 2 hours I was stuck in stage 1 of sleep (somewhere between being awake and lightly hypnagogic), and was super self-conscious about how much I was tossing and turning. The moment I stopped caring, I fell asleep almost immediately (around midnight). I had a nightmare that I accidentally slept in until 6 PM, and everyone left without me. I had to use the restroom at least once that night. 

DAY 3, SATURDAY: THE HIKE

My alarm was set for 3:10 AM. I ended up waking up naturally at 3:08 AM, and shut off my alarm before it went off so I could start getting ready. I was ready to go by around 4, and the entire group was ready by around 4:15. We loaded our stuff into the trunk to be brought up to the North Rim by our kind drivers. We squeezed the 8 hikers and driver into a van that was not meant to hold that many people, and we were off. We drove around the gate illegally (it's 4:15 AM man, nobody cares) and were dropped off at the South Kaibab Trailhead. We got off and our driver, Brent, took a picture of us at the trailhead sign. The stars shone above us, gleaming as they told us of other worlds far beyond this one. Alas, our destination was very much on Earth, and it was to be quite arduous. :) 

We started hiking at 4:33 AM. I was wearing an ear warmer, a hat, gloves, a headlamp, a moisture-wicking t-shirt, a moisture-wicking long-sleeve shirt, a running jacket, running shorts, socks, Brooks Cascadia trail running shoes, and crappy running sweatpants from high school cross country that have holes in them and kept falling down my butt. I also used an Osprey hydration pack and hiking poles. 

The beginning of the hike felt otherworldly. The world was peaceful and quiet. Our headlamps lit up the rocky, steep path, and my crappy $19 hiking poles from Target send a quiet ding reverberating throughout the canyon walls every time they hit the ground. My imagination was on fire and while I was too focused on the trail to imagine much, I had brief conversations with various paras and tulpas and felt amazing that I was actually doing this. 

Also, I was having trouble keeping the pace. Not due to a lack of fitness, mind you, but due to the frenetic pace that everyone was hiking at. I was worried about tripping and falling. Nonetheless, the advantage of the quick pace was that I did not have time to think about how steep the canyon was. Also, my pants kept falling down my butt. 

I noticed another thing about this group -- they stopped a LOT. At first, this was a good thing. We stopped to let some mules pass, and I took off my sweatpants while they were going by (sexy sexy). I was the first one to have all my layers removed, and by around 7 AM, I was in short sleeves, shorts, my sunglasses, and my hat. That's another thing -- by 5 AM, it was sunny and bright, and by 5:20 or so we had no more need for our headlamps. God bless the month of May. 

By the time we hit the second restroom for Tinkle Time, though, I had gotten used to the pace and actually moved towards the front of the pack. Furthermore, Aspen wanted to pick up the pace. She and Tricia pointed out that there was no way we’d hit Phantom Ranch by 8 AM if we didn’t start going faster and stopping less. So...we did, leaving the rest of the group behind. Unfortunately, Tricia fell and hurt her knee. (PLEASE use poles during the downhill part of this hike especially. The same thing would’ve happened to me without my poles, as I slipped 3 separate times and managed to catch myself with the poles. I felt so bad.) By the time we got to the tunnel and bridge at the base of the canyon, she told us to go ahead while she waited for the others. 

The bridge over the Colorado River was gorgeous. The river looked more like a lake, green like an emerald. A soft breeze teased through the bridge, making it sway slightly, but I never felt afraid. Little white birds took wing over the water, soaring in graceful arcs. And the trail was lined with cactuses, some of which were blooming. It felt like God was blessing us with a little bit of what heaven will be like. 

By around 8-something, we hit the first water station to refill. And that’s when my Osprey started leaking. It soaked my shorts. We spent way too much time trying to fix it, such that the rest of our group caught up to us. Trish had lent her extra Camelbak bladder to another one of the ladies in our group, who subsequently had decided she only needed her water bottle. Since she wasn’t using the bladder, she gave it to me, for which I was incredibly grateful. By this point, my shorts felt like I had just been down Jagged Edge at Splash Summit, sans wedgie. But I had water, and that was the important part. While everyone else was resting, I used the restroom again (I never had to pee in nature on this trip, HECK yes) and Aspen and I headed off on our own. We made it to Phantom Ranch at 8:25, less than half an hour behind schedule. Fun fact, Phantom Ranch has flush toilets and actual soap. So if you’ve gotta drop a doozy in the canyon, well...

The stretch between Phantom Ranch and Cottonwood was brutal, and I’m grateful I had Aspen with me to talk to. It was fairly flat, but psychologically tough, because it felt like you were just wandering aimlessly around the canyon without actually getting anywhere. Also, I think it is the longest portion of the hike that doesn’t have water. The river weaves alongside the trail, creating a hybrid riparian-desert environment, and there are cactuses and yuccas galore, some of which were in bloom when we passed through. It was in the 80s temperature-wise and we did not want to risk trying to detour to Ribbon Falls. It took forever, but we finally reached Cottonwood shortly before 11 AM. My shorts dried fairly quickly. We talked a lot about my writing, plus different books that we enjoyed. We passed by a ton of polygamist people from Colorado City who were hiking in skirts (women) or button-up collared shirts and pants (men) and they had a ton of kids with them. They were odd but quite friendly. During this portion of the hike, my headache began. 

At Cottonwood, I refilled my water and used the restroom, the latter for the last time. I ate my Subway sandwich and a lot more food. We then headed out at 11:23. 

I don't remember much about the next portion of the hike. The trail was starting to get steeper, but then it would randomly go downhill, and you would lose all the elevation you just gained. This was not super nice psychologically. After that, we stopped at another water station, but only I refilled. Aspen was getting tired of stopping, whereas I wanted to pace myself a bit more. We continued again, but I gradually began to fall behind. We had agreed that this would be OK on the uphill portion, as there is no way to get lost once you are on North Kaibab. Regardless, I was about 16 miles into the hike, and I was beginning to feel fatigued. Still, there was no sign of Tricia and the others, so I just kept plodding along. 

This is where I made a pretty big mistake, which I did NOT make on Whitney -- I should've forced more food and electrolytes down my system. However, I was very exhausted from the hike into and through the canyon, and had eaten a decent amount already, plus I drank all my Gatorade by the time we got to Cottonwood. Plus, my stomach hurt. So, I only ate a tiny bit here and there. Eventually, I became too tired to reach into my bag and eat anything, and I kept leaning onto my hiking poles. My headache was concerning me before Cottonwood, but at this point it was beginning to evolve into a big effing problem. My thoughts began to devolve into just get up the giant freaking cliff thingy. R2R2R runners flew by me, and other R2R hikers plodded along beside me, looking about as exhausted as I was. 

Finally, after endless plodding, I hit a water station after going through a tunnel. I stopped and a friendly man who had been hiking behind me offered me some Gatorade mix for my extra water bottle. I was getting really delirious at this point and I thought that this man was one of the 3 Nephites (to be fair, maybe he was). I gratefully accepted it, and refilled. Again, I should have eaten more, but could only pop an energy chew and a few Cheez-Its. I thought I was almost to the top (people said it was only another 20-30 minutes up; it was closer to an hour or more) and I remember thinking hey, I'm gonna get there early, rest, and then get some awesome souvenirs! Alas, that was not to be the case. 

While the Phantom-Cottonwood stretch was hot, long, and desolate, the stretch between the final water station and the North Kaibab trailhead was the worst psychologically. I began plodding and almost fell over periodically because I was so dizzy. I thought I was going to pass out and they would need to carry me out on a stretcher. This was rather NOT desirable because then the hike wouldn't have counted, and I think sheer willpower was what kept me upright. My Apple Watch was inaccurate, and at one point it said I had already done 21 miles but there was still more trail in front of me. It also threatened to die on me so I had to end the workout and start another one because I was afraid of losing all the data -- with my phone on airplane mode, I didn't want to take any chances, though I later found out that this probably wouldn't have been an issue. 

There was a TON of mule poop on this section of the trail, and at some places, it was impossible to avoid, so you had to just stand in the dry poop instead of the wet poop, so it wouldn't stain your shoes. I got a small rock in my shoe somehow but couldn't summon the strength to get it out. Also, there were a ton of trees, so you keep thinking "I'm almost there, the elevation is high enough to support conifers", but you most certainly are not almost there and the conifers are there primarily to mock you. A lot of people told me I was almost there. These people were not correct. 

The weird part about this is that you keep going, switchback after switchback, and it looks like you're not getting any higher. At one point, my delirium and confusion got to the point where a part of me thought I was going in circles, because the ridge kept looking exactly the same with each switchback. I was drinking a lot of water, but was not eating enough food, and I recognized that this was illogical and that I was probably hyponatremic. Looking back, I absolutely was hyponatremic. I knew I should have forced myself to eat food, but I felt that I was not strong enough to remove my pack and retrieve the food from it. In retrospect, I should have stopped again to eat. 

Despite the brutal switchbacks, nothing about this trail is technically challenging. You may need poles, but there is a grand total of zero (0) scrambles to be done. However, the ending part is just brutal on you, both physically and psychologically. The sheer distance is what gets you here. 

I began feeling a nice breeze when trekking up, but it turned into a cold wind by this point. I began to see day hikers, which filled me with courage, and many of them were very kind and encouraging towards me. The pines were rustling and I kept thinking "I'll eat when I get to the top". I started seeing people in jeans and with fancy digital cameras, which was a sight for sore eyes. It meant I was almost there! 

FINALLY, one little boy didn't cry wolf. I met a friendly older gentleman who told me it was only 5 minutes to the top! Since he was going downhill and decidedly not hyponatremic, I figured it'd take me about 10-15 minutes. He told me this at 2:56 PM. Shortly after that, I heard the sound of somebody locking their car door! A CAR! CIVILIZATION! I then saw Aspen, cheering me on, along with a bunch of random strangers who were cheering as well. I staggered my way up to the finish at around 3:10 PM, and was extremely disoriented. A nice man who sounded like he was from India asked me how long I hiked for. I told him "I think 21 miles", and he was impressed and congratulated me. I then immediately walked in the wrong direction and Aspen had to redirect me to where her stuff was. 

This is where I started to freak Aspen out a little bit. I simply sat there with my eyes closed, rocking back and forth slightly, with my head in my hands, because my head was pounding more than I could possibly describe. The wind was blowing and freezing cold. My stomach hurt and I was in a lot of pain. I gradually donned additional layers and, with Aspen's help, forced food down my system. She tried to talk to me, but I could not respond much of the time, and got very close to blacking out -- I think I may have, at least for a split second. A friendly lady gave me some more energy chews, and a kind man gave me a garbage bag to cover me, because I was shivering and trembling uncontrollably in the harsh wind. He promised me that I'd come back around after eating some more salt and sugar, and he was correct. After around 30-45 minutes, I was feeling a bit better, and I could hold short and stilted conversations. I also began to be cognizant of how absolutely freezing it was. At some point, I must have taken off my sunglasses for some weird reason, because the wind began to blow dust in my eyes. I did not have the energy to put them back on. I wore extra socks over my gloves to keep my fingers warm. At this point, I still wasn't entirely convinced that I wasn't gonna randomly pass out and wake up in some sort of makeshift Grand Canyon hospital a few hours later. But that would’ve been crazy expensive, and I figured I’d be fine after I warmed up and got some food slowly down my system. 

At around 4:00 PM, Aspen and I began to look for our drivers. They never showed up, and we were both shivering and trembling in the cold. I was still alternating between consciousness and semi-delirium. It was one of the weirdest experiences of my life. At around 4:30 or 4:40 (?) PM, Aspen decided that they weren't coming (they were supposed to come at 4), and went for a brutal 2-mile walk to grab the car herself, for which I was very grateful. Which is why we should’ve parked at the trailhead honestly. This part kinda sucked because everyone else who was finishing was getting medals (yes, someone was giving out MEDALS to their family members), drinks, blankets, coats, hot heated vans, hugs from their parents/spouses, food, shuttles to the lodge, and there I was, shivering alone in a black garbage bag like some homeless person. It was torture, to watch everyone else get warmth whereas I froze. It's kind of like watching everyone else fall in beautiful romantic love and get married, everyone except for you that is. :V 

I thought I was going to get hypothermia and die, but also my gloves were quite warm, so unfortunately I ended up surviving and Aspen picked me up at around 5:05 PM. :P I sat in the heated car for a while and it turns out, our ride arrived at 5:15 PM, you know, 75 MINUTES LATE. I never figured out why. Tricia and the others finished right as our ride arrived, so we waited over 2 hours in the cold in total. 

We went back to the North Rim Lodge, FINALLY, and checked in. I sat like a homeless person in the corner, still in my garbage bag. Lots of people looked at me weirdly. When we finally got to the cabin, they instructed me to take a shower first, since I was in the worst condition. I wasn't going to argue with that, so I got into the shower, hoping it would be nice and hot. It wasn't. It was lukewarm and I shivered the whole time. Aspen showered after me and also came out shivering. Those in the other cabin, however, had hot showers. IIRC cabin 17 had the lukewarm water, and cabin 10 had actual hot water, but I might be mixing them up. We had the hot water guy come to look at it, but even after he "fixed" it, the water simply never warmed up. On the bright side, I found that I had no new blisters, and my already-existing blisters looked only slightly worse than before. 

We then went to dinner at the North Rim Lodge. This was the famed dinner my dad always talked about. It was just as delicious as I had dreamed of it to be, though the service wasn't fantastic (nobody came to refill our glasses, and we only got one (1) serving of bread). I ordered a steak and cheese brisket with no onions, and a side of fries with ketchup. I also got a glass of water and an Orange Crush soda. Fun fact, they have free soda refills, though I only got 1 glass because eh, soda rots your teeth and there is nothing more sexually unappealing than gross teeth (well, other than B.O.). 

It was also FREEZING in that restaurant. There was a gorgeous view of the canyon, and I watched the sunset over a bunch of people's heads (was too tired to walk up and look at it myself, and it was too cold to watch it outside). We had brownies and ice cream for dessert (great way to warm up, right?) as well as a bit of fruit. Then, Aspen and I huddled in front of the heater, and we were eventually joined by a few others from our group. After that, we snagged some hot chocolate from the deli. 

We entered the warm cabin and WOW did that feel good. I was warm for the first time since late that morning. I got ready for bed the best I could. We had to store all of our food and gum in the fridge to avoid attracting mice, and there weren't a lot of outlets. Let's just say this -- the North Rim Lodge's cabins are nice for what they are, but they are still cabins. They are still rustic. You are still going to get a few little forest friends with you (I only saw one spider and possibly one daddy longlegs, but I was purposely not looking, because EEW). 

That said, the bunk bed was ridiculously comfortable. I fell asleep immediately, to the sound of the roaring heater. I woke up once to pee, and thankfully did not encounter any spiders (or other Happy Tree Friends TM) on the way to the restroom. I also somehow managed to not wake anyone up, despite the loud flush. I was sweating, but Trish didn't have any blankets (they never brought them, poor service) and I was so tired of being cold that I didn't even care! I fell right back asleep. I slept from around 9:30 PM to around 6:20 AM, and I would've slept a lot longer, but Aspen had somehow woken up at 5 AM and really wanted to get on the road. 

DAY 4, SUNDAY:

It was pretty anticlimactic. I ate leftover hiking food for breakfast, packed up, and walked out. Aspen and I alternated drivers on the way back, and I didn't get much productive stuff done other than organizing my lists of TV shows to watch and video games to play. I had lunch at Carl's Jr at Love's gas station in Cedar City. We arrived and I got home and mostly just sat around because the weather was crap and I was so, so sore! 

IN CONCLUSION

I finished the 21-mile hike in 10.5 hours. 

This was a fantastic hike. I loved every second of it until mile 16, when it started getting rough. But, I know what to expect now. I think that next time I do this, I will be so much more prepared and finish even stronger than before. Bucket list item = achieved. But that's the thing -- you can't just check off an item on a list and call it gravy. You have to keep pushing forward to the next challenge, no matter how hard it is. Never give up, obsessively iterate and improve, believe in your God and in love and in every single one of your dreams, and ignore every single person who says you can't do it. They have no idea what they're talking about. You have greatness within you. So go. Do it. As Steve Pavlina says, do it now, do it now, DO IT NOW!!!

PICTURES

I will edit this post and add pictures soon.