Rim-to-Rim At Night: The Adventure

Are we glad we did it? Yes
Will we do this again? Unlikely for R2R without stopping overnight

It was an interesting adventure and humorous (like bats in the box) in many ways. Overall we did well. We didn't quite meet our time goals but it was close.




This hike is not recommended if you have not previously hiked the Canyon in daylight and are not in physical condition to endure a long hike.

Actual     Planned
6:01pm    6:15p - North Kaibab Trailhead - Elevation: 8,241ft.
6:50pm    7:00p - Supai Tunnel (1.7 mi)
8:13pm    8:15p - Roaring Springs (5 mi) - Elevation: 4,800 ft.
8:16pm                Twilight was gone and we started the head lamps
9:28pm    9:00p - Cottonwood Campground (6.9)
9:56pm    9:45p - Ribbon Falls Jct. (8.5 mi)

This was going through The Box. We'll blame the loss of time on the bats.
Darn bats! More below
12:14am 11:30p - Clear Creek Jct. (13.1 mi)
12:32am 11:45p - Phantom Ranch (13.6 mi) - Elevation: 2,480 ft.

1:33am   12:30a - S Kaibab Bridge (14 mi) - Elevation: 2,600 ft.
3:04am     2:30a - The Tipoff (16.1 mi) - Elevation: 3,870 ft.
??             2:45a - Tonto Trail Jct. (16.3 mi) - Elevation: 4,010 ft.

Totally missed this. Perhaps we were getting a little tired at this point????
5:15am     4:15a - Skeleton Pt. (17.7 mi) - Elevation: 5,200 ft.
6:41am     5:15a - Cedar Ridge (19.2 mi) - Elevation: 6,060 ft.
8:06am     6:30a - South Trailhead (20.7 mi) - Elevation: 7,260 ft.

A few highlights:

• We were pleased to hike many of the challenging sections of both the North Kaibab and South Kaibab in daylight. If we had not recently hiked the North Kaibab in daylight, we would have felt a little cheated. We saw the upper half of South Kaibab; the lower half we might see someday but we were so focused on getting out, we didn't want to look around much anyway.
• There are seven bridges along the North Kaibab Trail. One of them is in a marsh area with grasses growing high over our heads encroaching on the bridge; very claustrophobic. Then seeing the glowing eyes of birds on bridge that fly towards you. Ah, effective way to keep you awake.
• We learned you see things differently with head lamps. They did a good job illuminating our path. They brought rocks to our attention better because of how the light created shadows. They made us more aware of the steep drop offs along the edge because of the "black" abyss. They didn't highlight the loose gravel, though. A lesson learned the tough way when Nana lost her footing on loose gravel, stumbled and scraped her left leg (just south of Cottonwood). Fortunately it wasn't too bad so it didn't interfere with the rest of the hike.
• We found very little company on the trails between 8 pm and 5 am. We saw only five people during that time; one resting, one at Phantom Ranch and just three hikers. Yup, we were pretty much alone out there.
• We didn't see as many nocturnal animals as we wanted. We saw deer, birds, bats, but no ringtail cats.
• The trail grew...the plants along the trail! In five weeks the North Kaibab was almost overgrown in some areas. This caused us to turn around just north of Cottonwood and double check that we were on the right trail. We were, but we lost a little time due to the uncertainty. Better safe than get lost in the dark, though!
• The batty Box. We thought going through The Box at night would be cooler than with the blistering sun like last time. Not so much. That black rock in the high canyon walls really holds the heat. Being hemmed in by towering rock walls with the creek flowing in between makes it a great area for bats, too. Nana is deathly afraid of them so what do they do? Start dive bombing the headlamps, going after the bugs fluttering around them, the bat's food. We both ended up raising our metal hiking poles over our heads in an "X" and striking them together to make a noise to keep them away. It worked well but we must have been quite the sight; our own personal 4th of July parade!
• Rest stops at the Pump House, Phantom Ranch and halfway up the South Kaibab restored our energy. Oddly, Nana is not a camper, but it was about 4 am and we were both so exhausted that we spread out our tarp in a clearing and slept for about a half hour...on the ground...with just the stars above. When we awoke the sunrise was just highlighting the edge of the Eastern Rim, a mental boost. The stop was a physical boost but it set us back on our time. That and remembering glasses left behind so we enjoyed the opportunity to retrace the trail for about a quarter of a mile; a little extra hiking.
• South Kaibab is torture. It would be a good trail going down but don't think we'll ever take it again going out. It took us as long or longer than it did going out Bright Angel. Several places along the trail the combo switchback and steps with a steep grade were a little more than we'd prefer for hiking UP. Down, not so bad.

NOTE: Yes, the time/date stamp on the photos is a little off. We got a new camera before the trip. On the shuttle van, we decided it would be a good idea to put the date/time feature so we could take photos and document our time. Not realizing the time stamp was in military time, looks like we're about 12 hours off. Oh so much to learn!