Grand Canyon Adventure

Some of you may remember that I invited you to join me as I ran the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim with my niece Rachel and nephew Michael.  Well, I'm sorry but you have missed your chance  😢 as we ran this weekend on Father's Day.  Now keep in mind, this is not my first rodeo.  Julie, myself and our good friend Laurie ran the same ditch back 2010.  I ran it Rim to Rim to Rim and they each accompanied me on one leg of the journey.

Laurie, Dave and Julie
Grand Canyon
October 2010

Fast forward to 2018...  Julie, Paul and I drove to the South Rim of the GC on Saturday meeting up with Rachel, Michael and Doug, who is Michael's dad and Rachel's father-in-law.  It was Rachel's first time to the GC and we wanted to be there to see the expression on her face.  "What did you get me into?" was all she could say as she gazed across the great abyss focusing on the trail we would be on as it snaked its way down the canyon wall eventually disappearing into the distance.  I had the same thought in 2010 when I saw the GC for the first time the day before we ran it.

Michael, Rachel, me!
Grand Canyon
2018

We elected to start on the Bright Angel Trail.  While it makes the run a "little" longer, it is not quite as steep as the South Kaibab Trail.  It also does not have the mule supply trains on it which can leave the trail a little treacherous if you know what I mean.  The Bright Angel Trail is most familiar to visitors as the trailhead is right at the main GC lodge.  While this area and the top portion of the trail is crawling with visitors, we elected to leave Sunday morning at 4 AM so it would not be a problem.

We spent the night in a local hotel just outside the park.  I was struck by the sign on the toilet, reclaimed or not...

I really thought it was a joke, but then I realized that the Grand Canyon attracts a lot of visitors from outside the US and someone from France or California could mistake this for a drinking water source.

4 AM!!!

1AM came before I knew, particularly because I had set the alarm for 2:30.  Oh well, must be the excitement of the run.  We all got ready and headed to the trailhead.  Julie, Paul and Doug would drop us off and then drive around to the North Rim which takes about 4 hours.  They planned to do some hiking on the North Rim while they waited for us to arrive.  The youngsters optimistically thought we could do the 24 miles in 6 hours.  Okay, I thought we could too.  I know what you are thinking, Dave ran his last marathon (26.2 miles) in 3:45 and Rachel ran the Utah Valley Marathon the previous Saturday in 3:22 (Boston Qualifier!!!) so 24 miles should not take that long.  Well, this is no marathon.  First of all it is a trail with lots of rocks, obstacles and rocks.  Yes, that is rocks twice.  See, I found a rock jutting up in the dark that managed to trip me and scrapped the skin off my shin.  The second rock to trip me banged my knee so hard I had a lump the size of half a golf ball.  I was lucky, all the damage was to the same leg.  See illustration below....

Left leg damage

We wore headlamps but it is difficult to see everything that is on the trail, especially when some young'ens are setting a grueling pace.  I did have several people comment on how nasty it looked as we passed on the trail.  When asked if I had fallen, I told them I cut myself shaving.  My leg was fortunately the only injury sustained during the run.  We made good time getting to Phantom Ranch where we ate some food and filled our hydration packs.  Very quickly we were off and running.  As the day dragged on we saw more hikers towards the North Rim.  We slowed our pace as the elevation increased until we were eventually "power walking".  I assured my companions that this was normal as the steepness of the trail increased.  Honestly, when you can stretch your arm out in front of you and touch the trail, you are not going to be running.  We stopped for a photo on the final bridge on the north side when we heard it.  It was a loud whooping sound in the distance.  "What in the world is that?", Rachel asked.  Smiling I replied, "That is my beautiful wife".  Julie has a very distinct yell she perfected during her softball years.  For me at that moment, it was the sound of angel's singing.  We were getting close to the finish!  Doug and Julie came down the trail to meet us.  Paul had decided he better turn around earlier to make sure the trail was clear when we arrived. 

Final bridge!  

Well, we did it.  24 miles in 7 hours. (9.6 miles, 6,860 ft. descent) (14.3 miles, 8,241 ft. ascent.)  I checked in with the crew the day after and everyone's legs are shot.  Between the hammering on the descent and the grueling climb out, it takes everything you've got.  

The entire crew.  Michael, Doug, Julie, Dave, Rachel and Paul

Well, I honestly think I'm done with running the Grand Canyon.  I need to take it easier.  Anyway, we were thinking about kayaking the Panama Canal.....

Hope you are having a great summer, we are.

More Grand Canyon photos...