Grand Canyon - Rim to Rim to Rim

Not sure where to start.. what an experience emotionally, mentally and physically but I’ll express my thoughts as they come. Bed by 9pm the night before for a 2am wake up call. Woke up just about every hour thinking it was time. It wasn’t until 3:40am when we left our parked cars .75 of a mile to start the run.

Part I: The Unknown (South Khaibab - Phantom Ranch):
The first segment of the run was from South Khaibab Trailhead to Phantom Ranch. Started as a group but within minutes we began separating with Nancy leading the pack, Grant behind her, then myself and the boys behind him. As it was pitch black out, my body and mind couldn’t tell what I was running through. I knew I had to be conservative in the beginning to preserve as much energy as possible and that’s exactly what I did. When the first sunlight hit the canyon; I could finally see what I was running.. Any photo taken couldn’t give the Canyon justice. My Dad, Austin, Tim, Ted and I stuck together for most of the second half of the section focusing on feeling great by the time we reached the Colorado River which was a success. Caught up to Seb and Mike after crossing the Colorado River bridge. Made the first section without any issues.

Part II: The Wave (Phantom Ranch - Manzanita):
Morale was high when we (Dad, Austin, Mike, Seb, Ted & Tim) reached Phantom Ranch.. No Grant to be seen, he was ahead on his own. Took about 5 - 10 minutes to restock and take in calories. The next strategy was to power hike the ups and jog the downs as it was a gradual incline to Manzanita (~7 miles). From the beginning to about the middle of the segment I couldn’t focus mentally or physically, just wasn’t in it. There was a point where I was on the verge of vomiting.. My throat began to close, I could feel the saliva buildup which created my mind to race with unnecessary thoughts. I couldn’t let myself down with the amount of time, effort, money and dedication I had put into this exact moment. Luckily, I pulled myself together and eventually the nausea passed within minutes and I was back on track. Knowing that I had to take it one step at a time, I set my reaching goal to focus on getting to the North Rim. At mile around mile 12 we reached a stream crossing which forced us to take our shoes off and walk through it. This was an exceptional form of recover therapy for our feet relieving any pains or tensions. Reaching Cottonwood campground (stop before Manzanita) there were toilets which allowed Mike and I to lessen some weight. Caught up to My Dad, Matt and Seb at Manzanita where once again we filled up, refueled and took a brief break. Grant and Austin were ahead of us still.

Part III: Sharing is Caring (Manzanita – North Rim – and Back):
Dad, Matt, Seb, Mike and I took off from Manzanita around 10:30 am.. The sun had reached the inside canyon and it was on full blast. The only real shade available was between the ridges which never lasted long enough. Within a mile of the climb my dad decided to conserve his energy and informed us to go ahead if we preferred. Mike and I stuck with him while Matt and Seb pushed onward into the climb. As we kept weaving in and out of the canyon ridge facing the beating sun, I was able to zone out completely and continue to move.. Constantly telling myself “just make it to half way, just make it to half way”. Little less than half way up, we decided to take a break in the shade to slow our heart rates and consume some calories. This was a smart move because I began to mentally fatigue. The slick rock in the shade was cool to the touch and it was relieving on the back of my hamstrings which were a bit tight. After munching down on my 5th Bobo bar and some beef jerky, we marched onward into the sun. Slowly but surely, we made each step count climbing up what felt like thousands of stairs. About 2 miles from the top, Nancy came trudging down with a bright smile on her face content as could be. Said our hellos and goodbyes and the climb continued for another 30 minutes until I noticed my Dad looking like shit. I asked if he was alright and he informed me that he was dehydrated and was just focusing on moving slow as well as keeping his heartrate down. He told me it was in the 150s and Mike’s was in the 160’s, I looked at my watch and it was in the 90’s.. I was shocked. I asked him the first time if he wanted my 700ml flask of water, but he declined until finally I just threw it at him because I could tell in his eyes that he was not in a good place. Dad stayed back to rest a minute, but Mike and I kept moving forward. Those last 2 miles to the top of the North Rim felt like forever. As we began to get closer, we saw Ted coming down asking if we had any TUMS as he was having stomach issues. We said no and asked how much longer we had, we said 15 minutes, so we were stoked (John ended up giving him Alka-Seltzer later which revived Ted according to what he told me). Not too long after we see Micayla making her way down as well. She said she had to keep moving so we waved and kept pushing. Finally, after what felt like hours, we regrouped and met with Grant, Austin, Seb and Matt all at the top. It was great to see the boys in good spirits after a hell of a climb. As our water supply was low and the water source turned off at the North Rim, we were forced to fill our bladders with snow from the ground. It’s been 3 days and luckily I haven’t shit myself so the risk was worth it.. 10 minutes later Papa showed up and shortly after Amy was there. She had been slow and steady behind us all day going very strong. Papa took no time off and started to head down once he relieved himself in the restroom and filled up his bladder with snow as well. The boys and I left after a little rest. Back down we went, the same way we came up. This downhill was slow and steady for me as I began to get aggravation in my lower back as well as dehydration creeping in. Passed Amy and Papa not too far down and stuck with Mike, Grant, and Matt for most of it as Austin and Seb were hauling ass. Took an Advil from Matt a little over halfway down which seemed to help relive the back pain and was able to jog down a couple of sections. Ended up passing Micayla again very close to the water station. When we all reached Manzanit, Austin was bathing in the water spicket as we all did because the cool water felt so damn good on our heads. I asked what got Austin to run so fast and he told me he didn’t have any water so the faster he finished, the faster he could get to the water.. Seems logical. We enjoyed the oasis, refueled once again, and mentally prepared ourselves for the trek to Phantom Ranch.
 
Part IV: Inner Boundaries (Manzanita – Phantom Ranch):
If there was a perfect running section, this was it. A gradual descent through the canyon ridge which was marvelous. Take advantage on the downs and easy on the ups. The clouds at this point provided perfect shade and allowed the breeze to feel even cooler. Morale was incredibly high as we anticipated to get our feet wet in the cold stream about 2 miles from Manzanita. When we reached the crossing, we were all in a group. After enjoying it for about 10 minutes, Papa caught us as we were leaving and Seb took the lead as pacer. What Seb, Matt and I didn’t realize was that the pace was too fast for Austin, Mike and Grant who got stuck behind us trying to keep up in result wasting their energy and dehydrating themselves. Despite that, Seb, Matt, and I were all motivated to get to Phantom Ranch before it closed at 4pm. At one point we hit the fastest mile of the day at 10:14 at mile 37. All we could think about was the ice-cold Lemonade which everyone kept talking about and that damn beer to take off the edge. Each corner we would tell ourselves “This is it!” but after each corner it never was until it finally was. At the last ½ mile or so, Matt took off and left Seb and I in the dust and shortly after Grant managed to meet us right at the end. Once Phantom Ranch was reached we went straight into the general store where my dad caught us. Papa and I got each a beer, bag of chips, and an Arny Palmy (ice tea with lemonade). As Matt, Grant, Seb, and I sat down at the long table, Papa informed us that Mike had blown up as well as Austin while trying to keep up with us where he made the point to follow our individual bodies and to not push ourselves out of our own limits. Despite the risk however both Mike and Austin made the cutoff time of 4pm to get some drinks and chips. Amy and Mikayla were right behind as usual arriving around 4:10pm.

Part V: If There’s a Will, There’s a Way (Phantom Ranch – South Rim):
After we regrouped and finished resupplying, Papa got a head start and so did Mike. Shortly before leaving, Mike came back saying he needed to immediately take a shit. At this point, Grant’s stomach wasn’t feeling well so he told to leave without him and that he would hike with Mike instead. At this point, Seb, Matt, Austin and I began walking until Mike caught back up to us saying the toilets were locked. This forced Mike to take a shit in the bushes not far off the trail. Amy and Mikayla passed us once again and I asked her if they had seen Grant but they informed us that he went looking for Mike. Immediately I went back to Phantom Ranch screaming Grant’s name and asking random people if they had seen a kid with his shirt off and a water pack walking around, no one had seen him. Telling this to the group, Matt and Seb decided to go look for him as well but came back saying they couldn’t find him either. We thought he had taken the trail parallel to the one we were on and that he was ahead of us.. Right before we decided to keep going he popped up on the trail behind us and we were fortunate to regroup. He told us he had thrown up and shit his brains out because of everything he ingested: Lara Bar, Lemonade, Iced Tea, Beer, 200mg of Caffeine, and Advil. As we kept moving Grant was sluggish behind. After crossing the bridge to get over the Colorado River the boys (Mike, Austin, Seb, and Matt) were a bit ahead of Grant. I knew Grant was not doing so well. It felt like Grant would have to take a break after every step he made and use his poles to support him up as he rested. With each step Grant took, the further away the boys got. Within minutes the boys were far ahead, and it was just Grant and I less than a mile from the Colorado River after 30 minutes and moving forward. This is when things really began to slow down for us. From about a half a mile up, the boys noticed Grant and I below and screamed if we were okay.. I was but Grant most definitely was not. I informed the boys to keep on going and I would make sure to stick with Grant. A little further up Grant wasn’t making any progress. He looked terrible and I knew the situation wouldn’t improve unless we took the right actions. This is when I told Grant to lay down on the side of the trail and take a 15-minute nap, within seconds he used his shirt as a sheet to separate him and the dirt and laid down moving onto his stomach. I sat there without saying a word allowing the kid to sleep. Mike screamed from above if I needed S-Caps which he gave to a couple hiking down who were nice enough to hand them to me when we met. After Grant’s nap, he was still in a downer but looked better than before.. I knew the kid was severely malnourished and dehydrated so I reminded him to try to drink and take in calories. Despite everything I think what truly brought him back to life was a veteran Grand Canyon hiker, Mary. She had hiked from the South Rim to Phantom ranch 118 times.. She also provided Grant with apple sauce and peanut butter crackers which brought Grant back from the dead. As he sipped the apple juice my watch had chimed a mile time of 43 minutes. Doing the math in my head, this would of meant that we wouldn’t finish until 12am and I couldn’t bare to think of that. In a non-aggressive way I told Grant that if we expected to finish this death march, we would need to pick up our pace. Grant responded calm and collected with “just give me a little time to recover”. 40+ minutes, turned into 30+ minutes, 30+ minutes turned into 20+ minutes. We would take a break whenever he felt he needed it. We also took breaks to enjoy the glorious scenery of the canyon which had a purple/violet hue due to the sun’s reflection during sunset. At the 3.5 mile marker, Grant and I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. This is when we took the climb seriously averaging 22-minute miles. The sun began to block out the view around us and everything became mental. Right before the darkest part of the night, we had caught Tim who was said to us “I can’t see shit!” so I handed him my flashlight and I continued marching forward with Grant. At this point I was following his headlamp until he picked up the pace faster than I could keep up.. This prompted me to grab my phone and use the camera light to keep me from falling off the ridge due to the 20+ MPH winds and dust that kept whipping us in the face. Grant and I knew that the end was close when we had reached the switchbacks.. Right before, Grant screamed “FUCK!” from the fuckery that was occurring around us. Once we reached the switchbacks, I pushed ahead of Grant as I couldn’t take the whipping wind and dust in my face any longer.. Within minutes I was welcome to the top of the South Rim by a fellow R2R2R runner (not from our group) beaming his headlamp in my face which I responded to putting my flashlight in his face until he aimed it elsewhere. Seconds later, Grant in a pissed mood made it to the top not realizing it was the parking lot. Boy was he happy.. I told him to stay put as I went to get the van. Shout of to Garmin for allowing me to see the route I had already ran which made finding the van a breeze. After everything was said and done, I grabbed the van, headed to the parking lot and picked up Grant who was near the bathrooms with the couple that had finished hours before us. They were waiting in the warm bathroom for their friends who they ran with because the friends had the car keys. Word of advice leave the keys on the car tire so shit like that doesn’t happen in dire situations. I asked Grant where Tim was and he told me that Tim told him, “I’ve walked this far, I’ll just continue walking”. Shortly after we saw Tim in the middle of the road waving us down, he had no clue it was Grant and I. He got in the van, and I dropped Tim and Grant off.

Part VI: Finale (McDonald’s):
Everything was closed for dinner except McDonald's. Tim, Ted, Mikayla, Grant, Austin, Seb, Mike and I all packed the van and headed to McDonalds to celebrate our finish. I ordered a Peanut Butter – M&M – Oreo McFlurry, Big Mac, 6 McNuggets, fries and a coke for dinner. That shit was the bomb... After everything was said and done, I passed TF out at 11:30pm…
David Green Amy Costa Matt Gaide Michael DellaPorta Nancy Levene Bob Wall Bob Becker