Bob

The ones I posted are more like sweets in format, no messing around. Capsules aren't bad though, but I've not tried them. Found it nice to have something to chew/suck on, without the double entendre, when biking as I don't have a bag to carry to much stuff for snacks on top.

Far more options that taste nice these days though, compared to when I was biking as a kid. Then, it was those horrid, chalk tasting glucose tabs and they were a bit grim.

REI/LL Bean, Chain Reaction, Wiggle they're all good places to find deals on this stuff online though, so as I said, I just get whatever is on sale at that time.

Giantaxe

After yesterday's hike (23.5 miles in Henry Coe State Park) I certainly agree with the sun. We were hiking in direct sunlight for at least 9 hours. The air temperature wasn't that hot (maybe mid to upper 70's at the hottest) but the sun was unrelenting.

And this. I was carrying some GU Energy gel, but I didn't start taking them until mid-afternoon when I noticed I was struggling on uphills. Lesson learned. Future hikes I'll be taking them all day.

Thanks for all the advice. I'll buy a selection of different products and try them out on the reamining hikes before I leave for the Grand Canyon.

Steerpike

It was 82 in Lafayette yesterday, and I hiked around the reservoir (outer rim). It's only about 5 miles, but it's almost all exposed - good practice!

Note that the heat in the canyon doesn't peak until mid-afternoon. Look at the chart below - this is for May 11 last year, when I did my first hike. It was just over 80 at noon, and peaked at around 90 at 5pm. If you can get down there by 11am, you'll be heading out before the max temps hit.

I haven't yet decided on the best approach between covering up and staying cool. One school of thought, for 'desert' hiking, is to wear long pants, long sleeve shirts (obviously light weight), and serious head covering. But psychologically, that feels uncomfortable. I did my first two hikes in shorts/short-sleeves, with lots of sunscreen. My last hike (March, not too hot) I ended up keeping long sleeves / long pants on. I'd still probably do shorts/short-sleeves in May, but you do see people who are completely covered. Regardless, though, I take care of my head very carefully. They make hats with built-in shade attachments ( , and http://www.ebay.com/itm/Columbia-Sportswear-Adults-Unisex-Tamiami-Cachalot-II-Fishing-Hat-White-/141943970107) , but I prefer to make my own setup out of a wide brimmed hat and a bandana, which I clip to the hat when needed. This way, there is plenty of airflow around the neck (the bandana is kept away from the body by the brim).

One piece of advice - make sure the hat has a 'tie' (whatever you call the thing that goes under the chin). I was once 2hrs into a 5 hr hike in the desert when a gust of wind blew my hat off; lucky for me, it was caught in a nearby bush, but it made me realize how vulnerable I would have been had it blown into a canyon or similar. This is similar to the type I wear.

I also saw one woman with an umbrella. That's a good idea, but it does tie up one hand ...

Speaking of hands ... I used hiking poles this last hike; was definitely useful. My legs were tired, but I was able to use my arms to share the load. Plus, they add stability on the steep downhill sections.

Giantaxe

Yes, that's our plan. By starting at dawn, we hope to leave the river by noon.

I burn so easily, I go for covering up on sunny hikes.

That's very similar to the hat I wear.

I've seen that in other places but personally I don't think it's a particularly safe practice.

I've been using poles for about five years now, firstly just for downhills, but more recently for entire hikes. As you point out, it transfers load to the upper body, and is one reason why upper body strength is a good thing to have as well.

Steerpike

Wow - Google Maps has a 'street view' of the ENTIRE length of both the Bright Angel and the South Kaibab trails, and the Phantom Ranch area. Sadly it does not extend up the North Kaibab (yet)! Here's an article about the project: https://www.google.com/maps/about/be.../grand-canyon/ . Looks like the GC was their first major project to use the technology. Mind blowing! There are some gorgeous videos / panoramas on their site.

Looking at the picture below (a screenshot from Google Maps, with the 'street view' blue lines superimposed), you can see where I got lost (Briefly). The blue 'street view' overlay is missing from the small footbridge you should take ... (maybe they missed it too !). I mention this because two friends of mine did the 'Rim to Rim' (north to south) for the first time and they too missed the turn, and ended up coming up the South Kaibab, which is absolutely not recommended. Luckily they were super healthy twenty-somethings and didn't bat an eyelid - they were back at the top by 2pm!

I will also mention that the trail along the river, from the Silver Bridge to the point where the Bright Angel Trail starts to head up and away from the river (lower left part of the picture), is a real drag. It is almost pure sand and walking is a real struggle. It's only about 30 minutes, but seems to go on for longer. Finally you get to the 'River Rest Area' (with toilets) and the climb up to Indian Garden begins. There's a proper little 'shelter' there, if you need a rest.

I'm thinking of going back in April - 3rd week - for another day hike down/up, South Kaibab / Bright Angel).

Giantaxe

One week from today I'll be doing the north to south rim hike. Both excited and nervous!

Steerpike

I'm driving to AZ now (overnight in LA) and will be there next week. I'm tempted to head up to the GC and doing a 'south rim to river to south rim' just so I can bump into you! You said earlier the hike was May 19, so I presume the hike takes place on Thursday?

The high at Phantom Ranch yesterday was 101; today predicted as only 83, 2 days ago 95. Looks like some thunderstorm activity may be involved.

https://www.wunderground.com/persona...0160513/mdaily

I'm excited for you!

Giantaxe

I saw that... 101 would be brutal. We're hoping for the average of 88 (or less) Yes, hike is on Thursday and the forecast for then a somewhat cooler than this weekend. Hope it stays that way!

It would be fun to meet up with you! I'll PM you some details.

Steerpike

One last snippet of advice - keep your bag under close watch at Indian Garden; the squirrels there are especially 'adapted' to humans and will tear into your backpack if you leave it unattended for a few seconds. Getting a puncture in your water bladder would not be fun

Oh yes, and remember - the Bright Angel Trail is quite busy. If you get really messed up by the heat, you can just rest for a long time, and head out later. It's not like you have to be out by sundown or anything. I suspect there are folks still hiking out at 10pm! I carry a flashlight (headlamp) for this reason. Don't feel pressured to keep going.

Giantaxe

Well, I did it! Just an exhilarating (and exhausting!) experience. I was close to tears when I reached the South Rim, from a mixture of relief and accomplishment. Some notes:

- left the North Rim at first light at 4:45am, temperature 29F. Used headlights for the first 30 minutes or so. I'd say there were about 15 people at the trailhead starting off around the same time.

- walking down to Phantom Ranch was long but easy going. No really steep parts. Arrived at the ranch at 10:30am, temperature 80F. Had "lunch" and replenished water.

- crossed the river at 11:15am. Agree that there's a sign missing where you turn right to cross Bright Angel Creek. Ironically, there _is_ a sign visible when you're coming up from the direction of the Kaibab Suspension Bridge.

- we didn't find the sandy section along the Colorado River a problem, maybe because we all had poles.

- started up the Bright Angel Trail at midday, temperature upper 80s F. The first hour or so up felt tough because of the heat. I took one long rest in a spot of shade. Got to Indian Garden at 1:30pm. One of our group got there from the river in less than an hour! She is an amazing uphill hiker.

- left Indian Garden at 2:00pm, temperature 80F. We'd already walked over 20 miles at this point and, as expected, this was the toughest part for us. I crawled the last bit up to Three Mile Resthouse. Ditto for Mile and a Half Resthouse. We had specifically trained with hikes that did a lot of climbing at the end and I'm glad we did. It's 3k feet of climbing from Indian Garden and that's a challenge when you've already walked that kind of distance. Got to the rim at 4:35pm, so pretty much exactly 12 hours for the 24 miles from rim to rim. Stunning to look back across to the North Rim and realize we've just walked it!

I think I drank over a gallon and a half of water; I sweat a lot and knew I would end up doing that. Replenishing electrolytes at each stop was a big help. The north side is very different to the south as there's a lot more vegetation (and running streams at this time of year). I think the Colorado River was the best part. When you see it from the rim it just looks a spec a mile down. Actually to cross it on the suspension bridge and walk alongside it was memorable.

Steerpike

Congratulations! Back at the top by 4:35pm - that's amazing!



I remember having that same 'close to tears' feeling! Being alone, I had no one to share the sense of accomplishment with, which was odd. You see all these people around at the top, who have maybe hiked a mile or two down/up the trail (if that), and here you are, 12 hours/24 miles into a massive hike, and they have no clue what you've just done.


Did your 'car key handoff in the middle' work? I really need to figure a way to do the whole enchilada (north-south) ... Even though my version (south-south) is still difficult (18 miles), it's just not the 'real thing' !

Giantaxe

Yes, it's very incongruous seeing all those people not dressed for hiking who've gone down a little from the rim. It's very easy to see how people get into trouble there as it's deceptively easy to go down, not so easy to climb back up.

We settled on all starting at the north rim with two cars between the four of us. Day 1, arrived at the south rim; Day 2 hiked 8 miles west along the south rim, then drove to the north rim. Day 3 rim to rim hike from north to south. Day 4, drove back to north rim to collect the other vehicle and then drove to Page on Lake Powell.

It was a drag having to do the south to north (4 hour) drive twice, but we stopped at various points on the way second time around. Plus, as we were going to Page at that point, we'd have had to drive part of it anyway.

There is a shuttle bus between the rims and if I did it again, that's what I would use. Start at the south, hike the south and north Kaibab trails, stay at the north, take to shuttle bus back to the south and then maybe go to the Supai and Grand Canyon West areas. Page, btw, is also an amazing hiking area with its slot canyons and hoodoos.

Steerpike

My brother (visiting from UK), who is generally stronger/tougher than me, will admit to being one such visitor many years ago; he visited the South Rim as a general day-tripper, in JULY, and then armed with only a soda bottle, he and his wife sauntered down the trail and before too long they found themselves at the three-mile point, right when the mid-day sun kicked in. Lets just say that, if it weren't for the kindness of other hikers who generously gave them food and water, there could have been serious consequences. That experience has been impaled in my mind and put me off doing the hike for many years! I also carry extra water and food partly to give to others who may need it.


Looking at the maps (see copies below - found a great one in a brochure!) and the elevation details, it seems like the North Kaibab is no picnic, with a very steep final ascent from Supai Tunnel to the trailhead (1,441 feet in 1.7 miles), and higher absolute elevation than the South Rim (another 1,000 feet) ... so I can imagine that ending at the North Rim could be a challenge! Going South Kaibab to North Kaibab does make for a shorter hike (21 miles) as the South Kaibab is shorter than the Bright Angel.


I guess you just carry a toothbrush and underwear for the overnight stay!

Giantaxe

That's the tradeoff - more climbing versus 3 miles less in distance if you go down the South Kaibab trail. When we drove back to the North Kaibab trailhead there was actually an organized group of hikers finishing the south to north hike who had taken roughly the same time as us going in the opposite direction.

This is the advantage of having a car at each end:- no need to carry anything for the overnight after the hike. We left small bags of stuff in the car at the south end.

Steerpike

Realistically, what do you need? If the cabins provide showers, soap, and towels, I could imagine suffering through the next day in the same clothes (maybe carry t-shirt and undies). If there are meal facilities when you get there then you don't need to carry food. If the shuttle doesn't leave at the crack of dawn, then you can also grab a bite before you leave the next day. I see a plan brewing ...