Running the Grand Canyon - Rim to Rim to Rim, By the Numbers

Words capture experiences. Pictures add perspective. But numbers add punch. They provide excellent context background in building that description. As someone who appreciates the value of both words and of numbers, I will use both to here describe one of the greatest trail runs I have ever been on. Numbers really helped me put the grandeur of this trip into perspective because numbers don’t lie (except the ones I had to guess on, of course).  So I'm including numbers with my words and pics here...

7

The Grand Canyon is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.  I do not know the other 6 right now, and am not motivated enough currently to find out... Needless to say, it is a magnificent and breathtaking creation of the Natural World. I have seen many pictures of the Grand Canyon over the years, but have never been there in person. It has always been on my list of places to go. I never thought I would have the opportunity to not only go to the canyon, but then to run through the canyon on trails. But while running Mt Timp last month, Shawn brought up the idea of running from South Rim to North Rim. He had heard about the possibility of doing it from other friends. After further research on my own, I realized that several ultra-runners had actually gone from Rim to Rim to Rim. This would be the ultimate “out-and-back” run for a trail runner, all through one of the Seven Wonders of the World. I personally don't get to the Grand Canyon often - like ever. So I was in.

6

After Shawn probed a variety of potential trail runners who would be interested in R2R2R, the trip count was ultimately settled out at 6. At times it was 2 runners and at times it was 9. The final trip participants were Shawn, Scott, Ian, Andrew, Jennifer, and Jessica. It was a process to get there, rest assured.

 152

Speaking of planning being a “process”, it took the group (at least) 152 texts to finally agree to a trip plan that everyone could settle on. It could have been double this number considering all the personal texts circulating as well. We each seemingly had different trip expectations, different time constraints, different budgets, different travel arrangements, and different overall goals from the trip. I definitely contributed to this overly-complicated planning process. Yet Shawn showed ultra-patience as he lead us through this planning journey.  So a “Hats Off” are in order to Shawn for keeping the group together and making his best efforts to accommodate everyone’s various needs.  After this week-long, drawn-out planning process was complete, we were off on Friday, November 23, to run the mighty Grand Canyon. Finally!

22

This is the temperature that we stepped out of the car at the North Rim (in degrees F) at 6:30 am on Saturday morning, 11/16/2019. That is not to mention the associated wind chill that we all felt immediately. With such a large expected temperature change during the trip, I knew I had to dress smart so I wouldn’t be carrying extra clothing for the entire R2R2R trip. So I chose to shiver there at the start so I could pack light later. Needless to say, I have never been so motivated to start a run and get the blood pumping. Finally we were off. Within minutes of running the first light appeared, things began warming up, we could turn off our headlamps, and my spirits lifted as I took in the surroundings. We effortlessly floated down the steep trail near the start, trying to control our speed, knowing we had a long day of running ahead of us and that we would be happy we saved our legs for later hours in the race. I felt good for these first 14 miles, stopping only to take pictures of the glowing and evolving landscapes all around me. It was a gorgeous half-marathon warm-up run down to Phantom Ranch, near the bottom of the canyon.

From high on North Kaibab Trail - light at last!

Looking back at Supai Tunnel exit. And log steps - lots of them...

8241

This is the elevation in feet of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon Trailhead, i.e. the high point on our journey. It is a deceptively high-elevation start for a run that starts off on an immediately and sustained downhill.

4

This is the total number of biotic zones we crossed through on our way from North Kaibab Trailhead to Phantom Ranch: alpine, sub-alpine, desert, riparian. Each one had its own set of ecosystems.

A family of mule deer enjoying the lush green river banks in the riparian zone.

9

This is the total number (I think) of bridges we ran across on our way from North Rim down to the Colorado River. Each bridge had its own form, but all had the same function. I became increasingly grateful for these bridges on our descent toward Phantom Ranch. Just think of how hard (and dangerous, in high water or bad weather conditions) the trail would be to navigate if you had to boulder-hop or wade across the creek each time the trail took you to a point of a water crossing. And all these bridges culminate with the most important bridge of all: The Kaibab Suspension Bridge. This is the hanging foot bridge that spans the mighty Colorado River, the unstoppable creative force to which we all owe the very existence of the Grand Canyon. Running this bridge and taking in the river below was my favorite part of the entire trip.  We were finally over the river, through a tunnel, and on to immediate switchbacks and climbing, up toward the South Rim.

Ian at the first of many bridges that day.

Scott cruising to the other side...

Scott ascending entering the The Kaibab Suspension Bridge - a true marvel.

Ian and Shawn, following the Straight and Narrow...

 2480

This is the elevation in feet of Phantom Ranch and the Colorado River, i.e. the low point on our journey.  

Our only true group photo, just prior to parting ways with Jessica and Jennifer at Phantom Ranch.

The rich man's way of doing Rim to Rim to Rim...

Welcoming site indeed, after 14 miles with hardly any water.

The beach where we would spend a lot of our time in a few hours, .

Seeing these hikers inspired us to follow suit and cool off in the Colorado at mile 32, which was such a nice treat on our legs.

Scott nursing a gnarly blister.

 4835

This is the number of wood log steps (+/- 500) we encountered on the trail from the Crossing of the  Colorado up to the South Kaibab trailhead.   Ok, I actually don’t know if this is the right number. I did start counting during one particularly steep stretch at about mile 20.  Needless to say, these steps seemed endless. They taxed our legs going up and taxed them again running down them – just different muscle groups. They are probably there for erosion control and better traction for the mule and horse trains that go up from Phantom Ranch for supplies and tourists. And we saw many, many tourists on the South Rim…

Shawn working his way up the switchbacks.

Ian enjoying the view just below Cedar Ridge.

Andrew doing some oohing and aahing...

Scott having a picture duel with me.

7260

This is the elevation of the South Rim, about 1000 feet lower than the North Rim.

Scott was ready to start running again just as I was ready to start resting...

At the halfway point with the team: one rim down, one rim to go.

1:30 pm

This is the time of day that we had committed to Shawn that we would rendezvous back at Phantom Ranch. The intended plan was to push hard to summit South Rim, rest briefly, then run back to Phantom Ranch. We then would go on to North Kaibab from Phantom so we could drive home that night. That was “the plan” anyways…

3:30 pm

This is the time we actually made it back to Phantom Ranch from South Rim. We were already 2 hours behind schedule from our rendezvous time. We knew at that point there wasn’t going to be a way to get me home by early Sunday morning. The feeling now sunk into me knowing we weren’t going to do the 4-hour run from Phantom back to North Kaibab, and then still drive back to Salt Lake City that night. So we watered up, ate up, and trudged onward.

The first 7 miles from Phantom Ranch to Roaring Springs was pretty runnable for us. It is relatively flat with a few rollers, here and there, and the dusk light was perfect for running. The terrain opens up from the tight canyon to a flood plain. The second 7 miles from Roaring Springs to North Kaibab Trailhead were not so easy…

The flood plain leading out of Grand Canyon.

Wetzel breezing his way past beautiful colors.

More beautiful fall lights and colors, as we left Phantom Ranch toward the river.

30

For this final push back to the car on exhausted legs and lungs, we simplified our run: take a break and get real nutrition every 30 minutes. We decided to no longer worry about the mileage remaining, the elevation to still climb, the diminishing sunlight in the canyon, or the cooling temperatures (which were chilly indeed, especially with the wind and drying shirt sweat for the last 2 miles). Just worry about getting through the next 30 minutes for a deserved break.  (One of our favorite sources of nutrition turned out to be Magic Potatoes, my wife’s personal creation. They consist of bite-sized potatoes, smothered in butter, garlic salt, and pepper, and then stored in baggies. Delicious stuff for us ultra runners – thanks Becky!) This compartmentalization of the run made those last 7 miles much more manageable for each of us, both mentally and physically.

I really became grateful for aid stations during this stretch. A run of this distance and difficulty makes it so much more challenging when it’s unsupported. I have a new appreciation for aid stations and aid workers that have helped me in the past. I recalled good memories of coming into aid stations on big races and seeing a beautiful spread of nutritional food before me: watermelon and oranges, crackers and gummi bears, sandwich halves and soups, water and electrolyte, Gus and power bars of every kind. None of that existed for us anywhere in our journey, and there were times I sure could have used it! Everything we wanted to eat had to be carried – the entire way.  And water was only available at 3 points along the entire journey.

1 Million

High up on the North Rim, we made a needed rest stop near Roaring Springs.  I proposed we all cut our lights. After a few seconds of adjusting for our eyes, we looked up and saw 1 million beautiful stars. At least.  I was too tired to take out my phone and try to capture it on film. Unfortunately. Rest assured, it was spectacular desert star-gazing, with no light pollution in any direction.

We finally made it back to where we started around 8:45 pm. Back at the car, we were all cold and crampy. And so satisfied - we had all survived the Rim to Rim to Rim Experience! As we blasted the car’s heater, the exhaustion and sleepiness quickly came to the surface.  So we played it smart and safe by deciding to stay in a hotel in Kanab that night, then drove back to Salt Lake early the next morning. And I’m grateful we did, in hindsight. It was smart.

14.5

Our total trip took 14.5 hours.

46

Our trip mileage was a total of 46 miles (+/- 2 miles). GPS is not always accurate in such remote country.

10,541

Our total trip elevation gain (and drop) was 10,541 feet. This is roughly going up and down my beloved Mount Olympus – twice!

Starting to feel the fatigue at Skeleton Point,while descending South Rim. Scott is ready to punch someone...

3

I spent a lot of trail time and driving wondering what we did right and what we could have done better with our plan. Self-debriefing always makes future trips go even better. Here are my 3 main takeaways.

1.     Someone must be the “keeper of the watch.” No one really did this until we were so close to South Rim that no one wanted to turn back. We all got sucked into the experience, not wanting to miss out on accomplishing the Rim to Rim to Rim. Accomplishing the goal became more important than the time.  That wasn’t a good thing because it could lead to dangerous situations. It didn’t bit us this time (other than a late and cold final 2 hours of running), but it can be dangerous in other high-consequence situations.  For better or for worse, we added other long stops such as swimming in the Colorado, fueling up at Phantom, drinking up at Roaring Springs. All these events could have been condensed if we really wanted to keep to our plan.

2.      Each runner will inevitably have different expectations, preparations, and goals on a run like this, which is completely normal. We didn’t communicate those expectations honestly. And it’s so important to do so. Because each set of expectations potentially complicates overall trip planning, small groups are easier to run with than large groups. Having said, that I loved the final group that we had. They are some of the toughest and funnest runners one could ask for – my kind of friends (and the older I get, the more grateful I am for the kinds of friends that push you to do adventures such as this)…  I would run trails with Shawn, Ian, and Scott again any time!

3.      Rim 2 River is cool; but Rim to Rim to Rim was truly epic. We saw so much more of the canyon, going from top to bottom twice, with all the incredible vistas and formations, flora and fauna, colors and lighting. In my opinion, we couldn’t come all this way, spend all this money (actually only about $100/person for everything – what a deal!), and only do 50% of the experience. “If you’re going to do something, do it right.”

And we did it right!

The Grand Canyon, from one rim to another.