Hiking in the White Mountains: Grand Canyon Part II . . . Rim to Rim to Rim Runs

10/10/21 & 10/15/21

South Kaibab Trail: 7.0 miles / North Kaibab Trail: 31 miles / Bright Angel Trail: 9.0 miles

Total Miles : 47.0 (10,800' elevation gained)

Trip Report:

10/10/21 Racing Daylight

- On Sunday the 5th Todd and I got the first parking spot next to the shuttle stop at the Bright Angel Lodge and hopped on the 6AM bus over to the South Kaibab Trail to run a Rim to Rim to Rim of the Grand Canyon, AKA Double Crossing, R2R2R, R3.

- We started off at 6:22AM with temps in the mid 30's and clear skies as we zoomed down the switchbacks to Ooh Aww Point, caught the bright red glow of the canyon walls descending to Cedar Point, delayering for the rest of the run at Skeleton point, and making our way down to the Colorado from the Tip Off while seeing a Big Horn Sheep just before making it to the Black Bridge 1 hour and 10 minutes in.

- From the bridge to Phantom Ranch we caught up to the early morning mule train before making our first stop to refuel and refill at Phantom Ranch 1 hour and 20 minutes in.

- It was quiet at the ranch at 7:40AM. Unfortunately because of the pandemic there is no going inside the canteen building unless you are staying in the bunkhouses so we just relaxed outside for ten minutes before starting part two of the run, the seven mile slight uphill to our next rest stop at Cottonwood Campground.

- Todd set a great pace the whole way, I would shuffle run behind him and stop to take pictures then run to catch up and repeat this as we made our way through "The Box" then out into the wide open as the sun took over the trail as we approached "Asshole Hill," a short steep PUD near the side path to ribbon falls. From the hill we cruised into Cottonwood Campground, 2 hours 55 minutes in, for a short break.

- Trails were still relatively quiet considering it was Sunday of Columbus/Indigenous Day Weekend. I was expecting heavy traffic but all in all it was much less foot traffic than I thought, this wouldn't be the case five days later on our next R3 with Whitney.

- Back to the run, after a quick fuel and refill we were off to the North Rim. The North Kaibab Trail makes its way to the Pumphouse (Manzanita Rest Area) in short order, under two miles, once again over a very easy slight uphill grade. From the rest house the steep incline finally starts over the next six miles to the north rim.

- We went into quick hiking mode from here until the Supai Tunnel, however from Redwall Bridge to the tunnel I hit a wall and lagged behind, slowing down to hiking speed, luckily at Supai Tunnel we took a short breather and I was good to go from then on out and we made the quick work of the last two miles to the north rim topping out 5 hours and 30 minutes in. Half way done!

- Once again it was time to refuel and refill. During the run it's gels, gummies, energy waffles, and maybe a cliff bar while constantly sipping water from my hydration bladder. When we stop for breaks I scarf down dense high calorie food and chug from my bottle that has electrolytes from Nuun tablets.

- Fifteen minutes after reaching the north rim we were off to run all the way back to the south rim, this time via the Bright Angel Trail once reaching the Colorado River.

- It was now afternoon as we breezed down past Supai Tunnel and the Pumphouse on the way back to Cottonwood Campground for our next refill and refuel at 6 hours and 50 minutes in.

- Now would be the crux of the run, out in the wide open sun and then through The Box back to Phantom Ranch. luckily temps were only in the low to mid 80's, but we made sure to throttle down to a nice easy jog. Many R2R2R runners try and speed through this section which can seem appealing with the sweet seven miles of slight downhill and excellent footing but then bonk on the climb back up to the south Rim after overdoing it through the mid day sun and high temps.

- We cruised into Phantom Ranch in great shape about 1 hour and 15 minutes from Cottonwood and 8 hours and 10 minutes total time.

- Here was our second to last refuel and refill before heading up to Indian Garden just under six miles away. We kept a good jogging pace from the ranch to the foot of the Devil's Corkscrew where we quick hiked before back to jogging the last mile and a half into Indian Garden, 9 hours 45 minutes in.

- Indian Garden was a lively spot in the mid afternoon, filled with hikers joking around and relaxing. There was a park ranger around making sure everyone was doing ok and had enough water while getting a feel for who was on trail, one dude made a comment about the hike asking why it was so hard which prompted Todd to shout out, "That's what she said." Hysterical, I started laughing, everyone else around us seemed to miss the joke.

- Anyway, after shoving a gas station apple pie in a box in my face for super fuel we were off to the finish at the south rim 4.5 miles away.

- Trails were still quiet until the last section from the mile and a half rest house to the rim where we passed all sorts of people, including startling an influencer in the wild at one of the tunnel arches at the half mile point.

- We made quick work of the ascent from Indian Garden to the south rim finishing 11 hours and 24 minutes after we started with about forty minutes of daylight to spare!

- Once finishing we made the short walk back to the Jeep and cleaned all the red dirt off our legs, got into clean clothes, ate and drank food as the sun quickly went down before the drive back to Flagstaff.

- All days are magical in the Canyon, but the Rim to Rim to Rim run magnifies the experience ten fold for me and I was thrilled to have such and amazing day in the big ditch with Todd for my fourth successful double crossing. :)

Todd running between Ooh Aww Point and Cedar Ridge

The trail lit up in bright red as we head towards O'Neill Butte

Todd rounds a corner with the Tonto Platform a thousand feet below

Running around the beautiful Panorama viewpoint

Todd in the perfect spot for a quick pic on the switchback below me. Sumner Butte and Zoroaster Temple across the canyon

Todd gets a sweat pic of this Big Horn Sheep!

Black Bridge

Heading into The Box

Moving quickly through the box and out into the open

After The Box the North Kaibab Trail opens up

Canyon walls rising high above but still in the open as we head towards Cottonwood Campground

Todd points out a feature in the canyon walls as we pass by the Pumphouse

North Kaibab Trail

View to south with Humphrey's Peak rising above the flat land all around it

North Kaibab Trail parallels Bright Angel Creek between Phantom Ranch and the Pumphouse. This comes in handy when it's a hot weather day providing a much needed cool down

Back into The Box

Silver Bridge

Todd gets a great pic of Silver and Black bridges over the muddy Colorado River

The dreaded beach section, where good running pace and form go to die

Bright Angel Trail

Devil's Corkscrew

Closing in on Indian Garden

Entering and leaving Indian Garden

Late afternoon from Jacob's Ladder

The late afternoon glow as dusk overtakes the canyon

Finished. Two happy runners!

Trip Report:

10/15/21 Whitney's Big PR in the Big Ditch

- On Tuesday the 12th I picked up Whitney who was the next friend to come to visit and spend some time on the trails. She had her eyes set on a sub 14 hour Double Crossing. Here previous time was 15 hours and 38 minutes so it was a big goal to set but she was familiar with the canyon having hiked in it several times, including being in there this past April on her Arizona Trail thru hike. Her previous thru hikes include the Appalachian Trail in 2014, Pacific Crest Trail in 2016, John Muir Trail in 2018, and Tahoe Rim Trail in 2018.

- Friday, October 10th we (Todd, Whitney, & I) headed to the canyon for the run, once again we nabbed the first parking space next to the shuttle stop, jumped on the bus and headed to South Kaibab Trailhead starting at 6:28AM. It was a cold morning, temps in the twenties with the highs in the inner canyon struggling to reach eighty degrees, another perfect day to spend traversing the big ditch.

- We made great time down to the river, crossing black bridge in 1 hour 30 minutes, and reaching Phantom Ranch twelve minutes later at 1 hour 42 minutes. So far so good!

- Next up was the run to Cottonwood, Whitney kept running at a good clip and we arrived 3 hours 25 minutes in. Along the way we saw a Big Horn Sheep towards the end of The Box, it was right in the middle of the trail, giving us all a good startle, it quickly climbed up a steep drainage knocking some rocks loose, pretty awesome sight to see. We also started running into hoards of hikers and runners as we approached Asshole Hill, the traffic would continue all the way to the north rim. I was astonished why there seemed to be about 10X the amount of traffic on the trail on a Friday compared to last Sunday during a holiday weekend. The answer, it was October 15th, last day for operations being open on the North Rim so it was closing day crowds.

- Whitney made a strong push to Cottonwood, and I was unsure how this would play out as she is one of the strongest thru hikers I know but trail running is a whole other ballgame. I had supreme confidence that if she hit a wall she'd be able to overcome it and bounce back. Her previous R2R2R the last two miles up to each rim were rough on her as the stench of the mule poop and pee had her close to ralphing.

- This time it was the speed of the first sixteen miles that came back to give her one heck of an uppercut as we approached Supai Tunnel. She complained of shortness of breath and tightness in her chest, blaming it on the birthday cake energy gel she recently had. But it most likely was the pace and not keeping on top of fueling and hydrating while running that made her hit a wall. We took a break on the trail, Todd gave her a salt tablet and I made sure she stayed ahead of hydrating so she wouldn't fall behind again and really have an issue. She continued to struggle at times but we were quickly closing in on the north rim as we approached Coconino Outlook.

- Soon after the outlook we ran into a park ranger who notified us that the water had been shut off at the north rim. Luckily, I had more than enough water and made sure to give what I had to Whitney at the rim leaving me with just enough to make it down to the Pumphouse as Supai tunnel was also turned off.

- The reason for the quick turnoff was the cold temperatures the past few days, below freezing for a majority of the day and there was even a snowstorm that Tuesday which dumped a good half foot on the trail over the last mile, which was a welcome surprise as it buried most of the mule poop so it was a better experience for Whitney during the final stretch up to the north rim, only gagging a few times along the way from the smell.

- 6 hours and 30 minutes into the run we were taking a nice lunch break surrounded by snow while sitting in the sun. This break definitely rejuvenated Whitney as we made good time slowly jogging down to the pumphouse to refill water and take a break at the 8 hour mark before the short run to Cottonwood Campground for another quick break 8 hours 30 minutes in before heading out into the sun and into The Box on the way to Phantom Ranch.

- It was bend but don't break time, hiking not running through this seven mile stretch. Even though it was probably ten degrees cooler than Sunday's run it felt more difficult under the sun as we were out in it a little longer with the dialed back pace. Still, we made it to Phantom Ranch no worse for wear, 10 hours 20 minutes in, and had a nice break to rest here, fueling up and refilling our water. Unfortunately the staff at Phantom Ranch started cooking food so we could smell the yumminess just a few short feet away so we high tailed it out of there before our cravings got the best of us.

- Next up was the hike to Indian Garden as the sun slowly faded and darkness overtook the canyon. We were able to hike without headlamps until about a half mile from Indian Garden, we even saw the moon rise above the Devil's Corkscrew which was a a special sight to see.

- At Indian Garden, 12 hours 5 minutes in, we prepared for the final stretch, Whitney was tiring but still going strong. After a ten minute break we headed into the dark abyss looking up above being able to see dozens of headlamps high above us dotting the trail up to the south rim.

- We came across another park ranger, this one asking us if there were any issues with hikers between the ranch and the garden, we told her the few we saw were all moving along fine and nothing to worry about.

- As the clocked ticked away and the miles added up we closed in on the rim. Along the way we saw a scorpion laying in the middle of the trail, first one I have ever seen in the canyon. We passed by a few hikers but it was a very quiet hike back up, it was also getting colder too, I put on my jacket, gloves, and hat at the mile and a half rest house.

- Whitney was doing fine but at this point when it was total darkness and there were no views anymore she just wanted to be done. Before long we finished, reaching the south rim just after 8:30PM, 14 hours an 8 minutes after we started, a 90 minute PR for Whitney, it was and incredible run for her, and was very proud of her setting such a huge PR.

- After snapping a quick finishing pic for Whitney we headed to the Jeep and changed into warm clothes and drove out of the park for some trash food at McDonald's in Tusayan to gobble down on the way back to Flagstaff.

- What can I say that I haven't already said about experiencing the Double Crossing, it was another day filled with memories that will last a lifetime with two friends who love being out there on the trails pushing themselves as much as I do. :)