Grand Canyon Rim 2 Rim

What an amazing adventure and accomplishment! On June 4 I hiked the Rim 2 Rim trail through the Grand Canyon with two of my childhood friends Trista Nielsen and Heidi Miller.  It was such a good experience in one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen.

We started our adventure Monday night by driving out to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and camping outside the Park. Then at 2:30 am we set down camp in the dark and arrived at the North Kaibab Trailhead to start our hike at 4:00 am. With the use of headlamps we wound our way down the switchbacks and into the heart of the canyon. Our goal was to beat the heat at the bottom and make the 26 mile trek before dark. (Oh and not die!)

We were in awe at the amazing views as the sun rose. The rock formations on the canyon walls were spectacular.  It was awesome to see the different layers of rock and erosion along the canyon walls.  The canyon looked like it was striped. 

We started the hike in warm layers because it was only about 40 degrees at the North Rim.  By about mile three though, the sun was up and we were getting warm.  We stopped at the Manzanita Resthouse to strip off our layers and take a quick bathroom break.

We took a little side trail to Ribbon Falls and we’re so glad we did. 

The falls were definitely worth seeing and we rested in the little oasis for a minute before entering “The Box.” This was the area we had been warned about but thankfully we got through it by 9-10:00 so there was still plenty of shade and cool temperatures. Being in the bottom of the Grand Canyon with miles of cliffs above my head really made me feel small and humbled by the sheer majestic of this place. 

We made it to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, Phantom Ranch, and mile 15 around 11:00. Here we hung out for about an hour or so just soaking in experience. 

We had to get some famous Phantom Ranch lemonade (which we called Liquid Gold and tasted AMAZING!) and of course we mailed a postcard to be delivered to us by mule. We ate lunch and soaked in the refreshing stream before making our way back out of the Canyon via the Bright Angel Trail to the south rim.

We crossed the mighty Colorado River and started up the Devils Corkscrew. This stretch of trail (about 6 miles) was rough being in full sun and heat. I was grateful for my sun umbrella hat at this point. I might have looked goofy wearing it but I was shaded. Along the way we picked up a girl that was really struggling. We took her along with us and gave her some food and water possibly saving her life. It was pretty scary.  We were so happy to finally make it to Indian Gardens and rest and soak ourselves again with water.

Some hikers coming down from the South Rim told us to hang out at Indian Gardens for a minute and let the sun go down behind the canyon wall before continuing. This was great advice because the rest of our hike out of the canyon (about 5 miles) was completely shaded. While we waited we rested, filled our water bottles, and ate some snacks.  Everyone was laughing at me when I pulled a whole Pringles can out of my backpack because they thought it was crazy that I had so much food.  When I shared my chips with them and they saw that the chips were whole and not crumbs, they realized I was a genius.  

This last part of the trail was intense with just switchback after switchback. At 3 Mile rest stop, we met up with a couple other ladies that were also struggling and tried to help them as well. They assured us they were fine but were just going to go really slowly to the top. They offered to take care of the other girl we picked up and let us head off at a slightly faster pace. 

Those last so called 3 miles were very long and actually were more like 4 + miles according to my watch. At this point we were all just on edge and getting tired.  I knew that the only way to get through these endless switchbacks was to keep moving.  I just kept telling myself to keep going and don't stop.  Trista was really struggling at this point too.  She kept telling us to go on without her and she was getting upset.  We told her we were staying with her. At this point though, we all went at our own pace and spread out from each other.  We all needed that alone time to contemplate what we had accomplished thus far and muster up the strength, mentally and physically, to push through the last couple miles.  We made sure to keep each other in our sights though so we didn't lose anyone. We came back together for the last bit of the trail and finished strong together as we crested the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. We did it!! We finally made it to the top of the south rim of the Grand Canyon at 8:30 pm. 16 hours including rest stops and about 13 hours moving time. 26 miles. A marathon in the Grand Canyon!

It was dark by the time we finished so we used the headlamps again for the last little bit.  When we got to the top, we looked back down into the canyon we had just climbed out of and saw the headlamps of the other hikers still making their way up and out.  This whole trail was really a lesson in life.  You work so hard to get to where you need or want to be but it is important enjoy the journey and then look back and see how far you have come and help the people coming in behind you.

We knew we needed to find our hotel and especially somewhere to eat as soon as possible because Trista was really struggling with nausea.  For sure, we needed to find somewhere to eat because all of the restaurants were closing and we were tired of eating our hiking snacks.  We walked all over the area before finding a little pub that was open for 15 more minutes.  We basically begged them to let us in and promised we would just order something to go.  Thankfully they let us in with our smelly, dirty clothes and huge packs.  We told them to put us in the back corner or somewhere we wouldn't bother the other nicely dressed people.  They were so nice and said they didn't mind our dirt because they take in hikers all the time.  We finally got to sit down and we ordered the first thing we saw on the menu, Pulled Pork and French Fries.  When the waiter asked if he could bring us a few beers, I really thought about saying yes!  We decided Sprites and a Coke would be better options though.  This waiter was amazing.  He totally read the situation and brought our food and drinks out so fast.  We even brought out to-go boxes and another full cup of our drinks to go.  He could tell we were needing to get Trista out of there and to our hotel.  Needless to say he got a good tip.

  

Our Sprite, pulled pork and French fries for dinner never tasted so good! And the shower and bed at the hotel were welcomed sights!!  All we wanted to do was crash so after showering, that is what we did!

The next morning after a good night's sleep, we all felt much better.  I was a little sore but not bad. We had time to walk around the South Rim for a while before we had to catch our shuttle ride back to the North Rim.  We used this time to do some souvenir shopping but also to gaze over the Grand Canyon and just see where we had come from.  The views from the South Rim are pretty wonderful.

As we were getting on the shuttle, we saw the Grand Canyon pack mules getting ready to go into the Canyon.  The whole time we were hiking we kept expecting to see the pack mules walking along the trail but the only thing we saw was their poop.

The shuttle ride back to the North Rim took about two hours including a stop at Jacob Lake for one of their famous cookies.

We spent the shuttle ride chatting about our hike, sharing all of the photos we had each taken, and listening to the other passengers experiences in the Canyon.

When we finally got back to our vehicle, we decided to go check out the North Rim of the Grand Canyon before heading home.

The North Rim had amazing views as well.  From the North Rim lookout point, we had a somewhat bird's eye view of the trail we had just crossed the previous day.  While we were in the Canyon, I felt so small next to the towering canyon walls.  But looking down at where we had been made me feel even smaller!  I knew the trail was long but looking at it from above I could actually see just how long it was!  It made the whole experience seem even more incredible. 

I had my friend, Onna, make these t-shirts for each of us to wear on the day after the hike.  They turned out really good.  The saying on the shirt says, "Just Another Half Mile or So. Grand Canyon Rim 2 Rim 2024."  This ended up being the perfect saying to describe this hike. In fact, we repeated this saying multiple times as we were climbing the last 3 miles out of the Canyon.  We had many people comment on our shirts and they were good conversation starters. When people asked us about them, we told them we had just hike Rim 2 Rim!  

To tell you the truth this hike went much better than I expected. I felt strong at the end and really enjoyed every moment even the hard ones.  The training I did over the last few months really helped. Would I do this hike again? Maybe. Am I glad I did it? YES! Would I recommend it? Yes IF you are prepared.  As we saw with the girl we picked up along the way, if you go into this blindly and unprepared, it could be very dangerous.  If you are prepared though, it is a very rewarding experience. This Bucket List item of mine is now checked off!!