The wind was a force to be reckoned with last night. It bent the branches of the trees and buffeted our tents all night howling like  a tortured soul. When my alarm went off, I only had intermittent sleep to show for all my efforts. Bedazzled didn’t fare any better. Even with a bad night’s sleep behind us, I was still excited because today we were going to attempt our rim-to-rim hike of the Grand Canyon. Starting from the North Rim, we would hike 21 miles to the South Rim losing 6,000 feet of elevation and gaining 4,860 feet. It felt like we were on the PCT again, and that was a good feeling.

We walked to the trailhead and saw two groups heading off as we arrived. We took off our outer layers and then started down the North Kaibab Trail. We quickly descended via switchbacks and it seemed like the fall colors had progressed substantially even though we had just walked up this trail 4 days ago. It was fall at the top of the canyon, but as we descended it was apparent that it was still summer down below.

Coming down from the North Rim, you lose more elevation than from the South, however, I found the trail to be in better condition and of nicer grade. This may be due to the lower popularity the North Rim enjoys, but there are also fewer steps built into the trail. I found the steps on the South Kaibab Trail to be of an awkward height and length so this was refreshing. In many places, instead of steps there was nice smooth trail just like much of the PCT. The views coming down were grand and felt completely new since we had been facing the other way on our climb up to the rim.

We made great time over the 2 miles to the Supai Tunnel and onwards to the Manzanita Rest Station. Before we knew it, we were at Cottonwood Campground and already a third of the way through our hike. We stopped briefly so Bedazzled could make a mixed drink and then carried on.

At this point, we started to run into a lot of traffic going toward the Colorado River and the South Rim. Some of them may have stayed at the Cottonwood Campground, but many had only day packs so they must have started very early in the morning before the sun was even up. We slowly made our way through the traffic. There were a few groups that lacked trail manners and didn’t step aside even though they kept looking back at us right on their heels. They seemed intent on not being passed whether they were slower or not. When we asked to squeeze by, they begrudgingly stepped aside. Competitive much?

Our goal was to make it to Bright Angel Campground by noon, but we ended up arriving 10 minutes before 11:00. We found a shady spot by the creek and had a leisurely lunch until 12:30. Then we filled up 3.5 liters of water and started walking. I was a little torn on whether to take the 7 mile South Kaibab Trail or the 9.5 mile Bright Angel Trail. I preferred to take the South Kaibab Trail but it is waterless all the way to the rim. The Bright Angel Trail on the other hand has water starting 5 miles from the rim and then periodically all the way up. I had done the hike up it once before and wasn’t too impressed with the views. Bedazzled, however, doesn’t do great in the heat or direct sun. I asked Bedazzled what she wanted to do, and she said that she wanted to try the South Kaibab Trail because it was shorter. I hope her knowing my preference didn’t influence her decision.

After crossing the Colorado River, we immediately started to climb. The views of the River and Jurassic stone around us were intoxicating. There is something about the inner canyon that is just magical. You can feel time down there.

The distance between Bedazzled and I opened up almost immediately. I would wait for her in what shade there was and move on when she got closer. After about an hour, I waited for her to catch up. She said that she needed to take more breaks or she felt like she might get sick due to the heat. I thought she was overheating so we took periodic breaks every 20-30 minutes in the shade. She was drinking enough fluids and had added some Gatorade powder to her water earlier so she was good on those two fronts.

The wind really picked up and it was scouring the land around us. It whipped up dust devils and blasted sand against our sunburned faces and squinted eyes. There was dust in my hair, nose, and ears. The higher we got, the stronger the gust. Soon they were buffeting me a step to either side on the narrow trail. I hoped for a tail wind, but it sadly never came.

I was walking behind a trail runner with only 1 mile left when two Italian girls came down the trail. They asked the runner how much longer to the river. “About 6 miles,” he answered. “So like 1 hour?” asked the girl in a sports bra and short shorts with no water. The runner almost laughed and then said, “more like 2-3 hours one way.” We left the girls behind and he turned to me and said, “I hope they didn’t go to the river.” “That is a disaster waiting to happen,” I replied. We powered through the last mile and what must have been a bus load of Korean tourists to reach the top.

It was hot and our faces were wind and sunburned, but Bedazzled and I had just completed a rim-to-rim-to-rim hike of the Grand Canyon!

We got on the park shuttle to get back to our car. We still needed to figure out a place to stay for the night and were considering a forest road in Kaibab National Forest where dispersed camping is allowed. While on the bus, I struck up a conversation with the trail runner from earlier. It turns out he had just completed a rim-to-rim-to-rim in one day. On top of that, this was his 9th time doing so. What a beast. He knew about the forest road I was talking about and gave me some more information. At the end of the conversation, however, he offered us his campsite in the campground because he and his friends, who had to drop out of the rim-to-rim-to-rim, where heading back home today instead of staying the night. Awesome. Trail magic continues post-PCT.

We got to the campsite, set up, and then went to the rim to watch sunset. Bedazzled was pretty drained so we returned early and she went straight to sleep skipping dinner. I made a fire, ate, and wrote my journal. It was a good day. I am so grateful for the experiences I have had over the past couple of days.