Grand Canyon Rim2Rim — How To Catch A Whale

ChoosIng to go into the canyon instead of Looking over at it.

The Grand Canyon enchants me - it’s one of the most visited National Parks, and you can hike down 5,000 something feet to the Colorado river and experience the geological wonder yourself. And if one treks from one rim to another, whether in one day or overnight, it makes the most iconic hike - the Grand Canyon Rim2Rim (R2R).

R2R has been on my bucket list for a few years now. For one, after moving across country to the west coast in 2013, I have dedicated most of the summer time in PNW and still have not made my way to Grand Canyon. For the other, the logistics of an overnight R2R is quite complex. The ideal arrangement is to hike the 30 something miles with a total of 10,000ft loss and gain with day packs instead of camping, and stay overnight at the bottom of the canyon in the Phantom Ranch. It involves competing for a few beds available with hundreds of excited hikers, and reservations are often done 12 months in advance. The Rim2Rim club offers detailed information.

There is something about delayed gratification that makes the wait worthwhile. And when an opportunity presents, you feel the excitement to jump on it and live the dream.

In a random day in April two spots became available over the memorial weekend. I snapped them right away and grabbed my girlfriend Adriana for the trip.

Then May arrived. We flew to Vegas and drove 5 hours through the open land to the North Rim. After a night sleeping in the car, we had a early start descending down the North rim. The hike was quite steep and we couldn’t see much of the canyon other than the towering wall ahead of us.

It rained the night before and the first half of a mile was covered in snow slush. We broke out our yak tracks and descended quickly where now the snow turned into red mud. Not the most pleasant thing but we powered it through.

Despite the long mileage for day one: 14 miles over 5,000+ft of elevation loss, the scenery changed every step and thus was never tiring. From the red rock cliff to black soil, from the eroded sandy slope to the occasional waterfall, from the rapid river to the open space created by two conjoining canyons, we walked back in time the deeper we descend into the canyon. It must be somewhere after the mid point, the canyon suddenly opened up wide, forming an alpine meadow feel, where you can look beyond until your eyes landed on the south rim. Wow.

But that was only the mid point for the descend. After the flatter area, we descended deeper and the distance between two sides of the cliffs narrowed. We could even get some shades.

The heat did pick up after noon as predicted. We made it into the phantom ranch with time to spare for a wine, a hot shower, and a casual stroll to the calmly flowing Colorado river before dinner.

The next day meant climbing up almost every feet we lost. We started early and made it to the south rim by noon and just enough time for a quick bite before catching the 1:30pm shuttle heading back the to North Rim.

From the South Rim view point, which to most of the visitors represents being at the Grand Canyon, I looked once again into the canyon before taking off. From here, the Colorado river is buried in the rolling slopes and is no where to be seen. From here, the magnitude of the place is obvious, but it is not possible to appreciate the depth carved by the Colorado river over millions of years. You are looking over at it.

In contrasts, scaling the canyons by foot, you are in it. You are equal to the majestic hills.