I added hiking rim to rim in Grand Canyon National Park to my bucket list a few years ago. I had joined a postcard exchange program in collage and one of the most coveted postcards was one sent from the bottom of the Grand Canyon. So, unlike the reason most people want to do rim to rim, the main reason for me was sending a postcard mailed by mule from Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. We tried to plan the rim to rim trip two times, but failed for different reasons. Typically, people hiked from North Rim to South Rim (or vice versa) and take a four and a half hour trans-canyon shuttle back. After the COVID-19 pandemic, we started to consider the possibility to do a rim to rim to rim ( R2R2R) since we didn't feel safe taking the shuttle bus. It would also mean we could hike all three primary Grand Canyon National park corridors: Bright Angel, South Kaibab, and North Kaibab in one trip. After much deliberation and planning, we finally secured our two night camp spot at the end of November ten days before our departure day.
Below is the itinerary we used to apply for the permit and would eventually complete:
Day 1 (11/28/2020): Bright Angel Trailhead-> South Kaibab Trailhead(via Rim Trail)-> Phantom Ranch-> Cottonwood Campground (via North Kaibab Trail)
Day 2 (11/29/2020): Cottonwood Campground-> North Kaibab Trailhead-> Cottonwood Campground
Day 3 (11/30/2020): Cottonwood Campground-> Phantom Ranch-> Bright Angel Trailhead
The ranger approved our plans but added the following comment: "aggressive plan to reach the cottonwood campground on the first day".
Day 1:
We camped in KOA Grand Canyon/ Williams the night before our hike and barely got any sleep because the temperature dipped to 22F/-6C at night. We always wondered when the temperature would be too cold for camping; I guesses we finally found the answer in a unpleasant way. We woke up before our 5 o'clock alarm, and for the very first time I couldn't wait to get out of my sleeping bag. On our 55 minutes drive to the Grand Canyon, we ate croissants that we bought from Las Vegas the day before. Under sub 32F temperatures, the croissant tasted like its main ingredient: butter.
We parked our car at Parking Lot D, right next to the backcountry information center, and started our three day adventure at 7:15 AM. We didn't take the free shuttle from the lot to South Kaibab Trailhead, but hiked the Rim Trail instead. On the Rim Trail, we saw the canyon for the very first time, and the enormity was mind-boggling. As promised, the canyon did look grand. As I surveyed the great abyss, I felt dwarfed and intimidated. I couldn't stop all the negative thoughts like: was our plan was too ambitious or could I drag myself back to the south rim three days later. At one point, I even questioned why we were skipping our thanksgiving meal and instead planned to eat dehydrated food on the bottom of the canyon.
My anxiety grew after the decent on South Kaibab Trail. The trail was marked with signs to remind hikers about the danger of hiking below the rim. One sign read "Down is optional, Up is mandatory.". The other one had a picture of a sun-burned hiker projectile vomiting. William, haunted by the ranger's comment, tried to keep our pace above 3 miles per hour. In order to keep up with him, I put my worries and thoughts aside and focused on one thing, descend. The South Kaibab Trail provides some of the most expansive views on the entire hike. You can see miles of ridges, temples and buttes bathed in the autumn sun. Every few steps down, the rock changed shade or texture, even the dirt on the trail changed color: sand beige, copper brown, rust red, and sage green. Right after Skeleton Point, we had our first glance of the emerald green Colorado River. Although we were still miles away from it, it did give us a jolt of joy. We encountered a mule train coming up from Phantom Ranch carrying supplies. I was amazed by the handler's ability to control 6 mules at once. We were passed by a group of three hikers played tag as they racing down the trail. With the playground game, they made their decent really fun. Considering the ability difference between me and William, I probably would be "it" forever. The Colorado River served as a carrot and we managed to pick up the pace. Before we knew it, we reached the tunnel leading to the Kaibab Trail Suspension bridge (Black Bridge). Later, after seeing old historical pictures of what river crossing used to be, with precarious cableway, I was very thankful that we had a reliable bridge to cross the river.
Soon after the river crossing, we reached Phantom Ranch and had a short hour long lunch break there. We bought lemonade with ice and postcards pre-stamped with "Mailed by mule at the bottom of the Grand Canyon". Enjoying the cold lemonade in this off-grid place felt magical. We also refilled our water bladders since we found out at Bright Angel Campground that there was no potable water on the entire North Kaibab trail due to a pipeline break.
After leaving the ranch, we followed the trail which narrowed as it twisted through the gorge. Bright Angel Creek incised into rock layers of pink Zoroaster granite and black Vishnu schist. I sometimes feel time slows to a creep when I hike, especially during long hikes that test my endurance. As we mender through the towering rock dating back 1.8 billion years, I just realized how rapidly I traveled back in geologic time during the decent from the South Rim to the Colorado river. As we gained elevation, the view widened and the surrounding meadows were filled with desert scrub and scattered with cactuses like prickly pear, hedgehog, and beavertail. The Utah agave had towering flower stalks (~15 feet) that amazed me.
We arrived at Cottonwood Campground around 4 PM after 8.5 hours of hiking. We were exhausted from our exertion but elated because we made it to the campsite before sunset. The campground lies along the North Kaibab trail and consists of 11 small sites (1- 6 people) and 1 group sites. Three sites were occupied when we arrived. We chose campground #6 because it offered the best privacy and shade. Drinking water was only available from mid-May to mid-October so we knew to bring a water filter and find water. We were thankful that there was a trail from the back of our campsite that lead to the Bright Angel Creek which made it easier to access a water source.
Day 2:
After a good night of sleep, we left most of our gear in the campground and proceeded on a day hike to North Rim. We started our hike at 8 AM.
We saw Roaring Springs Waterfall on our right. Water gushed out of a hole in the towering cliff walls. The small pump house hanging on the canyon walls is visible if you zoom in. The Roaring Springs provides potable water for the South Rim and Cross Canyon Corridor. It was a surprise to me that the Colorado River provides water to nearly 40 million people but not to the Grand Canyon National Park it passes through. The trail continues by cutting through redwall limestone formations and the whole canyon glowed rust red in the morning sun. The trail became narrower here with sheer red rock on one side and cliff on the other. All of the sudden, we saw Redwall Bridge below us. After 0.6 miles and numerous switch backs, we passed through the 20 foot long Supai Tunnel. As we continued our way up, the forest became denser with lush green ponderosa pines and red maple trees. We reached North Kaibab Trailhead at around 11AM.
Our original plan was to hike another 0.9 mile to the Bright Angel Point and to see the canyon from a different perspective. However, after walking a quarter mile on an icy trail, we saw a wooden sign: trail closed due to winter conservation. So we decided to turn around and head back to the Cottonwood Campground. On the way back to trailhead, we met a couple with their dog asking direction to see the canyon. They told us that they put Grand Canyon into google search and the GPS kept leading them to North Rim Campground. Originally, we suggested them to go to Coconino Overlook but soon remembered dogs are not allowed on North Kaibab Trail. Without any better suggestion, we saw them leave frustrated. I really hope they eventually saw the canyon. After finishing our hike at 2:17 PM, we spent the rest of the day writing postcards, wandering around the campground, and rinsing salt from our bodies in the frigid Bright Angel Creek.
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| Roaring Springs Waterfall |
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| Redwall Bridge |
Day 3:
We arose as planned at 5 AM for our 18 mile hike out. In my opinion, it was the most challenging day in this backpacking trip because it would be a long and continuous uphill hike with heavy backpacks, and we would have to do this with the accumulated fatigue from previous days. How we made the day more strenuous by driving 7 hours home after the hike was another story. We packed our tent, ate oatmeal for breakfast and headed out at 6:30 before dusk.
The first part of hike was a mild downhill. We spotted distant flashes of light from the South Rim. It seemed really far and it was hard to believe we'll be there by this afternoon. Although we passed this section two days ago, the difference in light settings and perspectives still amazed us as we wound our way down through gorges and passed the bridges across Bright Angle Creek. By 9 AM, we reached Phantom Ranch, and the mule train had arrived. I put our postcards into an ammo canister which they used as a mailbox and felt a bit jealous that the cards would have a mule ride up to the south rim. After leaving the ranch, we walked through Bright Angle Campground and crossed the silver suspension bridge. We stayed in the middle and looked at the river flowing beneath us.
After crossing the river, we walked on the sand dunes along the south bank of the Colorado River for the next 1.5 miles. We enjoyed the view of boulders on turquoise water and imagined the river runners shooting around the bend in the summer. Upon arriving at River Resthouse, we took the last glance and said goodbye to the Colorado River. As we hiked up the Bright Angel Trail along the pipe creek, William's keen eyes spotted a female desert bighorn sheep on the top of sandstone. The fur of bighorn sheep serves as a perfect camouflage among the buttes and bushes. Then we entered a section with a notorious name: Devil's Corkscrew. It is named because of grueling summer temperature and serious of switchbacks resembling the corkscrew. In the summer, the temperature here can sometimes reach 130F/54C in the afternoon. Nonetheless, with temperature around 55F/12C, we adored the peaceful autumn scene, the yellow cottonwood leaves sparkled under the sun against a backdrop of gray black towering schist. Occasionally, we saw the mule deers grazing close to the trail. The peaceful scenery was suddenly interrupted as a runner emerged from the cottonwood trees and ran swiftly towards us. When we realized the runner was Jim Walmsley, America's best male ultra-runner, he already passed us with unbreaking pace. He broke the record for Western state 100-miles in back-to-back years (2018 & 2019) and holds the fastest known time (5:55:20 in 2016) for R2R2R. Seeing Jim Walmsley invigorated us like receiving a adrenaline boost as we labored our way up. We had a brief stop for water in Cottonwood Campground, and reached the 3 mile Resthouse around 1PM.
For the last three miles, the trail was along a vertical wall with precipitous switchbacks. My glutes, hamstring and calf muscles started screaming for a break. It felt like hitting the wall at mile 20 in a marathon. I periodically looked back for a sense of accomplishment, and told my muscles " you guys have come this far, don't give up!". After the 1.5 mile Resthouse, the number of people on the trail increased dramatically, which reassure me that the trailhead was really close. After passing the last two tunnels akin to the last 800m and 400m markers in the marathon, we finally saw the finish line, the trailhead. We stood happily next to the Bright Angle Trailhead and looked back out the great distance that we had just hiked.
The R2R2R is truly an arduous journey and an epic adventure.
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