Grand Canyon Rim to Rim Expedition

This is an account of my Grand Canyon South Rim to North Rim crossing on May 16, 2009. It's kind of long but I hope you enjoy my story.

I am still processing the "Entourage Expedition" and everything that I accomplished this weekend. Hands down that was, by far, the hardest thing I've ever done. Looking back it's sort of surreal. I was invited to run the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim (over 2 days) a year ago. When the invitation came I knew it was a challenge that I was up for.

Our group consisted of 7 people:
Cathy- our fearless leader. I only hope to be half as amazing as she is when I am 54.
Keith- Cathy's training partner and hard core ultra runner. Many time GCer.
Robin- Cathy's friend and training partner. First time GC runner.
Me- 3 time IM finisher, endurance athlete, virgin GC runner
Rebecca- IM finisher, marathoner, trail runner, endurance athlete and virgin GC runner
Sage - (skirtchaser race director), xterra athlete, mountain biker, trail runner, and GC virgin
Mindy- soccer, mt biker, hiker. Not endurance athlete but lives at elevation, GC virgin.

Our adventure began on Friday late morning. I picked up Mindy at 10:40 am. We stopped by Sage's house and packed her SUV with all of our gear and waited for the call from Rebecca saying she had landed. We picked her up from the airport and hit the road toward GC. It was amazing how instantly we all felt like old friends. Mindy is a friend of my sister and I met her in Hawaii last fall. I saw how athletic she was with all the hiking, kayaking, etc we did on the island so I thought GC would be right up her alley. I mentioned it to her and gave her a few months to mull it over. I was thrilled when she called me in April to tell me she was "in". She lives in Denver, so even though she doesn't do much endurance sport I knew she was tough and would handle it OK. Sage and I had worked together many times at various races, but it was so great to spend time with her outside of "work". She is such an amazing person and truly a sweet, caring individual. It was wonderful to get to know her and see her beautiful personality and great sense of humor. And every time I meet someone in the Entourage I am reminded of how lucky I am to be a part of such an amazing group of women. Rebecca is a fun, bubbly, genuine, amazing person. I had so much fun getting to know her and tackling this crazy thing with her. The four of us had a 4 hour drive to the South Rim. We talked the whole time, sharing stories and laughing together. When we pulled into the campground area Cathy was there with her crew and we all shrieked out the window in unison. Now, any of you who know Cathy realize that she is a little more low key and I am pretty sure I have never heard her shriek. We laughed when we heard Robin say "are those your skirt friends?" We jumped out of the car for more hugs and introductions.

I met Cathy last summer at CDA and saw her again at Wisconsin and AZ. She is very relaxed and fun to be around. She put us all at ease with a last minute lesson on how to pack our packs. Robin is a hard core athlete who pretends to dislike all the endurance crap... I say pretends because she basically flew by all of us and was kicking back with a margarita when we finally made it to the north rim. She was fun and easy going with a positive attitude and a great sense of humor. Keith was the rock of the group. He's this gentle quiet soul who looked out for all of us. He built a fire to roast marshmellows on Friday night. He held my chocolate bar over the flames on a cedar plank to try to get it a little bit melty for my smore. He stayed with Mindy the last 7 miles of the hike up the North Kaibab trail which was a huge blessing. And he did yoga with Rebecca and I before bed in our cabin on the North Rim (he's a certified instructor!). On Sunday morning he was out the door by 4 am to "race" us back to the South Rim, as we rode the shuttle.

Saturday morning wake up call was 4 am, though I think we had all been lying awake for hours. We dressed and did the final touches on our packs and tore down our tents. We threw everything into the car and drove to the parking area about a half mile walk from the South Kaibab trail head. As we arrived at the trail head there were several busloads of people being dropped off. We hurried up and hit the trail descending into the canyon. We stopped multiple times to take photos. Cathy is writing a piece for Marathon & Beyond so we wanted to get some great shots. She is hoping for a cover photo! Wouldn't that be awesome! Cathy ran with Rebecca and I for the first part of the descent. She shared stories from ultramarathon events and gave us some advice for getting our feet in the door on certain "projects" we are contemplating. She has so much experience that we were just trying to soak it all up. We caught up with Keith, Sage, Mindy and Robin and ran together for a while. We stopped at Phantom Ranch to refill our water and then continued along the relatively "flat" trail at the bottom of the canyon. It was about 6 miles to Ribbon Falls where we stopped for about 30 minutes to soak our feet and hats and just took in some extra calories. Eventually we knew we needed to head toward the North Rim so we started out again. We stopped at Cottonwood to refill water again before starting the 7 mile ascent up the North Kaibab trail. I felt good for the first 3 miles and then the elevation began to affect my performance. I had been power hiking at a pretty good pace and slowly began to notice that my heart rate was climbing and I wasn't able to catch my breath even after stopping to rest. The final water stop was 2 miles from the top. We refilled and took in some more calories. Peanut butter never tasted so good! From this point on, Robin hauled ass up the rim while Cathy and Rebecca were a switchback or two ahead of Sage and I the rest of the way. I was so thankful to have Sage with me. I kept looking at the back of her pink skirt thinking, one foot in front of the other. We melted against the rocks at the scenic overlook about 3/4 mile below the rim. 30 more minutes, I reminded myself. With every switchback I hoped that it was the last. We kept moving forward slowly. Eventually I came around a corner and saw an opening in the trees and blue sky. I think we're there, I said. And then... I saw a car! I knew we had made it and scurried up the path to the trail head where I fell to my knees to kiss the precious earth at the North Rim. Carloads of "non-hikers" looked on as if I was crazy. (I might be.) 9 hours and 21 minutes it took me to journey from the South Rim to the North Rim. We had another 40 minute hike to our cabin which we considered our cool-down. By the last 2 miles of the climb, I had decided that God-willing, my ass would be on the shuttle the next day. The rest of the crew agreed and we borrowed a cell phone to make the reservation. Even Cathy, who could have gone another rim to rim to rim to rim consented and booked the shuttle reasoning that her coach would be happier if she didn't have to take so much recovery time away from training.

We checked into our rooms and got cleaned up for dinner. I was worried that Keith and Mindy would miss our 6 pm reservations but at 5:20 I saw them emerge from the woods. I ran over to hug Mindy and congratulate her on a job well done. Not wanting to be the weakest link, she was fully prepared for the return hike the next day. She seemed a little bit relieved that we had booked a spot for her on the shuttle though I have no doubt that she was more than capable to hike back. Keith had distracted her with stories during the last 7 miles as she dealt with some muscle cramping. We all enjoyed a nice dinner with lots of food and drinks and pitchers of water. Keith went through some yoga with Rebecca and I in our cabin before bed to help us loosen up our aching muscles. He was out the door by 4 am on Sunday to make the return trip via the canyon as we slept in a bit and took the shuttle back.

I learned several things this weekend. This was the first time I had seen the Grand Canyon. It is impossible, without going to the canyon and hiking down below the rim to even comprehend what we accomplished. I had imagined that we would wind down the canyon, hop across the river on some rocks, and then hike up the other side. The Canyon was much more immense and vast than I could have ever dreamed. The Grand Canyon is most amazing not because of the canyon.... but because of what the it requires of you. It is unyielding and unforgiving. There is very little shade and very little water. It demands strength. Courage. Drive. Passion. Attitude. Will. Perseverance. Without those, you will be overwhelmed and likely unable to make the journey. Despite our fatigue and soreness and cramping, I never heard a single word of complaint from anyone in our group. That in itself is truly amazing. We all enjoyed every minute of the challenge and encouraged each other every step of the way. Though my journey ended a day short of my initial goal, I am so proud of our group and what we went through. It was an amazing adventure and one I will remember for a very long time.

Thank you Cathy, Keith, Robin, Sage, Mindy and Rebecca. I could not have asked for a more supportive group to make this crossing with. I will definitely be in for next year though I need to monitor my recovery and decide on the best way to approach the expedition (maybe a North to South crossing or a 2 night stay at the North Rim between the two legs of the journey?). I hope that more of you will join us next year. It is an indescribable experience, though I hope I was able to convey a small fraction of our adventure.

Take care everyone and keep pursuing life's challenges. We only live once.