A Club Fat Ass Adventure to the Grand Canyon featured in Breathe Magazine. See the original article at: http://www.breathemag.ca/news/news.php?recordID=23
It
was 10:15 and raining out side when I saw the minivan pull around the
corner. I grabbed my bags and raced out to the van to start our mad
dash to the Grand Canyon. For the next 30 hours we would switch off
drivers only stopping for food and gas. The clock was ticking on our
quest to conquer the Grand Canyon's Rim to Rim to Rim. A double
crossing of the Canyon in one day covering a distance of 50 miles and
15,000ft of gain.
As the sun came up some where past 20 hours the sky had cleared, and
out the window it was starting to look more like the Wild West. In just
a few hours and we would reach the canyons edge, that is if we could
keep Ean, the current driver, from stopping at every view point along
the way.
After finding our campsite we just couldn't wait to get the legs moving
so we headed out on a pre run scouting mission. All lacking sleep, our
proposed shortcut to the South Kaibab trail head lead us on a hilarious
misadventure through scrub brush and non existent trails, ending up
along the side of the road. After running the road back to the camp we
all agreed to follow the well marked paved path to the trail head in
the morning.
Before the sun set for the night we took in one last look across the
canyon to the North rim, over twenty miles away. Looking down you could
just barely make out Phantom ranch at the bottom and the Colorado river
carving it's way deeper into the earth. Though the distance is not
anything new to this seasoned group of Ultra runners, the vast depth
and space of the canyon definitely makes us all consider the amount of
effort the traverse would require. We feasted on our last meal at the
bar in the lodge and then headed back to camp to prepare for the next
day's journey.
4:00am and slowly but surely I started to see the headlamps click on
one by one. We packed up the van and ran from the campsite to the
canyons edge, following the agreed upon path to the trail head. Back at
the campsite the brisk morning air was calm but on the canyons edge it
was anything but. We took a group picture, all hoping it was not our
last.
After leaving the trail head and rounding the first switchback the wind
tried violently to blow us in to the darkness below. Thankfully as we
descended down into the canyon (and through time and history) the wind
calmed down and the temperature rose. The Journey we came all this way
for was now under our feet.
Half way down the canyon an orange glow of the sunrise filled the sky.
We hadn't come to set any records so we all stopped to take in the
amazing sight of the canyon coming to life in the early morning. We
turned off our headlamps and careened down the trail like a group of
kids. Only running fifteen minutes from the last stop, we stopped again
before the next set of switch backs to do a head count. "Four, Five - ?
We're missing someone". It's Rick. We looked back up the trail and saw
no one. A few minutes passed and still no Rick? Finally after starting
to walk back up the trail we saw a small figure in the distance running
down the trail. He had just missed seeing us drop over a set of switch
backs and had turned around and ran back up the trail. Now all together
we finish the decent to the bottom and raced across the suspension
bridge that spans the Colorado river.
Just after crossing the bridge we ran into the park ranger out on
morning patrol. He gave us a stern warning to give hikers the right of
way on the trail... like we had already done something wrong. "These
two weeks are the busiest weeks for rim crossings and there's a dozen
people already in front of you."
We made our way through Phantom Ranch trying to avoid the smells of
morning breakfast. The next six miles were just amazing. The trail
winds its way back and forth over countless foot bridges and along a
raging creek. The temperature in the canyon must have been around
eighty most of the day. Just perfect considering how hot it can get
down there. We hiked it up to the north rim but only stayed for a sort
time due to the bugs that were trying to eat us. We were now half way!
After the 8,000 climb to the North Rim we were all grateful to be
heading back down. Everyone was feeling good at this point so we
stretched our legs and flew down the trail. As I came flying around the
corner I saw Ean and some hikers standing along side the trail looking
at something. "Oh! There's a three foot coral snake in the middle of
the trail." We took some pictures and left the hikers to fend for them
selves.
The stretch back to phantom ranch seemed to go on just a little longer
than remembered, though in the end it had to be some of the best
running of the trip. When we arrived at phantom ranch we found no one
manning the store. Disappointed that we couldn't enjoy a cold coke we
carried on and made do with water. At the water stop I looked over and
saw Colin looking a little burned up. Little did I know that soon I too
would be looking and feeling the same. Only taking one water bottle
full of water I headed on again feeling great. In fact as soon as we
crossed the river and headed up the canyon I was feeling super and took
the lead. It's just one last climb. Well after running out of water at
about three miles up I wasn't feeling so super. I had thought that we
were going to hit water sooner but I was wrong. So I just walked it the
next few miles.
"Water!" We had made it to the small camp of Indian Garden. We all
filled up and regrouped for the real climb ahead. After my little bout
of dehydration I got my energy back and was on the attack again. The
sun set quick and in the dark canyon you could see the twinkle of
flashlights zig-zaging back and forth, far above on the switch backs
ahead. As I caught up with the rest of the group I passed Colin, not
looking much better than before. We all stopped at the next water fill
up and gave him a good look over. Still far from the top we decided to
lighten his load and do our best to keep him moving. Only a few miles
to the top but still a few thousand to climb. The trail just never
seemed to end as we climbed up and up. We passed hiker after hiker
slowly trudging up the trail. I think we all felt a little for them as
we knew we'd be up and out much sooner then they would be. Though it
always feels long at the end we all made it out of the canyon in one
piece. With the wind now blowing again and the air cold and crisp I
yell out over and over "We did it!" We then made our way back to camp
taking the bus instead of running. With no time to spare we piled back
into the van and set off for home, only stopping for food, gas and a
little sleep this time.
We had run the Grand canyon Rim to Rim to Rim in just 14 hours and 10
minutes. Not a record, but an unbelievable "weekend adventure". We had
driven over 3,000 miles and from start to finish our trip took us 100
hours to complete. I had to laugh when later I received the email
saying that the rental agency had to send the lot attendant back to
check the odometer one more time. We definitely got the most out or our
unlimited miles. I would like to say a big thank you to Geoff Palmer,
Rick Arikado, Glenn Pace, Ean Jackson and Colin freeland for letting me
tag along on this incredible journey and of course Vancouver BC's Club
Fat Ass for supporting it all.
Thank you!
Daniel Probst
Photos: Club Fat Ass
