Barefoot (again) at Grand Canyon

Last weekend (Oct. 10) I had the good fortune to get another opportunity to hike across the Grand Canyon. (I did it once before in Oct. 2012, but in two days.)

The weather was beautifully mild (which is important in terms of how hot--or cold--the trail surface gets), and I had a great time going down the South Kaibab and up the North Kaibab trails in 12 hours 20 minutes (5:04 am to 5:24 pm) . . . which I like to think is the FKT (Fastest Known Time) for a barefoot grandmother crossing the canyon :)

Perhaps the best part was how good I felt afterward . . . good enough to hike back down (this time with my backpack) two days later for an overnight at Bright Angel Campground. (Disclaimer: for that adventure, I wore sandals the first 1.5 miles down, and the first 2 miles back up, and then went barefoot the rest of each way down and up the 9-mile Bright Angel Trail, after I realized my feet were OK with the extra pack weight.)

Each time I'm on these trails, shoeless, I get all kinds of questions and comments; I've boiled my response down to a smile and/or "It's fun." Then . . . if folks want more details . . . I'm happy to stop and give a more in-depth reply to specifics. Otherwise . . . I just keep trekkin' on . . .

Here's some more words and photos at my blog: https://theagavin.wordpress.com/2015/10/16/r2r-fkt-bf/