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True. And we have folks driving supplies to the north rim for our layover. So the only stuff we need to pack is what we need for the hike.
It was my first time there, and we drove in from Vegas (great place to fly in and out of - we planned an extra day or 2 there at the end to unwind!) and arrived late at night. Our trip planning guy, without telling us, had reserved us a room at one of the inns at the edge of the canyon with a canyon facing view. What a spectacular sight to wake up to that view!
My BIL and nephew did it a year ago, and they said it was absolutely awesome. If I hear any advice from them, I'll pass it along.
Nice. Have never hiked down there but sure it will be pretty spectacular.
Thanks for the tips. Given your interests, looks like you are well-versed in this area. On the hat, I'm thinking I'll need a 360-brim, lightweight with a sweatband. Do you have any recs?
Not a hiker at all. Needless to say, I'm pretty nervous about the challenge. Started training in February, but free time is limited. I try to do one long hike (walk) a week. Most recent one was 16-miles with lots of hills (we were out of town). Otherwise, Houston is flat so my long hikes (walks) have little in the way of inclines. On the other days of the week, I've been alternating between cardio for general fitness and incline training. Yesterday I did 200 floors of stairs and my calves are killing me. I also do treadmill work on max incline. Still, I feel like it's not enough. I have really no hiking experience at all. What did your training program look like? Did you train with your trekking poles? I haven't done that yet. As for water, as mentioned above, I have a 3 liter Camelbak. I'll also be bringing an empty 36 ounce bottle that I use to mix with powdered Gatorade at a couple of the water stops. Thankfully, one of the guys in our trip has mapped out all the stops for us and where the water locations are, so we should be able to plan accordingly. Unfortunately, he won't be with me as he's super-fit and will probably complete the rim to rim hike in around 7 hours, while I'm looking at about 12 hours. I'll be doing the hike with my wife, also a first timer (but who has been training longer than I have).
Yeah, as if this hike wasn't already a nightmare, we're doing it twice. South to North on day one and North to South on day three.
Yeah, I did a search and nothing came up. Bummer. That would have been a good read.
Six miles in at the moment. Will respond more later. Appreciate the concern and advice.I gotta head out now but I will try to add to this later. You better be hiking something today
Riding the mule is far more enjoyable. Plus you get a steak dinner at the Phantom Ranch lodge.I know people do it, and it's quite an accomplishment, but hiking rim-to-rim in one day doesn't sound very enjoyable to me.
You'll be fine. They can airlift you out for about 5 grand.
I think your price is a little low. A guide I ran into said $12 grand.Riding the mule is far more enjoyable. Plus you get a steak dinner at the Phantom Ranch lodge.I know people do it, and it's quite an accomplishment, but hiking rim-to-rim in one day doesn't sound very enjoyable to me.
You'll be fine. They can airlift you out for about 5 grand.
I was just going to chime in with a Brady bunch joke and to make sure you are using poles, but your plan is too aggressive. You should do one direction and slow way down.
Whether 5 grand or 12, if I break an ankle, that'll be the cost I guess. Never been in a helicopter before, so there will at least be some upside.Riding the mule is far more enjoyable. Plus you get a steak dinner at the Phantom Ranch lodge.I know people do it, and it's quite an accomplishment, but hiking rim-to-rim in one day doesn't sound very enjoyable to me.
You'll be fine. They can airlift you out for about 5 grand.
Cooling band sounds like a great idea. Will look into that. Good point on the toenails. A friend who has done the hike several times lost nails on his first trip. It was due to the downhill hike when his feet were sliding forward and his toes were hitting the front of his shoes. My hiking shoes are a size up from my normal shoes and I lace them tight so my feet don't slide forward. Haven't had any problems and I've done some fairly steep downhills.
I was thinking the same thing. I did this hike years ago. I trained very hard for six month with varying level/ distances and it still kicked my butt. Do not under estimate the amount of evevation both up and down you are attempting. Your body will be sore from the downhill portion as much as the up hill. Do you have to do rim to rim to rim?Big Bottom- I hate to say it but I think you are asking for trouble. This is not the right hike to do if you are not much of a hiker.
Having said that if you are determined to do it you had better get to training. I had a few hikes around where I live that have good inclines and I did them religiously for months. If you dont have hills to climb I would continue with climbing the stairs a lot.
Make sure your wife is training as well. Dragging someone through the canyon is not fun and dangerous. Have you considered just doing the bright angel down and back to get a feel for it before attempting rim to rim to rim?
I believe the poster was cactus who had the Grand Canyon thread. I will try to dig it up later today.
Get fit for some good hiking boots NOW and wear them for training.
I also think there are better mixes then gatorade out there. Do you have any hiking stores near by? They would have lots of info from boots to nutrition.
Dont forget the basic safety stuff-Whistle,signal mirror,basic first aid
I gotta head out now but I will try to add to this later. You better be hiking something today
Yep, I know this is a bad idea. But I'm pot committed now. All I can do is get myself as prepared as possible. I've studied the trails and been given a detailed overview from friends who have done it multiple times. From a technical standpoint, it's not a difficult hike. Maximum grade during the ascent is like 17%. The trick will be the distance (21 miles), the heat (100+) and the ascent (just under 6,000 ft). It's going to be hell, I know it. But it's something I need to do. Something I will do. When you say you were doing hikes religiously for six months, what does that mean? Once a week? Twice a week? Every day? How long were the hikes either in distance or time? I'm basically training about 5-6 days a week right now. Did stairs for two hours yesterday (actual stairs in a stairwell). Other incline training involves stair mills at about 100 floors a pop, and treadmill work that varies from 10% incline for longer periods to 30% incline for only about 40 minutes or so (there's a 24-hour fitness by my house that has a machine that can go to 30%). Then I'm doing a long hike once a week from 12-16 miles, and will work up to longer distances as we get closer. Today was 12 miles and then I'll do incline training later this afternoon. Other days I'll just jog a 5k for cardio purposes.Big Bottom- I hate to say it but I think you are asking for trouble. This is not the right hike to do if you are not much of a hiker.
Having said that if you are determined to do it you had better get to training. I had a few hikes around where I live that have good inclines and I did them religiously for months. If you dont have hills to climb I would continue with climbing the stairs a lot.
Make sure your wife is training as well. Dragging someone through the canyon is not fun and dangerous. Have you considered just doing the bright angel down and back to get a feel for it before attempting rim to rim to rim?
I believe the poster was cactus who had the Grand Canyon thread. I will try to dig it up later today.
Get fit for some good hiking boots NOW and wear them for training.
I also think there are better mixes then gatorade out there. Do you have any hiking stores near by? They would have lots of info from boots to nutrition.
Dont forget the basic safety stuff-Whistle,signal mirror,basic first aid
I gotta head out now but I will try to add to this later. You better be hiking something today
Started my incline training and long hike this weekend with a full pack and will be using a pack from here on out.
This is a great idea and definitely in the plans. Will definitely work in a few 18-20-mile hikes with lost of inclines between now and then. Will have to drive out of town to do it, but it's doable.
Step off is scheduled for 6:30am. I'll be hiking with the "leisurely" part of the group and will be targeting a 12-hour crossing. That would put us at late afternoon for the toughest part of the ascent. Am trying out some wool socks at the moment which seem to work real well. Plan to carry three extra pairs with me to change them out as they get wet. Am advised that cotton is a no-no. In that regard, if anyone has any tips on clothing, please let me know. In particular, I'm debating what I should wear under my shorts.
the "level" parts still have up and down hills. They are fairly busy trials so you will send others along the trail. Go at your own pace, take breaks, drink a lot of water. Don't forget to eat though out even if you don't feel hungry (I didn't but I forced myself to eat). Bring mole skin for you feet, just in case. Get good socks, and make sure your shoes are broken in....make sure you do some 20+ mile hikes so you are mentally ready. I did a bunch of super steep hikes in my training routine (I am an as guy so there were tons of options for me).take pictures for us, and good luck.
Thanks! Slow and steady is the plan. Our friends who have done this before assure us that it's doable.
Thanks. Have noted all of your tips. Will make sure to carve out time for a few 20+ mile hikes.
Re boots: I hope what you got were 1/2-1 size larger than your usual size. That will help with the toenails. Also, I agree with everyone that breaking them in is important, but don't use them too much or you'll wear off too much of the tread, which won't be fun on the down parts.
Excellent--I see you did get larger-than-usual-size shoes. On the down side, please be careful with the tread. Given that you're not doing a lot of elevation gain/loss outdoors, maybe you're not wearing them out too much. On the types of hikes we do here, I'm going through shoes about every 250-300 miles, but that's with some really tough wear.Yep, I know this is a bad idea. But I'm pot committed now. All I can do is get myself as prepared as possible. I've studied the trails and been given a detailed overview from friends who have done it multiple times. From a technical standpoint, it's not a difficult hike. Maximum grade during the ascent is like 17%. The trick will be the distance (21 miles), the heat (100+) and the ascent (just under 6,000 ft). It's going to be hell, I know it. But it's something I need to do. Something I will do.When you say you were doing hikes religiously for six months, what does that mean? Once a week? Twice a week? Every day? How long were the hikes either in distance or time? I'm basically training about 5-6 days a week right now. Did stairs for two hours yesterday (actual stairs in a stairwell). Other incline training involves stair mills at about 100 floors a pop, and treadmill work that varies from 10% incline for longer periods to 30% incline for only about 40 minutes or so (there's a 24-hour fitness by my house that has a machine that can go to 30%). Then I'm doing a long hike once a week from 12-16 miles, and will work up to longer distances as we get closer. Today was 12 miles and then I'll do incline training later this afternoon. Other days I'll just jog a 5k for cardio purposes.Big Bottom- I hate to say it but I think you are asking for trouble. This is not the right hike to do if you are not much of a hiker.
Having said that if you are determined to do it you had better get to training. I had a few hikes around where I live that have good inclines and I did them religiously for months. If you dont have hills to climb I would continue with climbing the stairs a lot.
Make sure your wife is training as well. Dragging someone through the canyon is not fun and dangerous. Have you considered just doing the bright angel down and back to get a feel for it before attempting rim to rim to rim?
I believe the poster was cactus who had the Grand Canyon thread. I will try to dig it up later today.
Get fit for some good hiking boots NOW and wear them for training.
I also think there are better mixes then gatorade out there. Do you have any hiking stores near by? They would have lots of info from boots to nutrition.
Dont forget the basic safety stuff-Whistle,signal mirror,basic first aid
I gotta head out now but I will try to add to this later. You better be hiking something today
As for my wife, she's been training for months now. She has several friends who have done this every year for the last five or so years. So she's training with them.
I know this is going to be difficult. I know it's going to kick my ### and be the hardest thing I've ever done. But I know I can do it. I know I will do it. The group I'm going with has been doing this for years. And they have newbies that do it with them every year. There is another couple who are first timers as well. I did a training session with the group already and was more than able to hold my own. So I know this is doable from a physical standpoint. Mental may be a different story.
The hiking boots I have now are working great so far. I've put a 100+ miles on them and will break them in a bunch more in the next 2+ months. Will definitely look more into the electrolyte mixes for the water bottle. We have plenty of hiking and outdoor stores in the area. Thanks for the advice.
Had first aid kit on my pack list, but didn't think about safety whistle or signal mirror. Will add those as well.
Please keep the advice coming. I really appreciate it. My goal is to be back here posting in June, so I'll take whatever advice I can to survive the trip and make it out alive.
The three things that changed our hiking lives, in the order we discovered them: (1) good trekking poles, (2) non-cotton, moisture-wicking underwear, and (3) toe socks. So as to the question above about cotton, absolutely stay away in anything you're wearing. For every bit of clothing you take, there are some great materials that are not only moisture wicking but are anti-microbial and contain sunscreen. Make sure your shirts and shorts/pants have a high SPF in them as well.
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