May 12, 2006
After a wonderful week backpacking with friends in Grand Gulch, Utah, we capped off our yearly week in the outdoors with a trip to the Grand Canyon South Rim. The plan was for me to run my 5th double crossing (rim-to-rim-to-rim) and my friends would hike rim to river and back.
We arrived at the South Rim in the afternoon, and visited a couple rim viewpoints. Excitement grew as I pointed out Phantom Ranch, Indian Garden, Devil Corkscrew, Pipe Creek, and other sites far below the canyon rim. Throughout the week I had trained my friends (David, Brad, Carl, Kim, and his son Craig) with tips on foot-care, hydration (electrolyte replacement), fueling, and the virtues of using bag balm. On the drive to the canyon, I read out loud many excerpts from the book “Over the edge: Death in the Grand Canyon” for morbid entertainment, but also to drive home the seriousness of what we would be attempting. We obtained a campground at Mather Campground ($18 per night), bought supplies at Market Plaza, and had a nice pasta dinner at a café.
The weather report was a concern, not because of rain, but because of the heat. The forecast was for 80-degree temperatures at the rim, which would also mean a blasting heat of over 100 degrees in the inner canyon during the afternoon. For this reason, we planned very early starting times. We returned to the campground and made preparations for the big adventure, taping feet and packing up. I was somewhat concerned how my friends would do on their hike to the river and back. We had just completed a 26-mile backpack in the morning with a tough 6-mile climb out the Grand Gulch. They felt fairly confident that they could make the hard 20-mile hike, but would carefully decide at Indian Garden (4.6 miles) whether they would hike all the way to the river and back.
May 12 is very late to run a double-crossing because of the heat. For this reason, I would start very early to beat most of the heat. My friends drove me to the Bright Angel Trail, took a quick picture, and I started running down the trail about 10:30 or so (Utah time). All week I had been concerned about a stiff left calf and a sore hip, but as I ran down the upper part of the trail, I loosened up and felt great.
I took with me: hat, sunglasses, MP3, waist-pack, two water bottles, two cans of Ensure, 6 packs of gel, powdered Gatorade, sunscreen, the usual pills and e-caps, cookies, red vines, flash light, head lamp, and gaiters. I saw some lights below and quickly came upon a group making a late assent. I stopped very briefly to check to see if they were OK, had enough water, etc. They assured me that they were OK. I’m sure they were wondering who in the world I was running down the trail like that. Not soon after, I came across a couple who moved out of the way for me. They weren’t using lights! I stopped briefly to ask them how they were and if they had lights. They said they didn’t have lights but would be OK. I recalled seeing someone at the emergency phone at the rim and wondered if they were waiting for these over-due hikers to return. They probably still had over an hour to go. A full moon was out, illuminating the canyon below, but the high cliffs shaded the upper trail.
I continued on. I quickly noticed that the heat was affecting my run performance. This was the hottest by far of any of my double-crossings. I passed the 1.5-mile aid-station at 0:16 and the 3-mile rest station at 0:33. I was running every step, but knew that my pace was three minutes off my personal record. I quickly concluded that this would not be a fast run. As I continued, I was bothered by the weight of the red vines in my shorts pockets, so I started to eat them. I didn’t realize that I also deposited several on the trail behind me. (My friends would later see them on the trail and conclude that they were mine.) I arrived at Indian Garden at 0:56, seven minutes slower than last time. I quickly filled up my bottles and gulped down as much water as I could, preparing for hotter temperatures below. I was surprised that I did not see anyone stirring in the campground even though it was about 10:30 p.m. Arizona time. I drank a little too much, because it slowed me down for the next twenty minutes until it worked its way through my system.
I continued running down the trail along Indian Garden Creek and was shortly startled by the very loud calls from mountain goats. They would see my red and green lights coming and would call out to me. This noise continued down Devil’s Corkscrew and along Pipe Creek. I counted more than 12 goats along the way. Some were very high on steep cliffs faces. I arrived at the river at the 1:42 mark. The full moon shined brightly on Pipe Creek Rapids. Usually when I run along the river a night, I can only hear the river noise through the darkness, but on this night the canyon was glowing in the moonlight. I tried to push harder on the trail along the river. I recalled that I had been running every step along the way except for the stream crossings. I decided to see how long I could keep that up. I quickly reached Silver Bridge and bounded across it, causing loud metallic noises to echo with the flow of the river below.
On the north side of the river I arrived at the structures there, ran over the bridge that crosses Bright Angel Creek, and passed by the Bright Angel campground. I could see some lights from some tents as campers settled down for the night. I soon arrived at Phantom Ranch but could not see anyone stirring among the many cabins. I stopped at the water facet in front of the Phantom Ranch store at the 2:07 mark. I realized my pace was slower than usual, but I was pleased to see that my split time from Pipe Creek of 25 minutes was a personal best. I fixed up a bottle of Gatorade, ate some gel, and continued on after a fast stop.
Next up was my favorite section through The Box, a very runnable section. I continued to run every step, resisting the temptation to take walking breaks on the short uphills. Bright Angel Creek flowed to my left with loud noise through the canyon. My constant running was taking its toll on my knees. Pain started to scream from my patellar tendons and kneecaps, but I put it out of my mind and ran on. I first set the goal to keep up the run until the 3:00 mark, but soon that past and I still felt like I could continue the run, so I set the goal to continue running until I reached the second trail to Ribbon Falls (near the bridge, 15.4 miles). There are some tough moderately long hill climbs before that point, but I pushed hard and ran all the way up them. I arrived at Ribbon Falls at 3:29. My split time from Phantom Ranch of 1:22 was a personal best. Not bad, running a climb of 1,300 feet from the river.
I slowed to a walk for a while and let my legs recover. I decided to take it relatively easy on the climb up to the North Rim. I was really enjoying the pleasant moonlit night in the inner canyon, and made sure I took a little time to look around and notice the little critters on the trail, and the sounds they made along the creeks. Looking behind me, I could see the lights of the South Rim. I periodically shined my bright green flashlight toward the rim for fun, just in case someone was walking along the rim to see it far in the distance. I stopped at Cottonwood Campground at the 3:50 mark, quickly refilled, and was on my way. At 3:00 a.m., I thought about my friends back at the campground who would be getting up to leave for their hike. I knew that they would probably look for my lights in the canyon, but my trail was now out of sight from the South Rim. At Aikens, I drank plenty, and refilled for one last time. At Roaring Springs (4:41 mark) I again thought of my friends and thought that they probably were starting their hike down Bright Angel Trail about that time. I hoped that everything would be OK for them.
The wind started to howl very hard down Roaring Spring Canyon into my face, almost blowing off my hat. The temperature dropped with every step up. After I crossed the bridge over the chasm, I stopped to put on long sleeves, and gloves. That made a huge difference. I felt much better and was glad that I had taken them along. Supai Tunnel arrived before expected. I decided to drop my waist pack there and only carry a single water bottle and my flashlight up to the top. After a fairly long stop, I continued the steep climb to the North Rim.
I noticed a couple of concerns. My problem left calf felt tired and mushy, and I had a bad hot spot brewing on my left foot. I tried to put them out of my mind and continued on my way. I was very impressed with the state of the North Kaibab Trail compared to three weeks ago. The trail workers had worked very hard, making tons of improvements for erosion. Three weeks ago it was an obstacle course of rocks from the winter, but this morning the trail was mostly clear and very soft loose dirt. I couldn’t resist stopping to kick off the trail some of the rocks that had fallen onto the trail since the workers had performed their duties. I looked forward to the run back down on the soft clear trail. The North Rim would open to visitors on Monday.
As I approached the top, the wind kicked up again and started to freeze my bare face, legs, and ears. The temperature must have been in the 30s. I noticed a very bright Venus rising in the eastern sky above the rim with a glow beneath as the dawn was approaching. I arrived at the trailhead at the 6:45 mark. I had made the entire first crossing in the dark. Unlike three weeks ago, there was no trace of snow at the North Rim. The construction from last fall was complete at the trailhead and some nice new rock steps were in place near the curb. With lights still on, I turned around and started to retrace my steps back to the south rim. I stopped briefly to make some tension adjustments in my shoe laces, hoping to ward off blisters. I continued to watch Venus in the sky to the east and was amused to see that I was witnessing a bizarre occurrence. I was watching Venus rise and set in the same morning! As I ran down the trail and lost elevation, Venus started to set toward the rim. I kept watching it until it finally disappeared for good below the rim and the glow the dawn became lighter.
I returned to Supai Tunnel at the 7:14 mark (about 6:00 a.m Utah time), and retrieved my waist pack. The morning was now light enough to put away my lights. I discovered that the water had already been turned on at Supai Tunnel. It had been off three weeks ago. I filled back up and went on my way. I soon was alarmed to discover that my left calf was on the verge of cramping, just like my right calf had done three weeks ago. If I pointed my toe down, it would start cramping, so I had to run without pointing my toe down. That seemed to work, but it forced me to avoid any fast running for the remainder of the trip.
The soft dirt trail actually caused me some challenges. It was so soft that at times my shoes would slip on the loose dirt. I had to be careful or I would be another entry in the “Death in Grand Canyon” book. It made me think about what would happen I did take a plunge? I looked down as I ran over a very long steep cliff. “How would they find my body?” I concluded that my Vasque shoes were making some pretty good footprints in the dirt. They should have no problem figuring out how far I went. With that comforting thought, I continued on.
I felt wonderful running down the North Kaibab Trail back to Phantom Ranch. I removed my long-sleeve shirt at Aikens. As I continued on, I took time to look at the wonderful views around me. I didn’t see my first human until about two miles from Phantom Ranch. The group was startled to see me running down the trail at that time in the morning. We said quick “good mornings” and I continued to run on. I could feel the temperature rise dramatically as I approached the bottom. The sunshine didn’t hit me for the first time until I was within a few hundred yards of Phantom Ranch.
I returned to the Phantom Ranch store at about the 10:20 mark, a little after 9 a.m. Utah time. The store was open. There was no sign of my friends there. I concluded that they had already arrived and were on the way back up. I took a pretty long stop there. I took inventory of my food and knew that I would be in big trouble if I didn’t buy something, because I didn’t have enough carbs to make it back to the top without suffering. I bought a bagel and a couple of cliff bars. I quickly ate half of the bagel and as I filled up my water bottles, had a good conversation with a couple of hikers in front of the store. They asked the usual questions about where I was going and how long it had taken. They had the usual shocked looks on their faces as they tried hard to comprehend what I was doing. I did my best to wash up and then went my way running. At the restroom near the river, I remembered that I didn’t have any sunscreen on, so I stopped again to make sure I was prepared for the very hot assent. Even though it wasn’t yet 9:00 a.m. (Arizona time), it felt like it was about 90 degrees and climbing fast. I really started to worry about my friends.
Silver Bridge
I continued on, running back over Silver Bridge. I looked along the trail down the river and could see a couple of hikers off in the distance. I set my sight on them to pass them while still on the river trail. Near the end of the river trail I caught up to them and was surprised to see that it was my friend Kim and his son Craig. I had expected them to only hike to Indian Garden. They had gone all the way to Phantom Ranch. I stopped to make sure they were OK and asked if they need my help. Kim assured me that they were fine. He had a gallon of water, and they were enjoying the hike, talking as they went. He said I would probably catch up with the rest of my friends toward the top. They all had made it to Phantom Ranch. I said that the tough part was coming up. Kim said he knew it, but also looked forward the shade in Pipe Creek Canyon. We parted, and I ran on my way. I knew that if I stayed with them, that I would probably suffer doing a very long trip, but also knew that the hot climb would wear me out, making it impossible for me to run back down and help them get up. I worried as I went, just hoping that they would make good decisions, keep moving, keep cool, and make it up before dark.
I passed several hikers and backpackers as I climbed a very exposed, hot, Devil’s Corkscrew. At the top of the ridge, I looked down and thought I could see Kim and Craig at the beginning of the Corkscrew resting in some shade at a corner. I went on and was pleased to “run” (actually fast hike) along Indian Garden creek. It was much cooler. I knew if Kim and Craig could make it there soon, that it would help them. I arrived at Indian Garden at the 12:18 mark. At that point, I knew my running was over. I was very hot, tired, and low in energy. I didn’t look forward to the next 4.6 miles. I took a long 10-minute rest, cooled myself down, and watched the other hikers around me. Some of them were from the last mule train down. They were complaining about their sore bottoms. Life is rough.
I pushed myself back into the hot sunshine, looking forward to any shade on the trail ahead. Despite rising in elevation, the temperature was starting to push toward 100 degrees. I was on my 44th mile, low on carbs, and without any sleep in over 30 hours. I realized that I should take it easy. At the 3-mile rest house I stopped for a rest. A NPS ranger was there who was very helpful for all the tired hikers. He finally asked me about my Zane Grey 50 shirt. I explained that I ran the race two weeks ago. He commented that I should watch out, that all these hikers around me would want them to carry their stuff back up. I explained that I was pooped, that I had been to the North Rim and back today already. This started the usual questions and shocked reactions. The ranger asked if I was doing OK and I explained that I felt fine, I had a good electrolyte balance, but looked forward to finishing. He said, “You must know what you are doing.”
After another 10-minute rest, I wet my shirt down, filled my bottles and pushed on. I usually never stop to rest on my double crossings, only stop to fill up. But today, the heat was in control. Between each rest house, I would also stop for a rest in the shade for a couple minutes. No one passed me on the trail and I still passed many. At one point I thought I saw my other friends on the trail above. I pushed hard to catch up, but was disappointed to discover that they were strangers.
Another NPS ranger met me as she was coming down the trail. She said, “You look prepared.” After she passed, I thought about that comment. Here it was, about 100 degrees and I had a long-sleeved shirt wrapped around my waist, gloves hanging from my belt, a flashlight, and I was holding two water bottles. I was also the only one around wearing gaiters. Yes, I was a strange sight to see. I soon observed other strange reactions from more casual day hikers near the top as they met me. They thought my hand-held water bottles were funny. I was covered with dirt and salt, and was probably a sight to see.
Finally at the 15:12 mark I reached the top. I had completed my 5th double-crossing complete. I couldn’t find any sign of my friends. I concluded that I probably just missed them. They probably returned to the camp or went to eat somewhere. I went into the lodge to cool down. I bought some Poweraid to sip. I could feel a bad bonk coming, so I did my best to try to force down some more carbs and sodium quickly. I started to feel better and took a shuttle back to the campground. No sign of my friends. I washed up, changed, rested, and then decided that I better return to the Rim.
David, Brad, and Carl finish their hike
My friends had no idea where I was and probably would start to worry. I linked up with them there. They had completed their Rim-to-River-to-Rim about a half hour before me. It took them about 9-9 ½ hours. There was still no sign of Kim and Craig. We all started to worry, concluding that we probably wouldn’t see them until the evening when it would be much cooler. I ate some more and tried to stay cool. My recovery was still having difficulty and I could tell I needed to get some sleep soon. Finally, at about 5 p.m., Kim and Craig arrived to our joy! They looked great. Kim explained that Craig was just a slow hiker and wanted to stop for many rests. Everyone was excited about the experience of the day but we were all thankful that it was over.