Grand Canyon R2R2R October 2011

A group of six of us headed down to Grand Canyon for a double crossing on October 22nd. In the caravan were Shad, Shane (down from Portland), Casey Flanagan, Matt Koppenheffer, Brett Dawson, and Mike from Seattle. There were three double crossing virgins on this trip (Casey, Matt, and Mike), Brett-3rd, Shane-2nd, Shad-7th.

Regathering at the 1.5 mile marker

We took the South Kaibab to North Kaibab and back route for this trip making a 42 mile out and back. We started around 6:15 am to avoid needed a headlamp from the start. It was a bit chilly when we began, but it warmed up fast once below the rim. The decent down S. Kaibab went pretty steady and we enjoyed the sunrise lighting up the colors of Grand Canyon.

Train of SMUTs

After enjoying the bridge over the Colorado we refilled at Phantom Ranch and headed uphill.

Casey on the Suspension Bridge

Snacking at Phantom Ranch

I was utterly astonished at the number of people coming down from the North Rim. We guessed that literally bus loads of people were herded over and completing a single crossing to the South Rim. Since I started going to Grand Canyon a few years ago the number of runners has increased steadily. However, this was way beyond anything I had ever seen. 

In a way it was nice to see a large number of people getting out and enjoying nature; however, there were quite a few people that looked to be struggling. Additionally, at the North Rim there were several people attempting a double crossing that didn't think they could make it back. As the popularity of running in Grand Canyon grows I think we may see more of this. People read about it in Runner's World or some other magazine and think it would be neat to try not realizing it is a very difficult run and there are not aid stations to drop at.

Ahh....done ranting. Back to the adventure.

And Up.......

North Rim

It warmed up quite a bit as we descended back down. A couple of us had to slow it up a bit but Shane was thrilled to be running in warm weather again. Besides being long as hell the decent back to Phantom Ranch went smoothly and we ended up getting there in great time.

For the first time I finally remembered to bring a few bucks to buy some of the famous lemonade at Phantom Ranch. It was pretty darn good, but Shane and I also noticed they had Tecate also on the menu. We figured how often is it that you get to enjoy a beer in the middle of an adventure run in one of the Natural Wonders of the World and said ef it. I must admit it was one of the tastiest beers I've ever had.

We spent quite a bit of time hanging out and talking, and some rehydrating, and we started getting antsy to get going. We had pretty much all agreed it was a free for all on the way back up the South Rim. It is tough to stay together on that climb. Shane and I ended up heading up together, except for him outkicking me at the end.

Despite the beer and antics this ended up being my best time for a double crossing at just over 11 hours. Everyone did extremely well and everyone finished in under 13 hours which is great for a first time.