Hiking across the Grand Canyon: Part 1

My brother and I planned a hike across the Grand Canyon, known as a Rim-to-Rim or R2R hike, two years ago but a burst water pipe washed out part of the trail and made us change our plans.  We still a great trip, but I wanted to see the Canyon from the North Rim and hike the 24 miles across, so I planned a late May hike before the weather turned too hot.

My wife hadn't been to Grand Canyon National Park, so she took up the challenge and accompanied me on the hike.  We set up the trip by flying into Flagstaff in the afternoon and driving a rental car about 90 minutes north to the park area on the South Rim.  We spent the afternoon walking along the Rim Trail and visiting the various visitor's centers and other buildings before having a nice dinner at the Bright Angel Lodge.  At an altitude of about 7,000 feet, it was nice to have an easy day to acclimate a bit before starting the hike.  We stayed overnight near the rim at the Yavapai Lodge - clean, basic accommodations with nothing fancy other than being nicely located in the park.

We woke up the next day, had a leisurely morning walking around after breakfast and then packed up our rucksacks for the 4.5-hour drive around the Canyon to the east in order to get to the North Rim.  Despite the 24-mile hike between the rims, it isn't as easy to drive between the two points.  It was a relaxed drive and we enjoyed talking with other hikers in the van, including some sore, tired gentlemen that had hiked across in one day and vowed never to do it again.  We were planning for a 2-day hike, with an overnight at Phantom Ranch at the bottom.

We arrived at the Grand Canyon Lodge at about 6pm, checked in and enjoyed some great views until dinner.  We ate in the lodge dining room - good service and food accompanied the incredible vista offered up by the large windows.  Along with the North Rim being about 1,000 feet of elevation higher than the South Rim, about two-thirds of the Canyon is on the north side of the Colorado River, so the views are different than from the south.  While part of the Canyon was getting a bit of cloudy rain, much of the rest of it was alight with rocky reds and golds highlighted by the setting sun.

We walked around a bit after dinner, listened to an interesting ranger presentation about the Colorado River, and arranged for the hotel shuttle to take us to the North Kaibab Trailhead in the morning at 5:30am.  We repacked out rucksacks and got to bed in anticipation of the early start.  After all the traveling, we were ready for hiking.

Next up in Part 2: We walk down the 14-mile North Kaibab Trail, braving the heat and enjoying a detour to Ribbon Falls, before finally arriving at the shaded oasis of Phantom Ranch after eight hours of hiking.