I’d been to this canyon many times before. Across my 9 years living in Arizona, I’d managed to make the trip down to the Colorado River 5 times. It’s not too far – several miles down Bright Angel gets you your first access to take off your shoes and dip your feet into the edge of this roaring river. A mile traverse along its length gets you to South Kaibab trail, at which point you can turn right and head back up to the ridge.
The ascent from there – well, it’s only 7 miles. The problem is that it’s also 5,000 ft of elevation gain.
No matter, the views are there to keep you company and set your soul afire if ever you start to feel discouraged.
Fun question, though: What if, instead of turning right, I turned left?
Left – on North Kaibab.
It would be a significantly longer trek. It would include more elevation gain. And, it would take me up on a journey to the North Rim.
The North Rim of The Grand Canyon
It had always remained a mystery to me. I mean, I could see it clearly while standing on the South Rim. 20 miles as the crow flies. Only 20 miles for the light to reach my eyes.
Yes, I could see it.
But to experience it… To be there, standing with its ground beneath my feet. That would be something else entirely.
To get there, though, I’d have to answer to a couple challenges, because while the North Rim may only be 20 miles as the crow flies, I did not happen to be a crow.
That left me with two options:
- I could drive the long drive around to the North Rim, and that drive would involve hundreds of miles due to the size of this majestic ditch.
- I could cross the canyon by foot.
The problem with the first is that a drive of that length to achieve a location that I could see quite easily from where I stood… well that just didn’t resonate with me. Actually, I’d say that I rather hated the idea.
The problem with the second is two-fold:
- I could cross the canyon in a day, but I would still have the problem of driving a couple hundred miles back around. This would be compounded with the fact that I wouldn’t have a car once I got there.
- I could cross the canyon and then cross back as most individuals do – camping in the canyon. This would make the 50 mile journey more reasonable (by the logic of most individuals) because of the shorter distances and less elevation each day. But this would create two new problems:
- Getting campground reservations in the Grand Canyon – something that would take time and patience that I just don’t have
- Carrying a heavy pack – something I could do as I have done many times before… but was this really necessary?
As you can see from the way I thought through this predicament, there really was no other option than the one that I settled on:
I would do a double crossing of the canyon all in one day:
- no heavy pack would be required
- no permits or reservations would be required
- plus, I didn’t have to take off work or plan out far in advance for a single day adventure
You see, the logic led to an easy answer.
Now, all I had to do was get my legs to cross back and forth. A 50 mile trek. One with 11,000 feet of elevation gain.
I’ve considered myself an ultrarunner for a few years now. Although, if you ask the ultrarunning community, I’m not sure I quite fit their standards.
In the past years, I’ve ran a few 50 kilometer races (each about 34+/- 2 miles puts me in the “ultra – above 26.2 miles” category).
But considering that ultramarathons now regularly reach into the 100 mile and up category, running a mere 34 miles isn’t all that impressive (to a true ultra-runner).
Of course, none of this musing on what defines an ultra-runner actually means anything. I’ve found that comparison to others doesn’t actually make for much happiness or productivity in life.
Rather, what I’ve found to be most important in life is the following:
Take a look at where you are, and take a look at where you want to go. Then take action to make up the difference.
As for me… I’d been running these longer distances for some time now, although I had yet to achieve something as big as this Rim to Rim to Rim adventure would entail.
That meant it was a nice reach goal for me. A big goal, involving 50 miles back and forth across this Natural Wonder of The World.
How exciting is that!!
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At this point, you might be wondering how anyone gets to a place where running 50 miles across the Grand Canyon is just a bit of a reach goal.
It befuddles me a bit to, because here’s the interesting thing…
Once upon a time, I was by no means “a runner.” Back in my days of organized sports, I was that kid at soccer practice that would get out of running (sorry coach, my knee just hurts so bad today). That was when I was supposed to run 3 miles.
Once organized sports ended (when I went off to college) I needed something to stay active, so I picked up running. The crazy thing is I found that, once I consistently went for runs, I actually seriously enjoyed them!
That being said, I was careful to keep running a small part of my life and to not make it a competition. I was aware of my past hatred of running and I didn’t want to ruin this newfound joy of running by getting competitive.
That changed when I got talked into running a half marathon… and then crushed the goal I had set for myself.
It wasn’t long before the 50k races came to my attention. And it was all-too-easy for me to become full of stoke to take them on.
There’s another important piece to this story worth understanding: I’m a child of the great outdoors. Raised in a little mountain town, there are not many other options than to live life outside.
“Going hiking” isn’t necessarily an organized activity. It’s just what you end up doing with your friends when you’re bored on a Tuesday afternoon. You go walking, and before you know it you’re miles out on a trail.
I didn’t recognize what a blessing this was until I was settled into life in a city. In those parts, going for a hike could be a big deal, and it’s not what all individuals opted for.
But for me, I had to keep hiking a routine part of my life. It wasn’t so much a choice as an internal drive that I had to follow (or pay the depressed consequences).
So, while I did my best to live my city life in Tempe, AZ, I also made it a point to ensure that I was out on the trails as often as I could.
Hiking out on the trails. Running in the city.
Becoming an ultra-runner, wherein most races take place out on trail systems – well that was the natural progression for me.
I had built up my skills as a runner in the streets of Tempe.
All-the-while, the great outdoors called to me.
The day I started ultra-running I never looked back the the city streets again. I had found my calling.
The trails – out where I could run mile upon mile, hour after hour.
I was home.
My first few times in the Grand Canyon, I was by no means a trail runner. I was very much established in my city running and trail hiking phase, and the two would not collide as one for a few years.
So to me, in those days, the 17 mile, 5,000 ft. of gain South Rim loop was a big endeavor, one that I relished in accomplishing each time I took it on.
It must’ve been around 2016 and my 4th(ish) trip to the Grand Canyon that I opened my eyes to the option to continue on to the North Rim. That was the time I was training for my first 50k. That was the time my eyes were opened to a world in which people “ran” these previously defined as “crazy” distances.
50 miles across and back again (42 if I took the shorter trail on the South Side).
That didn’t sound impossible.
In fact, it sounded very possible. Now it was just a matter of actually getting myself to do it. That is, I had to figure out how I could get myself to run to and from the North Rim (and to do it safely).
People like to tell me I’m crazy when I tell them how far I run.
Crazy – when something happens that is outside of the field of one’s current perspective.
For most people, taking off to take on 50 miles in the Grand Canyon has never crossed into their realm of possibilities.
However, for me, the decision to run rim to rim to rim was a natural progression.
I had put in the miles running over the years.
I had spent plenty of time out in the great outdoors learning to navigate and stay safe on the trails.
Spending a day committing to 50 miles on the hot, sunny, and rugged terrain – covering miles by the dozens while climbing 11,000 feet…
It was something that was far out of my comfort zone. But something that I felt ready for.
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Not everyone would follow my same logic in regard to the best way to access the North Rim.
Most others would just drive there.
Many others would pick the backpacking route.
And then there are the few that choose to run the whole thing in a day.
As for your best route?
Well, that’s for you to decide. It’s a decision that’s based on your own lived experience, and yours alone.
And, as you do, I recommend the following:
- Take a good look at where you are
- Take a look at what could be possible
- Ask yourself what it would take to get you there
- Go out and do it
If you follow along with this process, what you’ll find is a natural path that leads you forward to bigger and grander adventures through life.
And what you’ll find, if you do it right, is the path that leads you forward – it’s one that is all your own.
One to cherish.
One to learn from.
One to move forward from into bigger and crazier adventures.
Oh! You might be wondering about the trek itself. Yea, that one where I travelled back and forth across the Grand Canyon?
It was spectacular!
As for the report… I might get around to writing it. For now, here are some snapshots of the highlights:
