That Time We Were Just Crazy Enough To Day Hike The Grand Canyon

We pulled up to the Grand Canyon National Park Visitor's Center Parking Lot around 5:30am. It was dark; none of us had slept much, maybe 2 hours at best, and it was only a few degrees above freezing. As we peeled ourselves out of our respective vehicles and into the cold, I repeatedly asked myself "who's idea was this?!" (it was mine) as gusts of wind blew through my ultralight Patagonia jacket and froze my already ice-cold bones. My three hike-mates, on the other hand, were giddy with excitement (morning-people, no doubt) as they began video-logging the trip on their phones.

I'm not a morning person in any capacity and since moving to Arizona ~7 years ago, I haven't been a cold-weather-person either. (I literally thought this to myself as I stood under a hand dryer in the women's restroom, praying for more warmth). Thankfully, my sweet friends were in high spirits and kept my mind off of the cold.

But... about my friends!

Madison is super peppy who says nothing negative ever. She just had twins less than a year ago and hikes with the both of them strapped in a carrier tied to her body everywhere she goes. Badass to the core.

Ari is also a mom to a 1yr old whom she also hikes with a ton! She is super sweet and will always go out of her way to make sure everyone is good.

Harriet is your friendly British photographer. She literally makes friends everywhere she goes and takes amazing pictures while she's at it.

Then there is me... sup.

So, we exit the restrooms and see what looked like a sweet older foreign couple strolling along the sidewalk. Turns out, they were asked where would be the best spot to view the morning sunrise and sweet Harriet (we sometimes call her by her American alter-ego, Karen) matter-of-factly told them they could view it by looking toward the east. She points toward the eastern horizon, which at this point had a faint blue glow to it and the look on their faces (and probably mine) is just pure gold. It took everything in me not to laugh... but don't worry, I will never let her live it down.

We hopped on an orange line bus from the Visitor's Center to S. Kaibab trailhead around 6:15am and we were at the trailhead by 6:30am. By the time we started hiking down, the sun had risen enough that we didn't need our headlamps and the views were incredible. We spent the first hour or so stopping every 5 minutes to take pictures. Seeing the sun rise and slowly illuminate the canyon walls in a yellowy-orange glow was something really spectacular to witness.

Can you spot the mule deer?

Our first stop was at Cedar Ridge, around a mile and a half into the hike and the first spot with bathrooms. By this time, we had been hiking for about an hour and a half and the sun had risen enough that we needed to start peeling layers. We each had begun the hike in leggings and jackets but we threw our jackets into our packs, changed into shorts, then headed down the trail. By this time, I had woken and defrosted enough that I was itching to get down to the river. I had just enough tunnel vision that I didn't even notice a single large male mule deer less than 50 feet away from us. We busted out our cameras and got a few pictures before he trotted off and away from the trail. We managed to make it down to the Colorado before noon, just in time to witness a group of (probably military?) guys jumping into the 40-something-degree Colorado River in just their boxers, Polar Bear Plunge style. We also met a group of women from a school in Virginia who were camping at Phantom Ranch and commended us on our determination to do the hike in a day. We splashed, we laughed, we flossed... and we genuinely had a great time relieving our feet in the cold water. It definitely didn't last as long as I wanted it to but we had major business to take care of: the hike out.

Dudes getting their polar bear plunge on in the 40-degree water

We refilled our packs at a water station adjacent from the beach and slowly began hiking back out along the Bright Angel Trail; that’s when the storm clouds started rolling in. Almost immediately after crossing the Bright Angel Suspension Bridge, the rain started coming down HARD. It felt amazing and I was a little bummed to have to throw my poncho on... but I really didn't want my DSLR getting wet in the rain.

We eventually started hiking up, stopping only to look back on Devil's Corkscrew before finally approaching Indian Gardens, where we stopped to eat our packed lunches. It was here that I took notice of a bunch of food waste littered all over the rocks.
Orange peels.

Ari looking back on Devil's Corkscrew

Really? Ugh. I hate picking up food waste (and cigarette butts and feminine waste products and all litter for all that matter) but I wasn't just going to let it sit. I don't know if people just aren't fully aware (I wasn't for a long time, either) but throwing orange peels, banana peels, apple cores, etc. is terrible for the environment and for wildlife. Please pack it out! I literally picked up like 2.5 ziplock bags full of food waste on my way out of the canyon. My ass and hammies were hurting after that!

We fought an uphill battle the rest of the way. At one point, after Indian Gardens but before 3-mile rest, a fit-looking 20-something guy with a thick southern accent, offered me $100 cash for my trekking poles. I laughed and told him I'd give them to him for free. He looked almost as if he'd take me up on it then kindly declined, looking at his buddy across from him with weary eyes. If I could guess, I'd bet they were from South Carolina. I imagined that they were high school baseball teammates and best friends. As I trekked uphill further away from them, I gave them names and imagined what their lives were like. It was anything I could do to take my mind off of the steep uphill switchbacks. As fate happens, Harriet ended up befriending them a few miles further along the trail. They weren't from South Carolina but actually from Georgia, close to Alabama, and they were friends from high school, although I never did ask them if they played baseball. I told you, Harriet can make friends anywhere, with just about anyone!

Anyway, continuing...
After a grueling day of pounding our feet against the ground, we completed our rim-to-river-and-back right around 5pm. No more than 11 hours after we took our first step into the canyon, we were back on the rim.
We. Were. Beat.
It was ~50 degrees with cold wind gusts and rain. Sitting in the awning waiting for the bus back to the car (where our after-hike-snacks were) felt like forever. Literally five minutes after we got back to the car, it started hailing. God was looking out for us! (You da real MVP, GOD!)

We drove back to town, sat down at OG and completely SMASHED those endless breadsticks like ladies we are.

What a trip. What an experience.
It just goes to show that some of the best adventures can be had on a schedule.

*This hike occurred October 6, 2018