I am looking to do a Rim to Rim run in the Grand Canyon. Anyone out there done it?
I did north to south rim a few years ago. We stayed overnite at the north rim, which does not open until May 15. We parket at the south rim and took the shuttle from the south to the north. Send me a PM if you have any questions.
From what I’ve heard, that may not be possible because the route up the north rim is significantly longer than the one up the south rim. You would want to look into that further to confirm.
I wanted to go down and back in a day, but being a rule following Canadian, I took what the 100s of signs said seriously and didn’t do it. I really regret it.
What I did do is do the Bright Angel trail down past the campground at the midpoint and then to the overlook. Past the campground, it was a different trail but I can’t recall what the name of it was.
The maps listed it as a 6-12 hour hike or something stupid like that. Yeah, I was back at the top before lunch. It took me ~3.5h to do the round trip and I stopped for half and hour at the bottom.
I’d say that the safest route would be the Brightangel trail, as it has the most water stops. I passed three and believe there are a couple more further down. Carry a camelback, food, salty snacks. Stop at every water stop and fill up the camelback. It gets hot at the bottom of the canyon.
I really don’t see why a fit & experienced, person physically and mentally prepared for a 12h day would have any problems on this route.
i have a buddy who did it this year in one day…and in some sick time too…i forget. it’s doable. he said it was BRUTAL though and the hardest physical challenge he’s done to this point in his life (marathons, HIMs, etc.). it’s like, what 27-28 miles or something?
It is not that tough. I did North to South in May in about 6 hours (about 23 miles, I believe). I have done the south rim down to the river and back quite a few times. The fastest was just under 4 hours (Down south Kaibab and up Bright Angel).
We’ve had a group doing the R2R, then a day on the north rim, then R2R to return for the past ? 9 years. A great trip and if you want to push yourself, that is a beautiful place to do it. Typically for us, the trip to the north rim is leisurely, followed by a day to catch up with friends from across the country in the majesty of the North rim, then the trip back those who feel froggy can push themselves.
A great trip that I would highly recommend…
here’s a good web account of a rim-to-rim-to-rim run done in 14:46 - man up!
I agree. I did the down and back about 10 years ago and can’t remember it being that hard. I did it with a couple of friends on our “rest day” and had a blast jumping in the river and freezing our #%@% off.
derek
bright angel? dude, do a down and back on mans route…try the southbass trail.
TrailRunner Magazine September 2006 Issue 41 has a cool article about R2R trail run it is like 4 pages long…you should try to get it if you are interested in running it,has some good tips and information…
The Bright Angel Trail and the other main one on the South Rim (Kaibab I think?) are 8 foot wide highways sullied up with mule sh** everywhere.
Why not try some of the more remote, pristine trails? Like down the Hermit Trail and up the Boucher in a day. Or down Tanner and back up the same way.
Great article, thanks alot.
It’s an unbelievable run - especially in the fall. However - a word of warning, be careful about getting a “group” together - especially saying anything about it on the internet. I believe individuals can still do it - but there is a fine line between legal and not legal. In the past, if you ask for official permission - it will send up red flags and be denied. I few years ago, I was arrested at gun point, held, and heavily fined by the Grand Canyon National Park rangers for doing such a run with a small group of friends.
Yeah - they really frown at the R2R events…largely due to the deaths and otherwise stupid actions of tourists who think they don’t need water or fuel for a trip down to the river and back…
Remember the 7 P’s…
proper prior planning prevents piss poor performance.
Don’t be mistaken, the trek is a hard workout and one that requires serious consideration and training. The article from Trail Runner Sept 06’ R2R featured one of our group and fellow Kona finisher as we were headed North rim to South. We went 5:40 but that involved a brisk walk on the descent and then running the balance through the flats and up South Kaibab. Max HR 172, avg HR 138
The Rangers are trying to do the right thing and after a trip across and back, you’ll understand the stupidity they witness daily. Unfortunately, they sometimes fail to find the “adventure” from a group of athletes out for a weekend training session.
For those of you that live out in Arizona. Is there any chance that I could do a down and back in January?
Yes, you can do a down and back in January. Last year I did a down and back at the end of December. We left Phoenix at 5AM, arrived at 8:30, went down and back and were in Phoenix for dinner. It will be cold at the top and perfect on the bottom. The only risk is if it snows. The roads can get quite bad around Flagstaff if that happens.
I did a down and back alone in August when I was 16 years old. I was on vacation with my parents. The rangers said not to do it and I did not listen. They found me less that 300 yards from the top passed out. Young and stupid. Took me about 3 days to recover. I plan to go back one day and do it the right way. I am 45 now.
I am 45 now and hope that I will do it right the first time!
A buddy of mine has done rim-to-rim and rim-to-rim-to-rim. This is from an email he sent to someone else who asked about it.
I have hiked/ran (mostly hiked) rim to rim twice (May and September 05) and once did rim to rim to rim to rim (May 06). It is truly a beautiful hike.
End of May or early June are best w/ regards to heat - it can be 85 - 105 at the valley floor in the day and it can be 30 at night - when we went this last May, we started on the south side - left at 11:00pm - it got down to low 30’s - then went hit the north side around 7:00 - went to the Canyon Lodge for breakfast - shed clothes and went back to the south side and got their around 8:00 pm - approx 17 hours of hiking/little runnig - 21 hours total time - 46 or so miles - about 22,000 feet of elevation change - ultra marathoners can do it around 10 - 14 hours. The second time I did rim to rim - was w/ three other people - two of which were in average shape and did not not any preparation - they will be fine for 2/3 of the hike and then the hike out will kill them - they just have to tough it out and then they will be sore for a week or so. Recommended trails - North Kaibab (sp?) from N to valley floor (Phantom Ranch) then either S. Kaibab or Bright Angel - South Kaibab is shorter, more exposed to sun and steeper - generally people from the South side descend Kaibab in morning and go up Bright Angel in afternoon. Bright Angel ends at the Bright Angel lodge - food, lodging etc. - S. Kaibab is a few miles away and there isnothing at trail head. If you are going from N to S to N - I recommend N. Kaibab to Phantom Ranch to Bright Angel - eat a meal then take a taxi to S. Kaibab to Phantom Ranch to N. Kaibab and spend teh night at Grand Canyon Lodge - make reservations now. I don’t know about a permit -we never got one - nor did we spend night in the canyon - we did it non stop.