Wednesday 25 September 2024

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Wednesday 25 September

The Rim-to-Rim / R2R / Rim2Rim Hike - Getting Started!

Like I mentioned yesterday, we all piled into bed early after dinner in the North Rim Lodge, and agreed to meet at the van by 3:25 am, and to be on trail by 3:30 am. I was up at 1:30, putting glide on my nipples and pretty much everything from mid thigh to belt line to avoid getting chafed by salt or just general rubbing friction. I drank a bottle of LMNT electroltyes, and made 2 more bottles up, and filled my hydration bladder. I rechecked my backpack had everything, nutrition, cameras and batteries, emergency gear and medicines, water filtration, headlamp, etc. I was ready early, and nervous... like when I did the marathon, and wasn't totally sure I could do it. At 3 am I woke Elizabeth, and started loading my stuff into the van while she got ready. Then it was time.

When I got to the van John and Tammy were walking up with their stuff. It was crisp and cool, mid 50's F. Everyone was in a good mood, but a bit nervous. We piled into the van and quickly covered the 2 miles to the trailhead. John was eager to get on trail, and skipped parking or hitting to pit latrines before getting on trail. That caused me to rush getting my cameras and sound gear full setup, as they were getting their packs on and getting their headlamps and flashing red LED rear markers running. It was much cooler at the trailhead, in the 40's with occasional gusty wind. We got a couple of quick pictures and then headed down the North Kaibab Trail. We were on our way by 3:30 am.

Getting on trail - North Kaibab Trailhead

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  Tammy getting up and ready!

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  John and Tammy in the van

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  Me getting ready...

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  Tammy's ready

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  So is Johnny

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  Packs and lights on

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  Battle Stations!

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  ...and we're off...

North Kaibab to Roaring Springs and Cottonwood Campground

One of the nice things about my Garmin InReach Mini is that it offers unlimited (even on the cheap recreational plan) unlimited "Check-ins". This just sends a quick message to whomever you specify that "I'm checking in, everything's fine". I agreed with Elizabeth up-front that I'd send these about every hour just so she didn't worry. You can see one of these messages below, and it shows your current location as well. I also signed up for Garmin's "SOS Rescue Insurance" to defray the cost of a potentially expensive helicopter rescue, should it be needed. The north rim is at 8,241' elevation.

The first several miles down hill I didn't take any pictures, because it was so dark and technically difficult. I tried to keep up a good pace, the fastest I thought I could safely do, but also trying to keep up with the pace chart (below) that I had made up and was wearing on my arm (quarterback style!). I had hoped we could do 3.5 MPH downhill, but that proved unsustainable in the dark, and with the trail being very rocky with sandy dirt covering those and making them a bit slick.

Our first stop was the same Supai Tunnel (1.7 miles down the trail and 6,800' elevation) water and toilet area we'd visited on Tuesday by mule. The water was off, but I took a pee break, and then kept moving. The next stop was Roaring Springs at 5 miles and 5,220' elevation where we did make a quick water stop. This is where I changed my camera batteries the first time, but John and Tammy kept moving. The sun was about to come up, so it was about 5:30 am I think (2 hours into the hike). I didn't want to get lost (the trail is well marked, but they're not plentiful, and can be easy to miss in the dark). I didn't catch up to John and Tammy again until Cottonwood Campground, at 6.9 miles and 4,080' elevation. This was clearly after dawn, and we all put our headlamps away after making a toilet stop. Coming out of Cottonwood I would pass John and Tammy both, and not see them again until after my stop at Phantom Ranch.

              
John's video of sunrise    JT's first view of the south rim    Brett on the move

              
JT Ribbon Falls    JT's into the box    "The Box"

              
JT Bright Angel Creek    JT's creek    Tammy

              
JT Remote    JT's Brett Crosses Colorado    JT Crossing the Colorado

         
JT Sandy    JT's Bright Angel Canyon   

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  "Checking In" on trail

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  Pace Chart for the hike

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  Overall Rim2Rim Pace

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  Elevation Chart

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  Pace miles 1-12

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  Pace miles 13-24

Cottonwood to Ribbon Falls and Phantom Ranch

So, at Cottonwood John asked how we were doing on pace, and it was a convenient time since we stopped to pee and the sun had just come up. I looked at my pace chart, and was quite impressed that we were on schedule with 2 minutes. Then I realized the horrible truth. We'd started 30 minutes early than my chart assumed, so we were well behind pace! One of the points I'd been pretty adamant with JT about was, I was NOT going to be in the canyon after dark if I had any option to be done first. So far we were floating around 2 to 2.5 MPH average, and conventional wisdom says we shouldn't plan to do better than 1 to 1.5 MPH on the climb out of the canyon. So, I came out of Cottonwood determined to make up some time, and in particular get through "
the box" (and get to Phantom Ranch) before it got hot (conventionally the heat to avoid is 10 am to 3 pm according to the Rangers).

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  Dawn is breaking as I cross one of the bridges

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  The sun is well and truly up now

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  Brett hikes fast

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  Tammy Selfie - a "Talfie"

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  Tammy

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  Tammy

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  Tammy

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  John

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  John and Tammy at Phantom Ranch

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  John and Tammy crossing the Colorado

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  John and Tammy at 4 mile rest house?

Phantom Ranch to 4 Mile Rest House

Things get a little jumbled here, but I made good time to Phantom Ranch, arriving a bit after 9 am (9:15 I think). I took a good break, caught up on my hydration, refilled by bottles and bladder, and had a bottle of electrolytes with some mixed nuts (one snack-sized Ziplock of Kroger mixed nuts with some added macadamia nuts) and my "Nick's" keto bar. I didn't feel hungry, being in ketosis, and I didn't want to knock myself out of ketosis, so that's all I ate during the hike.

        
Videos: Leaving Cottonwood Campground       Pretty       Catching up to John       Found a creek

     
Videos: Found a creek      Another Creek       Bright Angel Creek

  
Videos: The Colorado River      A sandy section

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  Nicks bars are tasty and keto

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  LMNT Citrus, my electrolyte of choice

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  John up ahead

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  John up ahead

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  Tammy up ahead

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  At Phantom Ranch!

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  My lunch spread

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  Bright Angel Camp Ground

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  Just after the Ranch you have to decide which trail you'll take to leave the canyon - SK does not have water, so we chose Bright Angel

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  First sight of the Colorado River

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  And the silver bridge

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  Cross the Colorado (or the Rubicon)

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  Last chance to take the shorter South Kaibab Trail

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  The climb out begins

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  The bridge from the south side

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  John and Tammy taking pictures from the bridge

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  It's really sandy for a bit on the south side of the river

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  The switchbacks begin

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  I'm a sweaty, salt-lined mess already

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  Looking back at the switchbacks I just completed

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Indian Garden / Havasupai Garden to Bright Angel Trailhead

I got into a good rhythm from the river, to the River Rest House, but after I made the water stop at Indian Garden it was getting hot and crowded, and I was ready to push to the end. There were lots of folks taking long breaks at this water stop/toilet, and the buzz of non hikers was a bit annoying. So, I drank a bottle off, refilled, and stormed uphill.

The first bit coming out of the gardens didn't seem that bad, and I kept a good pace, but I did notice that my breathing got much more rapid and labored as the grade steepened, and I stubbornly tried to hold to my pace. I stopped taking pictures, and actually stopped drinking water mostly, as I needed my arms and hiking poles to maintain the pace I wanted to climb at. I mostly looked at my feet as I climbed, and although I acknowledged (and greeted) all the hikers I passed (climbing and descending), at this point I was just grinding miles. I was ready to be out of the canyon.

The last couple of miles were a slog. I watched (on my Apple Watch Ultra 2) my heart rate climb through the 140s into the low then mid 150s. that NEVER happened in my training hikes, and it's damned uncomfortable. Doable, yes, but not where you want to spend your day. But I couldn't bring myself to slow down. I felt like I was crawling up the trail at a snails pace even though I was still passing literally everyone else on the trail. On the switchbacks it's impossible to tell how far you are from the exit... you can see from the elevation that you're getting close, but is it one switchback or 4? 6? At one point I saw the stone "window" or tunnel, and thought to myself "that must be the exit, just beyond there", only to find when I passed through only another set of switchbacks. It was soul-crushing. It turns out it was just one more set, and I was very, very close at that point, but it was still mentally brutal to keep moving. And then, suddenly, I was out.

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  Vomiting Victor! - I had to get a picture of this sign

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  The first vomit sign is at Indian Garden

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  Indian Garden (now Havasupai Garden) - it was getting warm 90 degreess F

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  The famous "down is optional, up is MANDATORY" sign. Hiking to the river and back in one day is NOT RECOMMENDED!

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  Looking back at the last set of switchbacks...

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  Welcome to Bright Angel Trail! I'm OUT OF THE CANYON, and much faster than I imagined possible...

Post hike

I couldn't believe I was done, in 10 hours of elapsed time, and just under 8 hours of actual hiking/in-motion, just after 1 pm. My friends John and Tammy had started texting me about a hour before that she was bonking (lack of calories) and might be dehydrated, so they would be at least another hour (it turned into two) behind me, and Elizabeth was at least two hours up the road because I'd told her not to rush - there would be no chance of me finishing before 3 or 4. Even on the climb out, I had messaged her from my Garmin InReach that I didn't think my pace would hold, and I'd still be after 2 before finishing.

I was still getting over the flu, but I started to realize that my asthma was acting up a bit as well. I took a shot off of my inhaler and had a very strange reaction where one of my lungs seemed to lock closed on the exhale, like getting the wind knocked out of you. It was QUITE disconcerting. I forced myself not to panic, and it eventually subsided and I could breath more freely. I sat down and took in the beauty of the South Rim. It was a crush of people compared to the North Rim. There were lots of fancy new bathroooms and signs and fountains. It's very nice, but I like the quaint homeiness of the north side.

After a few minutes, I decided to go find our hotel. I figured, I just walked 24 miles, how bad could it be? Through successive approximation I did eventually find it, but I walked 2 or 3 times further than I would've needed to if I'd looked at a map before I set off. I decided to get myself a snack as a sort of 'Victory Lap', which consisted of ice cream bars and a diet soda (they only had Coke on the south rim, whereas the north rim had Pepsi available, so another tick on it's ledger) at the food court at Maswik Lodge, where were staying.

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  Grand Canyon Railroad

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  Maswik Lodge, our hotel (we stayed in the Aspen set of rooms)

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  My "Victory Lap" snack

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Go back to Tuesday the 24th or on to Thursday the 26th