There are places in this world that you dream about ... that make you feel like a child ... it makes your heart pump every time you think about it ... and, above all, it makes you smile. The Grand Canyon has been such a place to me for over 20 years. I traveled below Rims 100 times, visited Phantom Ranch about 60 times, and before that 32 Rim2Rims completed the adventure. I pulled out of a canyon in 116 degree exhausting heat, in 14 "fresh snow and during a 3-inch rain storm with numerous flash floods that forced me to wade deep into my hips. People died when I was there, and I also had the opportunity to save life to friends ... The canyon controls the gambit of physical endurance and mental stamina. As a mountain climber, the canyon plunged like my training ground and mental compass.
After the completion of the last Rim2Rim2Rim in October 2008 at a busy 15:40. I felt it was time to go to the plate and hit one of the park. We always left South Rome for North Rome (via the Kaibab Trail) in one day, rested during the day, and then ended the adventure from north to south. We did this in mid-May and mid-October for years, sometimes with three people and other times with over twenty tourists. Over the years, I noticed that during the prime season there was a rise of tourists and runners R2R2R - perhaps 10 times more than 10 years ago! I attribute this to our worldwide penchant for extreme sports, as well as to numerous published articles about this epic adventure. Although the Canyon is a dangerous arena, and it should always be treated with caution and respect, I began to feel that our trips had become “normal.” I earned a new adventure, the ultimate Canyon problem, a hike from South Lake to Northern Rome, and then doubled immediately and returned from Northern Rome to Southern Rome, TransCanyon Epic - a 44-kilometer non-stop adventure completed in one day.
My discussions began immediately with my wife Wendy, along with Jeff Akins (Eagar, AZ) and Roy Laos (Greer, AZ) - all three of them completed Rim2RimRims last year. We all train at a high altitude of over 8,000 in the White Mountain of Arizona. Our typical Sunday trip is 18-20 miles with 3000 verticals. We heard that several local guys (Hamblin) switched to R2R2R nonstop using Bright Angel Trail for 24 hours. Although the BA Trail is about 4 miles long, we decided to save and finish on the South Kaibab Trail .... we call it a ghostly ranch and push it out of the Phantom to the southern edge in less than 2 1/2 hours on the previous R2R2R. We also discussed the beginning time for a long time - whether we should start at night and finish by day or vice versa. We all agreed that from a psychological point of view - daytime finishing would be helpful.
I spent a significant amount of time climbing the Andes and prefer to sleep until 11 pm and start at midnight. However, Jeff was really motivated and wanted to have lunch and hit the road around 6:30 pm. I could not blame Jeff's enthusiasm and agreed to an earlier start time. We were also informed by the Back Country Representation that all the fresh water was cut off from Phantom Ranch to North Rim - there is no water in Cottonwood, Roaring Springs or the Supai Tunnel. So, I packed my portable water filter and was ready to re-wet along Bright Angel Creek. Finally, we need a place in the “base camp”. My wife, Wendy, voluntarily spends her time at the Grand Canyon Field Institute and helps her Box of Rocks program, which promotes the geology of the Grand Canyon to schools throughout the country. Wendy contacted her colleagues at GCFI and asked if they could help in the provision of housing. The gods really smiled at us, as we were able to use our weekend trailer as a base camp.
When we arrived at the Grand Canyon in mid-November, Wendy admitted that she was not going to participate in the full R2R2R. She did not feel that she had enough time to complete the cycle. She will see us on the track and then go south Kaibab next morning to meet us somewhere along the path. She agreed to a two-way radio and would “follow the camp” ... or sleep while we made our way through the Canyon at night.
After a delicious steak and vegetable dinner on the southern edge, we did another check of gear and went into the dark at 6:30 pm. Unfortunately, my hydration pack completely leaked onto the short trip to the head of the trail. Similarly, a pack was installed on the “bite pipe”, and gravity drained my water supply throughout the entire cargo area of my Sequoia. A bummer, but it is not worth spending time trying to go back and refill the bladder. In the end, it was the night in mid-November, when the temperature fluctuated around 40 degrees. However, within a quarter of a mile, two tourists came along the path of the South Kaibab, I passed my predicament, and they generously provided me with the rest of their water - more than enough to get to Phantom Ranch. A walk to the south of Kaibab at night is an experience, especially a descent along the trail. Our headlights provided a bright white “flat” light that influenced my perception of depth.
So I traveled a little slower than during the daytime, and kept thinking - here you need to save energy - this hike goes up! We arrived at Phantom Ranch for just under 3 hours and enjoyed a cup of coffee to stay awake. I spoke to my friend (Vicki) at the ranch, and she informed us that the water was indeed turned off on the way to the North Pole. So we set off on a moonless night and into one of the darkest parts of the Grand Canyon, known as the Box. Several times along the path we turned off our lights to admire the full black. At some point, near Phantom Creek, Roy stood by me, and I could not understand that he was there. We decided that without the headlamp we would have to either wait for daylight or crawl.
In less than 2 hours we got to Cottonwood camping and were true to our words, the water was turned off. We relaxed and had a quick snack, and then went on a less than two-mile trek to the former Ranger Springs Ranger station (the old Bruce Aiken excavation). Here we planned to get to the Roring Springs River and filter the water - to my complete amazement the water was turned on. I have no idea why Back Country Office will not share this information with tourists - intentionally creating a dangerous environment. I was in Roaring Springs at least twenty times in the winter months, and there was always water ... and, apparently, there is still ....
From Roaring Springs to Northern Rome is the main type of trekking. This is a very steep trail and, fortunately, does not have a “mule effect”, like the South Kaibab or Bright Angel. Horse riding in Canyon is part of legendary folklore, but they are very, very destructive for trails. When we began our ascent to Canyon Roaring Springs, the temperature began to fall rapidly. We experienced a pleasant 55-degree weather through the floor of the Canyon, but we rose and rose, and the wind began to blow. Within an hour we made our way to the bridge walk under the Supai tunnel. We planned to stop at the bridge, but the wind began to wobble, and we felt that it was too cold for a quick rest - we pushed to the formation of a relief. Jeff set the pace, and Roy followed me, and I was the boombox. It was a plan, as a mountaineer, I tend to “fever at the highest level” and have a tendency to move strongly towards the goal of any goal. (I spent more than 20,000 in my life with 8 high-altitude peaks.) Jeff coped well with the pace, we didn’t want to travel too fast, as we sweat too much and get cold — too slow and you re immediately cold.
We stopped right in front of the Supay tunnel for our final rest stop, before recording the last two miles to Northern Rome. We knew that stopping after the Supai tunnel would be dangerous and very uncomfortable. The geographic feature of the Supai tunnel is very interesting - regardless of the time of year, as soon as you pass through the tunnel, the temperature usually drops by 5-7 degrees. Again, this was so, the wind also rose markedly. Forward, we raised the level of 10% + above the Tunnel. The trail was in excellent condition and partially frozen - no snow. Finally, we rounded the last switch in the “sample box”. I let Jeff and Roy find out that we were a thousand feet away from the Northern Ring. Wind and cold were unbelievable — blowing 35 miles an hour with our cold wind at zero degrees.
Once upon a time, we quickly removed our bags from above and put on every seam of clothes that we had. We were cold to the bone and had problems with normal duties, such as zippers and buckles. We set off from South Lake to Northern Rome at 9:15, a great time for night walks - now it was 3:45. In less than 5 minutes we were walking along the North Pole. I used to be very cold and experienced a frosty edge on my toes, fingers and face — it began to feel familiar. I tied a bandanna around my mouth and nose, hoping that the air and lungs became warmer for me ... it helped, but not so much. At last a ribbon of the swinging moon appeared, which, unfortunately, did not cast enough shadow to help with the path, but we welcomed the change of landscapes. Within 1/4 of a mile, Jeff began to feel dizzy, he was mumbling and stumbling, and I felt the initial stages of hypothermia and hypoglycemia - a potentially lethal combination. We stopped in a sheltered area when Jeff was swinging peanut butter and a jelly sandwich, after a few minutes he was shaking again - a good sign. As we set off down the steep path for the next hour, little was said, we all focused on going down to lower levels as quickly as possible.
Sometime past the Supai tunnel, we began to receive the first glimpses of the approaching dawn. I noticed that Roy was laughing in front of me - after I proceeded for about ten hours, you really recognize your gait. Roy admitted that his knees began to cause him trouble, not a good sign. Roy didn’t use trekking trekking, steep descents in the Grand Canyon will play havoc with normal joint functions. I am a man with one pole and lent him my pole to remind you of the descent to Howling Springs. As soon as we got to the Ranger station, the weather warmed up again, we replenished our bottles and moisturizing packs, ate more food and began a long hike through the floor of the Canyon. Unfortunately, Roy’s condition has deteriorated. The pain came from his knees and flexed his hips. He was in acute pain, probably caused by aggravating the nerves around his thighs. Our pace slowed to a zombie, like a shuffle, less than 2 miles per hour. Roy took several ibuprofen tablets and we resumed our stoic pace.
The sun was already warming our faces when we entered the Box, we soon missed Phantom Creek, my wife Wendy rounded the corner to meet us. We were far from the scheduled meeting time at Phantom Ranch. After 5 deadly hours, we made our way to the Ranch - a sponge of tourist activity. It was great to see people again, not a soul on the trail all night. We were all a little happy from sleep deprivation. We ate, drank and cared for our needs. We decided to make a plan for Roy to rise and leave the Canyon. Roy is a tough man, and we all knew that he faced the greatest physical challenge in his life. We began to formulate a plan, Roy would climb the steep southern Kaibab Trail, and not the Bright Angel. Kaibab is cooler, but two is shorter - the canyon miles are canyon sections. Jeff helped Roy climb the path, Wendy and I moved forward and prepared for the start of our arrival. We will remain in close radio contact.
Climbing the South Kaibab Trail is my favorite part of the R2R2R flight. It offers fantastic views and is amazing in the mountains of a 7.5-mile gut check. The first three miles of trails are the most difficult, once you reach the point of the skeleton, trek upwards by more than half, and, in my opinion, at least it is easier. So I set a strong pace, and we quickly prepared for Roy and Jeff. I felt great with unlimited energy - provoking Linkin Park on my iPod. I grinned a few times, I like to ride, ride a bike, or ski with the hard driving of rock and roll - all of this for me. Jeff, on the other hand, hiking with the eagles, “Calm down” on the trail will probably make me sleep! When we moved through the O & # Neil Butte base, I began to feel the effects of approaching 40-kilometer night stops. Wendy was right behind me and remained in routine radio contact with Roy and Jeff. I began to wonder if we could make it from Canyon in less than 20 hours, my original schedule was 18 hours. At the top of the O & Neigh Butte and just below Cedar Ridge - I hit the wall. I had about 2 miles to go and knew that I could usually make Southern Rome in about 45 minutes. It will put me straight at 20 o'clock. My hopes began to fade when I sat down, drank a bit of Emergen-C and ate a couple of bars in the area. I let Wendy know that I was going to enjoy the Canyon for a few minutes when we perched on the edge of Bitt Gouda, which is great. Roy and Jeff have now entered the zone we call "Ladders." A grueling 10-fold 800-high jump, culminating in a cave. Roy now took 2 morphine tablets to ease the pain, but he steadily moved.
When Wendy and I reached the South Rim, we walked past our last girls. They asked where we came from, since I obviously looked like hell in a purse. I smoked and informed them that we had come from Southern Rome 20 hours and a half ago. During the long hike, Rim always feels great, and this time there was nothing like a level earth, warm sunshine and a Budweiser cooler. Roy and Jeff were now at the base of Bilt and made progress after the next round of Morphine. We jumped into the Sequioa and headed back to the base camp trailer. I drank three bees down the road and was looking forward to a long warm shower. We joked a little about me turning around and doing it again ... this time the temptation to sleep was awesome. As soon as we cleared and returned to Southern Rome, we had 10 minutes of waiting before we saw Roy and Jeff climb the path. Inventively, Jeff had his marching pole behind him when Roy was holding on. Jeff pulled Roy up and over the steep mules that went too far along the South Kaibab. When Roy took the last steps on the southern edge, I could say an incredible relief in his eyes. He did it, beat the odds in an incredible display of strength and character. We handed him a beer and carefully moved it to the front seat of the Sequoia. Everyone was happy and smiling.
Back in the base camp trailer, we sat on a couch with a cooler as a footrest for Roy. He was incredibly funny, 4 hits of Morfin, a couple of beers and endorphins dancing through his system, made for a very interesting conversation. We discussed our trip and laid out a new plan for the following years. TransCanyon Epic. We woke up more than 38 hours - too long. We decided that the descent of both wheels at night sounds great, but we have little use. We will start at 5 am in the morning and use 12 hours of daylight, not 12 hours of darkness. We like the place in mid-November, the heat was not a problem, but the cold weather most likely made Roy pinch his nerves on his hips. We will wear slightly larger packages with extra clothing. In our time in Canyon, we experienced a temperature variation of 70 degrees. I only wore two layers, and then a vest with goats on top, a light jacket with a shell would be awesome.
Roy worked the next day and continued his march with us the following Sunday. He did not experience any side effects from his adventure. We even planned a 24km walk from Hermit Loop in December, Roy was the first to agree to return to Canyon! If you are thinking of taking a TranCanyon Epic R2R2R nonstop campaign, please contact me by email. Training 50 miles a week and cross-training on a mountain bike will be extremely useful.
