Crossing the Big Ditch

Nice early morning view of the river from S. Kaibab

 I'd have to check my records for the date, but its likely been almost 6-7 years since I've been to the Grand Canyon. Annie, Steve and I did a R2R2R together prior to kids and most of what I remember from that event is the horrible slog back out North Kaibab at the end of a LONG day, delirious and starving with Steve's chex mix being the only thing that got me back to the car. Annie has had longstanding knee trouble that stemmed from that experience. We managed a pretty pathetic 13.5 hour round trip time, which probably isn't too horrible for the average ultrarunner, but nowhere near the 6 hour FKT. We started from the North and went up Bright Angel and down South Kaibab, which no doubt lengthened the journey.

One of my goals for this year was to get back and try to put down a faster time on the double crossing, an "A" goal of sub 8 and a "B" goal of sub 10, with anything faster than 13.5 being the default should both those previous goals not occur. I felt like my fitness was in a good spot, though I hadn't done anything with significant vertical this year A round trip of the double crossing is 43 miles with 11k' of climbing, so it's no cakewalk.

This made me a little nervous, but two water sources is plenty, plus the river in box canyon is always flowing 

Annie was gracious enough to let me go solo, and I drove down Sunday night and crashed just outside the park in the Kaibab National Forest. I slept horribly, getting maybe 2-3 hours as it was quite cold and I failed to bring my warm sleeping bag. I got up at 5:30 and drove to the trailhead, or rather the picnic area 1 mile from the trailhead as no private vehicles are allowed. Rode my bike the one mile, locked it to a tree, and set off just after 6am in the pre-dawn hours. I passed a group of 3 ultrarunners who were doing a similar outing, and wished them good luck. I would see them ascending to the North rim as I was descending later in the day.

I made it to the first major destination along the journey, the Colorado river crossing, in just over an hour. I tried not to think about the return journey up the 6 mile, 5k' climb after 30 more miles. I filled up on water at Bright Angel campground and started my trek up Box Canyon towards the North Rim. Box canyon is an amazing place with immense rock walls and a slot canyon like feel. It almost feels less like a desert and more mountainous with the walls, river and greenery. Cottonwood campground was empty, possibly due to the water being shut off from a pipe break. I made it to my next water source at Manzanita Rest area about 1.5 hours later, and began the slog up to the North rim, hoping for a sub 4 R2R. I just barely missed it by about 5 minutes. The road to the North rim is officially closed still, with no water available at the trailhead, though there were a few cars on the road somehow.

I took a 20 minute lunch break on top of the North Rim with another R2R2Rer who had started about 2 hours earlier than me and had just arrived. With the legs still feeling moderately fresh, I began the return journey. I thought since it was mostly downhill back to the river, I could shave some time off and possible still be set up for close to an 8 hour finish.

View from North Rim 

Proof I made it to the North Rim 

One of the many bridges during the journey 

It was now getting significantly hotter, though it was only maybe 75-80 max. I doused myself as often as I could in stream crossings and water sources, trying to keep cool. My right achilles as well as some chafing were causing me some moderate grief, but I was able to keep a steady pace on the gradual downhill back to Bright Angel Campground. Box Canyon was similar to the Zion Narrows, the next bend has to be the last one, but it never was.

Supai tunnel 

About to cross the Colorado 

I made it back to the river at 7 hours total time, which meant my hopes of breaking 8 hours weren't in the cards as I needed at least 2 hours to get up in my current condition. While I felt ok, I needed some motivation to begin the long climb. I had a little pep talk with myself, ate some gushers, and turned on some tunes. Despite my desire to crush the climb, it crushed me. I tried to keep a steady pace, but it was pretty pathetic. Thousands of stairs, mixed with mule crap. Could have been nutrition, could have just been a long day. I took hope when I started to see overweight and inappropriately dressed tourists on the trail as that meant the trailhead wasn't too much further, but unfortunately those tourists ventured further than I thought they would. I began to worry I wouldn't break 10 hours, but luckily at 9:40 elapsed I was back at my bike at the South Rim, grateful to be done. While certainly not the worst I've ever felt, those last 6 miles were brutal.

Some Cherry Dr Pepper and french fries turned a long drive home into a bearable one. Always good to replenish your body's fuel needs with vital, nutrient rich foods.

I do feel going South to North first is easiest from the perspective that the return journey from Manzanita rest area to the river is largely downhill, which makes running that section later in the day more manageable. That being said, my 2nd R2R time was 1:40 slower than my first. 100% of that result is due to my inability to hike faster than 2 miles/hour up S. Kaibab. Spring seems like a better time than fall due to the lack of folks North of Cottonwood Campground since the North Rim is still closed. I remember lots more people 6-7 years ago when we did it from the North. Spring gives you more of a feeling of solitude, as there are hundred of hikers on S. Kaibab.

Probably won't be back for another double crossing for awhile, but there is no doubt this is a classic!