Success! The hike was excellent.
Went to bed Friday around 8 pm, but (rare for me) couldn't get to sleep. Excitement? Nerves? Loud people in the group campsite? All that, and I was too darn warm. Oh well, what's a little sleep deprivation before a long hike? We were both awake when the alarm went off at 1:15, I had probably slept about 2 hours. Got dressed and sucked down a large Frappuccino with a spoonful of instant coffee. I am far too accustomed to morning coffees to skip it and not get a whopper headache. Drank another bottle in the car driving to the trailhead. Also ate part of a bagel and an HB egg.
Set off hiking at 2:20 am on the Bright Angel Trail. The trail switchbacks into the Canyon and we could see the lights of other hiking parties here and there ahead of us. A couple runs past us in the dark and Ahsan comments that they really aren't going much faster than we are yet are surely doing a lot more damage on the descent. Yep - and we see them later going up the steep North Kaibab trail and the girl is clearly hurting.
At 4.5 miles we reach Indian Garden and I take a much needed bathroom break. My body is darn reliable about certain things even if it is the middle of the night - once I'm up and moving things happen. Tom and Ahsan fill a water bottle and we head on down to the 'Devil's corkscrew' part of the trail. In daylight, it's beautiful, for this very early morning, we see stars and a couple of headlamps.
Mile 9 and we cross the bridge across the Colorado River. It is still fairly dark but the roar of the water is loud and we can see the ripples and eddies in the almost twilight. We pause at Phantom Ranch to fill water bottles as the next 8 mile stretch is our longest without a water stop. I eat some more of my bagel and make sure my pack side pockets have a mix of sweet and salty food options accessible.
Into the 'Box', this section of the North Kaibab trail is beautiful. We are passed by some runners, both heading the same direction we are, and others going north/south/north. Shortly after entering the Box we put our lights away, the sky has lightened and we can see our way ahead. Exiting the Box, we cross the marsh (so glad the park service built a bridge a few years ago, it used to be a horrible swamp), and then can see the top of the Canyon miles and miles ahead.
We decide not to stop at Cottonwood and go the extra 1.3 miles to the Pumphouse. It is mobbed with hikers. This weekend and the next are the 2 most popular weekends for double crossings as well as single crossings. I finish my bagel, reload my pack side pockets with gels for the big uphill climb and suck one down. With a steep climb, I take the lead so we make better time. I have to be careful not to leave the guys or go too fast, but if I'm up front, they can't dawdle.
We take a short break at the Supai tunnel water stop, then head up the last 1.7 miles to the trail head. We've gone just a little way when Ahsan starts dropping back, then calls to us that he will catch up later. It totally took us by surprise and we didn't think about what to do when we topped out - should we go on over to the Lodge without him? Do we need to wait? Will he be more or less likely to turn around if we don't wait. Ugh! At the top, we see some runners we have crossed paths with a few times and ask them to tell Ahsan we've gone to the Lodge. They agree and we set off, but then we hear someone call Tom's name and we see he has topped out. We wait and all walk the 1.5 miles to the lodge. Whew, 25 miles and our little group is still intact.
Pizza and root beer hit the spot beautifully while we bask in the warmth and sunshine of the Grand Lodge. Huge picture windows look out over the Canyon. We relax, sort out our packs, and decide about possible foot repairs. I don't have any blisters or even hot spots, but I want fresh socks and if I can find some, want to buy more salty snacks. I have more sweet with me than I want, and I want salty. Sadly, no plain potato chips nor Fritos in the deli and I don't like Doritos enough to buy any. Oh well, pop another electrolyte and have confidence that I have enough food even if it isn't exactly what I want to eat.
Turns out when I stepped outside to change my socks (didn't want to dump dirt on the floor of the lodge), Ahsan told Tom he wanted to 'hang out' for a few hours. What? Tom talked him out of the idea for safety reasons (and we did not want to be responsible for abandoning a newbie!). We got water, fixed feet, and set off for the South Rim, 25 miles away.
Three mules trains later - they may be fairly docile, but when they are pounding up the trail, big, sweaty, and their hooves are very close to where we are cowering in the corner of a switchback, they don't seem totally non-threatening - we make our way back to Supai tunnel. Tom takes a bathroom break and gets locked in by a misbehaving deadbolt. I have to help by pushing on the door from the outside while he wiggles the bolt on the inside. I definitely heard a bit of panic in his voice when he called out for help. We wet kerchiefs to cool ourselves, filled up bottles, and set off again. Downhill is easier, right? Yes and no, it really takes a toll on the legs and starts to work the nasties on my feet.
As we get closer to the Pumphouse again, the shadows are getting longer. It is mid-afternoon and we are seeing many hikers we passed earlier in the day as we climbed up the north and they were heading down. Now our positions have reversed and I can see some of these folks have taken on more than they planned for. There will be mini-epics on the trail this evening. I hope for the best for them, but there is little to be done. If they can keep eating and drinking and keep moving, they will make it.
At Cottonwood we take a longish break. It is very warm so we wet our clothing, drink a lot, take electrolytes, and push on back toward Phantom Ranch. Each time we cross water, I re-wet my neck cloth. My tummy is good so I'm able to eat and drink which is the key to everything. My feet are hurting. I was pretty certain I would end up with ball of the feet blisters and sure enough, they are happening. I console myself that it will hurt less once we start climbing.
We get to Phantom Ranch at dusk. Less than 10 miles to go! Tom and Ahsan work on their feet, I look at mine, but there isn't any fluid to drain and blister pads don't stick well to my feet. I clean the dirt off and call it good. Eat something, wish for the 10th time that I had more Fritos or had brought a 3rd ziplock of boiled fingerling potatoes. We set off for the river, then start back up the Bright Angel trail.
By the time we are climbing, it is full on dark again. There is a nice moon, but within the walls of the Canyon, we aren't able to make use of it for seeing our way on the trail and each have a light in hand. We make good time to Indian Gardens. More water, more electrolyte, another Gu. We can see the trail above us, many sets of lights are making their way up and out of the Canyon. Tom says, "Unless someone up there has a meltdown, we won't catch them." I'm thinking he is wrong, but don't say anything. I don't wish meltdowns upon anyone, but I know we are stronger at climbing this trail than most. Sure enough, before long, we start passing people. I always ask if they are OK, have food and water, and they say yes, just tired. Most have taken on more than they expected, no matter what hike they did. So easy going down, so hard to go back up. We pass more and more folks. One guy asks if we have spare batteries, none of us do, so he tries to keep up with us, but only lasts a couple of switchbacks. Others are coming up the trail with strong lights who are walking a slower pace, he will get out with them.
Finally at the 1.5 mile rest house, Tom takes the lead (I was relegated to the back so I didn't leave anyone) and tells Ahsan he is 'putting the hammer down'. Yippee, I think, let's get out of this place! We finish strong, and oddly enough, when we take off, Ahsan picks up his pace too. He finishes only 5 minutes behind us. 20 hours, including longer stops than we typically take, is totally respectable for this hike. I'm well satisfied.
Back to the campground, washed off some of the dirt, put on warm clothes, snuggled into my sleeping bag and was surely asleep within 40 minutes of leaving the trail. Whopper blisters on the balls of each foot, but other than that, I'm good. A little stiff, definitely sleep deprived, and my body chemistry is a little out of whack. Slept a lot on Sunday, napped on Monday, Tuesday back at work and mostly back to normal aside from hobbling from the stupid blisters. Am I working out? No. Maybe in a day or two.
Need to tweak my Garmin connect settings before I upload. Had some satellite dropouts and if I don't fix the settings I'll end up with something 30,000 feet of elevation gain. Battery died at 45 miles, so didn't get anything after IG on the way up. Totals should be something like 50.5 miles, 11,000 feet of climbing, and right at 20 hours total time. Likely 17.5 - 18 hours moving time.
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