(I'll get some pictures up as soon as I can figure out how to load them)
I had put a Grand Canyon double on the “to do” list for this spring, and when my wife got a deal on a flight to South Carolina to visit family, I figured I ought to take advantage of the home alone time and get in a r2r2r. Ideally this trip would have had a little more space between the Buffalo 50, but sometimes you just gotta take it when it’s given.
I pulled into the south rim just before dark on Friday. I planned a very early start, so to save time and a few bucks, I parked my Subaru 20 yards from the Bright Angel trail head and crawled in the back for a few hours rest.
Alarm went off at 1:00 AM, not that I was sleeping much anyway. This was my second r2r2r and it was shaping up to be just like the first which was in mid-October 2009. I was alone on that trip too. Before that I had never really seen the Grand Canyon, other than stopping quickly on a trip to Havasupi a few years ago, nor did I know anyone personally who had done this run. I had heard about it being done, and thanks to some good info on Crocket’s blog, I had what I needed to get it done, I hoped. On that October trip, I underestimated the drive and pulled into the lot at the trail head well after dark on a moonless night. I got out of the car and to a stiff, cold breeze and looked at the big black hole in front of me. I was so nervous I thought I might puke. I tried to sleep, didn’t work, got up put on my gear, grabbed my lights, still so jittery I could hardly think, and took off into the relative unknown in the pitch black at around 1:00 AM. I made it, and I liked running through the canyon at night, plus it put me back at the car early enough to get a good chunk of the drive home done on Saturday. This trip, like the one last October, was a moonless night (not planned) and I was solo again and leaving around the same time, only this time, no jitters.
One of the “don’t hike into this canyon unprepared” warning signs that are all over the place says something about taking more food than you think you will need. There in a lot of NPS hype on those signs, but I’ll take that advice next time. Moron (me) that in a minute. I took off down the trail at 2:00 AM in the very, very dark but under a beautiful star filled sky. Almost immediately I was reminded how ROUGH those rim trails are. If you read many Grand Canyon reports, one thing you will see is some mention of water bars, oh yea!, lots and lots and lots of ‘em, and any section that doesn’t have them is probably really rocky or sandy or both. I was running clumsy and the Grand Canyon at night alone is not the place to be doing that, every few minutes I would catch a toe, land wrong on a foot, or worst of all, tweak my still not completely healed knee. It was rough going and I started to have some doubts, but I was making better time than last year and I made Indian Gardens in 41 minutes versus 50 minutes last year. I kept a good solid run going to the river and turned up the river trail kept chugging up hill in the beach sand to the silver bridge. At the bridge, I turned out my lights and the dark closed in around me. It was black enough that I didn’t even feel comfortable walking forward with no light on the flat, metal bridge with huge railings. The sky was awesome, unlimited stars framed by the canyon walls. I stopped at a deserted Phantom Ranch to fill water, and headed up the well groomed North Kiabab trail toward the North Rim.
I ran every step of the 7 or so miles to the care taker cabin at Roaring Springs. I felt great, legs were spinning with no effort, even the climb up over Ribbon Falls felt easy. I just enjoyed listening to the roar of Bright Angel creek and running along in my little globe of light, nothing but black in front and nothing but black behind. I was thinking how this was like the approach I was trying to take to my running, trying to be in the moment, to take what the day has, to operate in the present and not worry too much about the rest of it. I got to the cabin in 3:45 and filled water, knowing this was the last between here and the rim, and ditched a bunch of stuff to get on the way back. I was getting to be twilight, so I also left my lights. I walked for a bit until I came around the corner and could see Roaring Springs. I had not been listening to music to that point, but wanting to hit the rim under 6 hours I put in my headphones, and thought, “time to get to work! “and started running. I loved running up the technical trail, small, fast steps, planning every foot placement, looking for the easiest most efficient way over a big water bar, just felt good. The trail was beautiful; I had worried about snow, but had seen very little to this point, though the melting snow on the rim caused awesome little waterfalls in several places along the trail. I ran all the way to the bridge, then alternated hiking and running through the red stone to the Supi Tunnel. Which I hit at about 4:25. I was making much better time than I had planned, I hadn’t intended to push the pace at all, but was just trying to run comfortably.
After Supi, it was like someone flipped the snow switch. No snow on one side of the tunnel, tons and tons on the other side, and the tunnel is only 30 ft long. From Supi to the rim there were many, many sections of trail completely covered in snow drifts. Some really sketchy sections that were frozen solid, where I had to side hill across steep snow slopes in old, frozen foot prints, and where a slip would have been a slide for life with consequences. Progress slowed prudently through most of this section. After picking my way up and over and around lots of snow, and being very thankful for the few dry sections, I started to wonder if I was ever going to top out, but soon enough I came to the signs that mark the North Rim, time 5:40. It was completely deserted of course, and completely winter. I stood on snow, the tops of the trail info signs, I would guess about 8ft tall, were under my feet. I stopped just long enough to snap a few pictures and headed back down. The sun was now warming things nicely and some of the Sketchy sections felt a little more manageable.
I knew I had left before any other r2r2r folks, and that the North Rim was closed for winter, so I figured this I would be a pretty lonely adventure. As I figured, I had run for 6 hours and crossed the Grand Canyon and I hadn’t seen another person since walking out of Bright Angel Lodge on Friday night. I had expected to run into people coming up, but was almost back to Roaring Springs and still hadn’t seen a soul. I started to wonder if I was the only person going to the North Rim, ‘till I came around a corner and almost went head on with a couple of guys about my age. They were hiking up to the rim from Cottonwood Campground and were totally shocked to see me running in shorts and a short sleeved shirt coming down from where they were going. I think the quote was “where in the He## did you come from?” I didn’t really stop, just exchanged a few words as I passed, and I yelled back over my shoulder that I had started at the South Rim that morning. I could hear expletives and shouts of encouragement echoing down the canyon as I ran on.
I made a quick stop at the cabin, running time 6:50, to get my gear and grab some food. When I opened my stash bag I was shocked to see I had not closed the pop top completely on one of my EFS gel flasks and it had leaked out most of its contents, about 300 precious calories. Not only that it had gotten into and melted my S-Caps. Moron! I took stock and had 2 partial gel flasks left, one in my bag 1/2 full, plus the little salvaged from the spill and the one I had with me, ¼ full, and 4 S-caps. About 400 calories left for 5-6 more hours on the go, not good for me as I usually shoot for 200 calories p/hour. I knew I could get through the rest of the run; it would just be slower and more painful.
I took off down the fun, but long section back through Cottonwood Campground, past Ribbon Falls and to Phantom Ranch. After Cottonwood I started seeing a few groups of R2R2R runners coming up the trail. They all were very concerned about the snow conditions. I assured them they were manageable. At Ribbon Falls a runner popped on to the trail about ¼ mile in front of me going down canyon. I thought “where did he come from?” He was running fast and I pushed hard to try and catch him. It took a while but I eventually caught up just as we started into the box section. We talked for a while, he had run down from the south rim and turned around at Ribbon, his 1st question was the same as mine when he saw me, he couldn’t believe I had already been to the north rim. While we were talking I made a second huge mistake. I had been running with my gel in my hand and must have dropped it when I turned off my music, by the time I realized it, it was too late to go back. Another 100 or so calories I would not get.
3rd big mistake, not bringing emergency cash for Phantom Ranch, I made it in at 8:35, in the 10-15 minutes I spent there I almost started begging food, pathetic. I was already feeling bonky, I had 8 plus miles and a very big climb to go. I hit half of my gel and started off on Bright Angel trail to the south rim, figured I’d hit the last half at Indian Gardens with a little over 4 miles to go. If it really came down to it, I figured there would be lots of tourists along to way with bags full of food; I could go begging then if I had to.
I felt fine to Indian, I wasn’t moving at a record pace, but was passing people and not getting passed, so I was doing o.k. I caught up with a couple of great guys who were on a rim to river to rim hike. We chatted for a while, they asked if I needed anything, I said not yet but maybe later. They moved ahead at a good pace and I found them a few miles later in the shade at Indian Gardens. I filled water and didn’t stop, just headed out to the steep switchbacks ahead. A pretty cruel view if you’re not feeling great, you can see every step of the huge climb in front of you. My fast buddies caught and passed me again, only for me to pass them resting on the shade again a bit further up the trail. A pattern that would repeat 3-4 times all the way up, with me eventually winning the” turtle and the rabbit” type race by being first to the rim. It was comforting to know they were around though as I was in the midst of the worst bonk I have ever had. Painful, sick, headache, couldn’t think straight, all I could do was slow down, get my heart rate a little lower and keep moving.
I came around the last switch back and powered up the last 100 yards among the crowds of tourists, trying to get in under 12:30. Pretty slow, but faster than the first time, given my state up the last 4 miles I was just happy to be there. What a strange feeling to cross that imaginary finish line! No clock, no cheers, no finisher metal, nobody to pat you on the back and say congratulations, just the sweet satisfaction that I had done it, and the nice German couple wanting me to take their picture.
I limped to the car, grabbed my food bag, stuffed down 2 S-Caps and ate an apple, drank a Coke and within 20 minutes felt 100% better. I sat on the bench looking over the canyon, enjoying some more treats with a feeling of total contentment. I have never felt so much satisfaction from running as I have when finishing a r2r2r. Maybe it’s because you can see the whole thing stretched out in front of you, maybe it’s doing alone, with no support, on my own terms, maybe it’s the beauty and scale of the place.
A couple in their mid 40’s came and by sat at the end of the bench I was on. I could tell they had been hiking so I asked how their day was, they commented how they had made it all the way to the river, and how it was the hardest thing they had ever done, and how incredible it was. I could see the same satisfaction in them that I felt. They asked how my hike had been and how far I had made it, I said I had been to the river too and left it at that.
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