My theme this year seems to be endurance feats that don't require entry fee's. This weekend I travel north with a couple of my partners and a dozen of our executive to do a one day Grand Canyon event. We are going to hike down to the river using the South Kaibab corridor then run past Phantom Ranch about an hour then return to the south rim using the Bright Angel trail.
I will be honest, I am excited for this trip but not this date. It was originally scheduled for mid-May when the weather was much more favorable. The river is going to be 104 degrees at a minimum and by late morning should be well over that when we turn around.
Known as the crazy endurance nut in our group, rumor has it I was starting at 2am and doing all sorts of crazy stuff. Damn Paparazzi. Not true at all for this date. It is suicidal to do a rim to rim to rim in one push this time of year. Even the people who do that route often, won't do it in the summer. If we had done this in May, well different story.
This is the same hike with almost all the same people as the canyon trip I took last Fall. This time however, its half the size going and all capable of moving with some urgency instead of plodding or hobbling along. The only difference is we are adding a extra couple hours on the other side of Phantom Ranch where the temp will climb like an oven heating up.
For myself, I will be going on this hike weighing forty pounds lighter and with better gear and clothes. I have really analyzed and updated my hiking, trail running gear over the winter and made some smart decisions for better ventilation, hydration and sun protection. My pack will also be ten pounds lighter. I am only packing for myself this time and not holding group items. Just the essentials for my food and safety. I will be wearing my SPOT 2 again and setting up a Shared Adventure page for people to follow my progress. More on that Friday.
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