Rim2Rim Itinerary
Hiking Plan and Itinerary for Rim-to-Rim of the Grand Canyon 2024
John and I have worked out this preliminary itinerary for our travel, and the hiking plan is below as well.
Travel Itinerary
| Check-in | Check-out | Location | Confirmation | Itinerary | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday 9/22/24 | Fly to Las Vegas | - | - | Only non-stop is Delta 7:00 am 8:08 am (4h 8m) | - | |
| Sunday 9/22/24 | Stay the night in Vegas | - | - | Airport Hotel? | - | |
| Monday 9/23/24 | Wednesday 9/25/24 | Grand Canyon Lodge | 7092IY | 70000794V | Grand Canyon Lodge – North Rim, Grand Canyon National Park, North Rim, Arizona 86052 | 866-499-2574 |
| Wednesday 9/25 - Up by 3 am | On Trail by 5 am | Elizabeth Shuttles to South Rim | 15 Hours on Trail | 3 Meal Breaks | Hike North Kaibab Trail to Phantom Ranch to Bright Angel Trail | Finish by sunset (just before 7 pm) |
| Wednesday 9/25/24 | Saturday 9/28/24 | Maswik Lodge | - | 17657838 | Grand Canyon National Park · Grand Canyon, AZ 86023 | 1-928-638-2631 |
| Saturday 9/28/24 | Stay the night in Vegas | - | - | Airport Hotel? | - | |
| Sunday 9/29/24 | Fly to Cincinnati | - | - | American via Charlotte? 8?19 - 7:21 pm (8h 2m, 2:15 layover)? | - | |
| C | G | K | O | S | W |
Hiking Plan
Here is the general hiking plan. We'll do it in one long day. In late September the daylight hours are right about 12 even, from just before 6:30 am to just before 6:30 pm, on average.
Daytime highs (on the rim) are low 70° F (31° C), with temps at the river about 25° higher than that. Lows are upper thirties, so we'll be getting up early, and getting on-trail on the North Rim before sunrise, say 4 am, in near freezing conditions, going all day and finishing at the South Rim just before sunset in cool but comfortable conditions. It will be hot at the river, like mid 90°s F.
Overall Plan
We'll be starting on the North Kaibab Trail to the river, and take the Bright Angel Trail up to the South Rim. Once we're on-trail, Elizabeth will take our rental car and bags from our hotel on the North Rim and meet us on the South Rim. The trip will take her about 4 hours, but she'll be there well ahead of us. John and I will both have Garmin InTouch satellite messengers with us just in case.
Leg 1
As you can see from the above, I'm assuming a decent pace on the downward side of the canyon, about 3 MPH. We'll start down the North Kaibab Trail and should be at the Supai Tunnel (1) in about 30 minutes (4:30 am) where I plan our first short (~10 min) break.
Another hour down the trail should find us at Roaring Springs (2, about 5:45 am), with our first short snack/meal break (~15 min). It's super important to replace your electrolytes and keep your energy up, and so even though I'm pretty keto-adapted I do plan to eat some and take LMNT electrolytes along the way.
Leg 2
Leg two will see us to the Manzanita Rest Area in about another 15 minutes, by about 6:15 am, or just before sunrise. We'll take another quick break here (3).
We then continue on to Cottonwood Campground about 45 minutes later (4), for another quick water and stretch break.
We should then be on to Ribbon Falls (5) in another 45 minutes for a water break, marking the 1/2 point of our hike by about 8:00 am.
Leg 3
Another 5.2 miles, or about 40 minutes, will see us at the famous Phantom Ranch (6) at about 11 am where we'll break for our lunch mean and longer 30 minute rest. For these flatter sections, I'm assuming a conservative 2 MPH pace just so we don't burn ourselves out - I think we might do better. We should be at Phantom Ranch before 11 AM, which will take us through The Box, the hottest section in the canyon.
Our next stop will be the River Resthouse (7) just under an hour later, for another quick water break. We should be at the River Resthouse just after noon, and be heading on before 12:30 PM. This section will take us across the Colorado River on the Silver Bridge.
Leg 4
Then on to Havasupai (was Indian) Garden (8) by about 2 PM, for our last longer "meal" break of about 30 minutes, before we start the challenging uphill sections to the South Rim.
Finally we start up to the 3 Mile Resthouse (9), which I'm assuming about 1.5 MPH pace to reach, and over an hour of hiking uphill for a break, arriving about quarter till 4 pm. .
[Image:Rim2Rim River to 3 Mile.png|1100px]]