Grand Canyon Rim to Rim Crossing Part I

Crossing the Grand Canyon was everything I hope it would be and more. Words cannot begin to describe the grandeur of the Canyon, nor can they describe the sense of accomplishment I felt when I looked down from the North Rim to the South Rim, knowing that I had crossed the Canyon completely on foot. It was truly one of the greatest, most exhilarating experiences of my entire life.


We stayed in a house near Parks, AZ, which is about a 90 minute drive to the South Rim where we began our descent. My alarm was set for 2:30 AM, but my eyes flew open at 2:15 with my heart racing, ready to go. Soon after I made my way down to the house and got my coffee, the rest of the runners began making there way out of their rooms.

While everyone enjoyed their sausage and egg muffins, I had some toast with peanut butter mixed with syrup, applesauce, and one egg over hard. I was so nervous I couldn’t get it all down.

At about 4:00 AM, we had the cars packed and were on the road. The drive to the South Kaibab trailhead on the South Rim was probably the longest of my life. The closer we got, the less excited and more nervous I became.

One of the many foreboding signs posted at the start of trail-heads,
warning people not to do what we were doing.

What would the trails be like? How hot would it be down at the bottom of the Canyon? Would I run out of water? Puke my brains out? Fall off the edge into an unknown abyss?


After what seemed like an eternity, we pulled into the trailhead for the South Kaibab trail, strapped our camelbaks on and posed for a picture.

Our group was composed of ultrarunners and an Ironman. And little old me =)

Then we began our adventure! I started with a long sleeve shirt and a thin windbreaker. Within 5 minutes and a hundred foot descent, I was down to my sleeveless running shirt. When we started it was in the 50s, and within one mile it probably warmed into the 70s.

South Rim just prior to sun rising.

Our plan was to take the South Kaibab trail for 7 miles down into the Canyon, cross over the Colorado River into Phantom Ranch. There we would refill our bottles and camelbaks and grab some treats at the canteen. From Phantom Ranch, it’s another 9 miles through the bottom of the Canyon to the next water stop- Cottonwood Ranch. Then the real fun starts- the 5 mile climb out of the Canyon using the North Kaibab Trail.

South Rim just after sun rise.

Crossing the Canyon from Rim to Rim is something the park rangers STRONGLY discourage, and we were met with a lot of scornful looks from Park Rangers whenever we spoke of our plans to cross. There were various signs at the trailheads that talked about runners that thought they could cross in one day but ended up overexerting themselves, running out of water and dying. One sign showed a Boston Marathon runner who died in the Canyon; apparently she only brought a liter and a half of water and a few Gus, got lost, and died of dehydration.


As ominous as these signs were, we had to remember that these people lost their lives because they were unprepared for what they were up against. The temps on the bottom of the Canyon tend to run about 20 degrees warmer than the temperature on the South Rim and you have to stay hydrated and properly fueled. In my pack, I had two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, 4 Gus, 3 Clif Bars, a handful of small Snickers bars, a bag of trail mix, and some Chomps. I also brought enough Gatorade powder for 120 oz. of water. When I finished at the top, the only thing I had left was a half of a PB&J.

Feeling good!

One mile down the Canyon we came to Ooh Aah Point, where the sun was slowly peaking over the cliffs. It was spectacular seeing the first few rays hit the red rocks of the Canyon wall. You could almost hear the Canyon singing.


We continued down the trail for another few miles before coming up on a lovely little cabin of toilets. These were a welcomed sight for me as I had been religiously drinking from my 100 oz camelbak that was filled with ice and Gatorade.


There were relatively few people on the trail to this point, and we had yet to come across “mule remnants.” Everyone from our group was still traveling together, laughing, shouting, taking pictures, and enjoying God’s beautiful creation.

My Dad and I at Ooh Aah Point

One of the few flat portions of the trail

A few miles later, we took our first pit stop. Time to eat some peanut butter and jellies, put sunscreen on, and lube up! Wouldn’t you know, only one person remembered Body Glide, and it was a small travel size bottle at that. Yet somehow we all managed to share it for the duration of the day (runners that lube up together, stay together).


A few miles further, the terrain started changing from a dry, dusty red to a wetter, slightly greener trail. Even still, the dust we were kicking up was still getting in my shoes, my face and my nose.

Still a few miles (and a few thousand vertical feet) from the bottom.

We had out first mule encounter about a mile from the Colorado River crossing. We were told that the mules tend to go up the South Kaibab trail in the late morning, so if we got an early enough start, we wouldn’t have too much trouble. This was a caravan of maybe a dozen mules. Luckily, it was still early enough in the day that they didn’t stink too bad and mostly kept their “mule remnants” to themselves.

Amazingly green! Maybe the mules were Irish?

Signs were posted all over the trail that when you encounter a mule train, you must yield to them: step off to the side of the trail and stay quiet as they pass. Really, it was a welcomed break for my quads, which were starting to shake a little from the 6 miles of steep downhill climbing/running. The trail lead looked pretty closely at us as he passed by. Probably trying to size us up to see how big of fools we were.

Can you see the mule train?

My Dad and I, right before crossing the Colorado River.

Once we crossed over the Colorado River, the terrain changed to a sandy desert with tons of small cacti. We rounded the corner and ran into Phantom Ranch.

Running across the suspension bridge.
I think the wooden planks through the middle are so
the mules can't see down to the river.

There were tons of people milling about, some of them hikers but most of them campers (Phantom Ranch is a campground. If you want to cross the canyon, they recommend you hike down the Canyon, spend the night at Phantom Ranch, and then hike out the next day). Everything we saw at Phantom Ranch had been carried down by mules- it was incredible!


It was about 8:30 AM by the time we sat down in the canteen. I was feeling pretty good. All but about 20 oz of my Gatorade was gone and my legs were feeling only a little tight. I sat down to stretch whilst my running crew ordered bagels and beer. (The beer was completely unappealing, but I did have half a bagel with REAL cream cheese!) You have to have reservations to enjoy a meal from the kitchen. Breakfast goes for about $22 per person and the steak dinner was roughly $45.

Beer and a bagel? $7!

After filling my camelbak with cool, spring water, I took advantage of the bathrooms. I knew how important it was to need “to go-” it meant I was drinking properly and fighting off dehydration. I’ve seen my Dad toss his cookies on so many ultras, so I knew the importance of getting food into your stomach at an early stage. When you dehydrate and lose electrolytes, blood stops flowing to your stomach so your body stops digesting food. Which means your body stops getting the calories it needs and… long story short, things start to go south.

If you look closely, you'll see water spigots in the 'sign.'
There were a few of these along the way, but mostly pumps for us to fill our water bottles.

After Phantom Ranch, the trail started gradually ascending for nine miles. We ran next to a small creek (I believe it was the Bright Angel River?) and had canyon walls on each side of us. The sun was still hidden by the canyon walls, so most of the path was pretty well shaded. It was so completely gorgeous; I had to take pictures and videos at every turn. Accordingly, I fell behind and had to hasten the pace a little to catch up. It was probably the prettiest part of the Canyon crossing.

We found a big rock to take a break on where I took my first Gu. Things were going pretty well for us. I was having an incredible time!

Me, my dad, and his good running buddy.

After a few more miles, we entered a more desert-like area where the sun began to relentlessly beat down on us. When we came to a shady spot, we pulled over to drink, eat, and reapply sunscreen. By our estimations, the temps were in the upper 90s, with very little humidity. It was definitely hot, but it lacked the soul-sucking humidity that the South is blessed with, so it didn’t seem too bad. We took a short diversion down to the river to dunk our heads in and wet our hats and bandanas.

How's this for hill work?

My method for keeping cool was to first and foremost, stay hydrated. I also brought a 20 oz water bottle, which proved to be a splendid idea (the only bad thing about a camelbak is you can only have one type of fluid). I filled it with water to pour over my head and wet my bandana to stay cool (and just in case I wanted something other than the Gatorade in my pack). With a sweat wicking hat, I was able to fend off the heat pretty well.

Runner's World really should have featured my Dad for their recent fashionista feature. You can't see it, but he had my Vera Wang sunglasses on, with a leopard print bandana around his neck and a neon orange bandana around his face. He was the epitome of fashion, I tell you.

At one point in the ‘desert crossing,’ we were held up briefly by a hiss and a rattle. Yep- we came across a rattlesnake, coiled on the side of the trail. We gave him the right of way and waiting for him to leave. We later found out via a park ranger that canyon rattlesnakes are a rare sight. Lucky us.


The next few miles up to Cottonwood was beginning to get hotter and harder. I could hear my water pack starting to bubble- I was running low on water during the hottest part of our journey. Just as the sun was getting to be too much, we came upon a little stream to dip our feet in. I took off my discolored shoes, peeled off my red-stained socks and put my feet in the cold stream. It felt great.


Shortly after our water break, we came up to Cottonwood. I filled my camelbak (for the third time) and ate a clif bar and PB&J. We took a little more time at this rest stop because it was nearing the heat of the day and the hardest part was still in front of us. We needed to get rested up and completely cooled down. I laid down on the picnic table to stretch out my legs and back. I still felt pretty good. That was all about to change…


On to Part II....