R2R2R 2013

I was thinking Bright Angel both ways.

I don't know why, but Bright Angel seems a little safer at night. Maybe less exposure and fewer step downs. Might also be a little easier on the knees.

Going up, definitely Bright Angel for the water stops. Another good idea is to pre-order a sack lunch from Phantom Ranch.
 
Do you know if they have vegetarian options? I was panning on making some bean quinoa hummus wraps so maybe I'll just stick with those. I'm thinking about only taking one hand held and a smaller camelbak, I figure I can fill up with water every 5-10 miles and it may be more beneficial to keep the weight down.

Also it looks like BF in AZ may be coming as well.
 
Do you know if they have vegetarian options?.

From the Phantom Ranch website:

Phantom Ranch Canteen

Located at Phantom Ranch, the Canteen offers hearty breakfasts, sack lunches, and dinner choices of hiker's stew, vegetarian chili or steak dinners to adventurous travelers who journey to the bottom of the Canyon. Advance reservations are required and there are specific seating times for breakfast and dinner. Steak dinners are served for the early dinner seating with the late seating serving stew and vegetarian chili. Open all year.

See here: http://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/Dining-Overview-420.html
 
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It turns out that my son and I will be backpacking and camping in the Grand Canyon May 14-16, and hiking out on the 17th. I will be doing the hike barefoot (or as much as I can manage). I'll be at Bright Angel, Cottonwood, then Bright Angel, and then out. I should be back at Mather Campground sometime on the afternoon of the 17th. (My campsite also turns out to be pretty close to your-alls.) Rick has suggested I stop in, and I will try to do so.

I did this last year about this time of year (but only one night down). Here are suggestions (keeping in mind I am a hiker and not much of a runner). It was really hot in the canyon: 104°. A trick it took me a while to glom onto (even though it is in the suggestions) was to wet my shirt and hat, and re-wet it whenever possible. This time I might also consider a bandanna I can wet and put around my neck.

Make sure you check that there really is water all along the route (check in at the main visitor's center). They claim it is seasonal, and May is about the time they turn it back on for the higher elevations.

Heading down the South Kaibab should be fine (it's also the shortest way down). The buses to get to the trailhead run every 30 minutes from 4:30am to 6:30am, and every 15 minutes after that. An early start is good for avoiding the heat as much as possible. (I found the hottest stretch to be along the Colorado River.) When I went down before I was passed by a lot of runners (fairly early on), so I'm sure they had no problem hitting the bottom and coming right back up. They were all shod, though.

Be aware that the sand really heats up, and at some point (around 10:30am) gets too hot for bare feet. Also, regarding bare feet, Phantom Ranch has a sign requiring footwear. I'll be writing them in advance to see if I can't get that removed, but based on past experience, these folks never change their minds and make up every excuse in the book to justify their beliefs.

While the buses have no rules against bare feet, I (and other folks I know) have had trouble with a few (just a few) of the bus drivers, and management backs them up. (In this case "management" means the bus company contractors, not necessarily the NPS.) I will also be making an effort to guarantee no hassles with the buses, too, but who know how that will turn out.

http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/upload/Corridor_Brochure.pdf

Be aware that if you are really doing a Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim you are talking 44.5 miles (going down South Kaibab, up and down North Kaibab, and then up Bright Angel). I am such a wimp I am not even going all the way to the top of the North Rim, and I'm taking three days with camping rests!

Cell phone service is provided by Verizon and Alltel. My company is AT&T and I had service, so it was obviously piggybacking off one of the others. I had no service in Mather Campground itself, but had somewhat weak service at Park Headquarers and pretty good service at the Bright Angel Trailhead. In fact, since my watch had broken, I was using my cell phone as my clock, and my wife managed to text me halfway up the Bright Angel Trail (above Indian Garden). Freaked me out to have my phone bing in the middle of nowhere.

Hope folks find all this useful.
 
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Do you know if they have vegetarian options? I was panning on making some bean quinoa hummus wraps so maybe I'll just stick with those. I'm thinking about only taking one hand held and a smaller camelbak, I figure I can fill up with water every 5-10 miles and it may be more beneficial to keep the weight down.

Also it looks like BF in AZ may be coming as well.

If they keep the sack lunches similar to last year, this is what was in them (from what I can remember): a small packaged summer sausage, pretzels, bagel, cream cheese, jelly, cookies, a cliff bar, 2 electrolyte drink mixes, peanuts, and the best apple I ever had. A lot of packaging and white carbs. We ended up packing half of the food out, so it might be better a better option to select a few items out of the store, but keep in mind, it will be a busy Saturday.

One handheld + camelbak is the way to go. Handhelds are easier to fill at the spigots and to mix electrolytes into, but you want the camelbak as a backup.

I've got a few friends interested in coming over, but none committed yet, so at this point my group is 3.

@Ahcuah - Thanks for the post, good advice. I'll be hiking with a light colored, cotton shirt with no decals and a hat with a neck and face flap.
 
In case anybody is into this, I'm a map geek. On my website I have a bunch of hiking maps for Ohio, but I've now added the Grand Canyon.

http://www.ahcuah.com/maps/gchike.htm

Each link goes to a 720x960 topo map that ought to print nicely on a regular sheet of paper (don't forget to go "landscape" for the one map that's sideways). In addition, there is a link to my "Trail Mileage Calculator".

http://www.ahcuah.com/maps/gcmile.htm

This requires Javascript, but you can use it to add up mileages. Various sources give different mileages for these distances (and mine is no different). However, I pulled my mileages off of satellite images (with each pixel being about 1.2 feet). I suspect (and hope) that mine are more accurate.

You'll notice that I don't have a mileage for the distance between Roaring Springs and the North Kaibab Trailhead. That's because I won't be doing that stretch when I'm at the Canyon, and I'm too lazy to do the work to get that distance. So sue me.

But I hope you find the rest useful, if you are into that sort of thing.
 
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How's the training going?

Been slugging away at the stairs and hills a couple times a week. Considering doing the crown king scramble 50k to have a long uphill run.
 
How's the training going?

Been slugging away at the stairs and hills a couple times a week. Considering doing the crown king scramble 50k to have a long uphill run.

Still struggling with the foot injury. Running any part of this is not an option for me, I'm going to be on the trail a long time.

I have been putting in some good hiking miles. Lots of vertical at a ski resort with downhill miles. Some machine time at the physical therapy office. On my feet all day at work (not good training, but better that sitting). Planning a 16-20 mile hike in Zion next week. The best news is I'm down 5 pounds and should drop another 5 in a month.
 
Still plenty of room at the campsites. Anyone interested, just come. You do not have to do the R2R2R hike or run. Choose your own and plan do hang out Saturday evening.

How's it going Abide, you still in? I have my last big hike tomorrow. Things are going great with the training (not really training, just having fun).
 
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My plans, determined long before this, involve hiking down into the canyon with my son on the 14th, spending 3 nights down in the canyon, and returning to the top on the 17th. We have a campsite for ourselves reserved not too far from you guys, so we plan on stopping by and drinking your beer. :joyful: We will also, if requested, regale you with tales of our trip.
 
So we were able to find a babysitter and the wife is going to make the run with me. It looks like BF in AZ is out though, bummer.

Nice Abide. I am sure you are capable of doing the run alone, but it is nice to have a partner along and you picked a good one. Too bad about BF in AZ. Any more interest in the AZ chapter?
I'll send you a PM next week with some of my plans.

My plans, determined long before this, involve hiking down into the canyon with my son on the 14th, spending 3 nights down in the canyon, and returning to the top on the 17th. We have a campsite for ourselves reserved not too far from you guys, so we plan on stopping by and drinking your beer. :joyful: We will also, if requested, regale you with tales of our trip.

If I am not around help yourself to the cooler. Plan right now is to arrive early Friday and look around. I'll start my hike with a friend early Friday evening and plan to be out of the canyon before the heat on Saturday. Lounge around the camp Saturday evening recovering while the rest of my group finishes their day hike. Just make a note of the campsites and hope to see you around.

On a side note, I did the Riverside walk to the Narrows on Sunday and did some of the river section in Zion. Not far, I had my kids with me. I think it is possible barefoot. The rocks were not nearly as slippery as expected. The current wasn't too strong, but I would advise trekking poles. I had a stick and the current wanted to pull it some. Have a good time.
 
If I am not around help yourself to the cooler. Plan right now is to arrive early Friday and look around. I'll start my hike with a friend early Friday evening and plan to be out of the canyon before the heat on Saturday. Lounge around the camp Saturday evening recovering while the rest of my group finishes their day hike. Just make a note of the campsites and hope to see you around.

Thanks. Actually, we're also there Saturday evening, so lounging sounds like a great idea for Saturday evening.

On a side note, I did the Riverside walk to the Narrows on Sunday and did some of the river section in Zion. Not far, I had my kids with me. I think it is possible barefoot. The rocks were not nearly as slippery as expected. The current wasn't too strong, but I would advise trekking poles. I had a stick and the current wanted to pull it some. Have a good time.

Well, we'll have sticks (because that is what we have). We'll probably do it until we've gone as far as we feel like (leaving cushion to get back). The water level looks not too bad on this website: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ut/nwis/u..._cd=00065,00060,72020,00010,00095,00300,63680

About half normal flow for this time of year.

Thanks!