North Rim to Phantom Ranch, a detour to cross two bridges and back.. Most distance covered on foot ever!
Choosing to do something hard with rewards every step of the way is an amazing feeling. This is the my first attempt at running an ultra distance in the trails. 33 miles (53km) in 11 hours. That includes our breaks and stopping for pictures.
It was breathtaking to run down into the canyon and immediately get a view of a life time. The mountains were so overwhelming..... as the sun slowly peaked up over the mountains...
Here we go! North Kaibab Trail on the North Rim, challenging our personal limits as we descend 14.3 miles and 6,000 feet to the bottom of the canyon.
Everything always feels good at the beginning. No pains, no muscle aches, and no tiredness. I'll tell you, Jessica and I only had a couple hours of sleep the night before. Just like a race your nerves are going crazy and relaxation is far from you.
- Alarm off at 4:10am
- Leave Kanab at 4:45am
- Arrive at trail head, 6:30am
- Start running at 6:40am
- Temperature 21 degrees F (-6 degrees C)
Warmed up really quick and it almost felt like a waist to wear our warm clothes. We stressed about our backpack the week before knowing every ounce would feel so heavy when we were tired. Glad we ended up putting our warm clothes back on at the end, it feel more worth it. Then again it wasn't longer then an hour at the end that we needed them.
As we ran further down we crossed bridges, ran through open spaces, and through narrow walls until we hit Phantom Ranch. What a cool place. It has the feel of a youth camp with little cabins set up everywhere and a kitchen hub in the middle. It is amazing to run into anybody (which there were people everywhere) because you knew that both of you made it here...
which means you ran/hiked 14 miles in so we are gonna have to get out somehow and it's gonna be on our feet. There is an encouragement that comes with being in the Grand Canyon all together at the bottom (close friends or not) that gives you the motivation to carry on.
I ate my smashed peanut butter honey sandwiches, oranges, pretzels, and drank vitamin water. Refueled more with salt tablets and tailwind.
The crazy thing about running these adventures is the constant eating. Every half hour! Eat, eat, eat. You never have to many calories that won't be used up that day. Making sure our sugar levels and electrolytes or good so we don't bomb.
Good thing my great friend Jessica is a nurse. She was always on me about keeping my energy up.
On our way to the bridges that we have heard so much about. We got side tracked with a family of deer.
The two coolest bridges I have ever seen!
At this point our muscles were getting a bit tired but not enough to stop us from running. The downfall was my right knee was giving out on me and was hurting. I ended up taking some Ibprofen and walking until it kicked it. How annoying!
 |
| But then there was this super cool tunnel. |
 |
| Longest distance we have ever ran or hiked! |
 |
| Not finished yet! Earlier on in our run we thought we over packed with food. Now that we are more then half way we know that was not the case. The great thing about the Grand Canyon is there are water stops all along the trail with bathrooms as well. We went later in the season so only two were running but it was plenty. We may have run low on one stretch but never were all gone. |
Once we made it to our water stop at the bottom of the hill, we so freely ran down that morning, we filled water, ate, rested, and prepared for the steep long trek up.
See the very top in this picture? The very back mountains that aren't even red anymore. Yep, that is where we are headed. No turning back now.
Jessica ended up getting a ways ahead but we did end up traveling with another girl. She was with two other guys and when Jessica was no where to be seen, her and I silently keep each other going.
We passed some people about a mile or so from the top that had a tarp hanging from the mountain. Apparently they decided to stop there and camp for the night. Passing the tunnel is 1.8 miles from the top. Jessica came back down and had me put on my warm clothes and head lamp. It was starting to get dark. We ate, yet, another bar. No more bars!
Just have to make it to the top!
Yes, I would do it again!
