Rim-2-Rim Sprint -May 2014

Yes, I call this Grand Canyon rim-2-rim hike a sprint because we were bookin' it. The girls I went with were marathon runners and their endurance was incredible. Steven, the most wonderful, amazing husband ever offered to be our chauffeur for the trip. He drove the entire trip, helped with setting up/taking down tents and cooking. We couldn't have done the trip without him! On Friday morning, we headed up to the north rim. The weather was threatening with rain and thunderstorms which made me a little anxious about our big hike the following day. It took us a solid 7-8 hours to make it to our campsite. We drove they heavy rain and even snow, so crazy! Luckily there wasn't snow at the campsite, but it was quite cold (in the lower 40's).  We put up our tents and then headed over to the north rim lodge for dinner and pictures.  It down poured while we ate, but has stopped by the time we were walking around to take pictures. Perfect!  The sky was cloudy and smoky (because of a big fire in Oak Creek Canyon), but still beautiful. The Grand Canyon is just such an amazing place.

This picture was taken at our first viewpoint. You can see Mt. Humphreys (the highest Mtn in AZ) in the distance. We started the hike around 5:15am, in the dark (and very cold).  

First bridge crossing.

The girls (Erin Wilkes, Maile Farnsworth, Brenda Sibley) wanted to take a picture of the steep cliff. The picture doesn't do to sheerness of it justice.

We were pleasantly surprised to see some wildlife as we approached Cottonwood campground.

We got to the river by 9:30am. The water felt great on our feet. This was taken at Phantom Ranch across from the Bright Angel campground.

View of the suspension bridge that we were about to cross.

View looking down the river (west).

Looking up river (east). You can see the South Kaibab suspension bridge in the distance.

This picture was taken for Kailyn. Pink is her favorite color.

The afternoon storms were starting the threaten us.

The dark patch of trees in the middle of the picture is Indian Gardens. We never got rained on coming out, but the clouds and breeze kept us cooled off. It was perfect!  Overall, it took us 9 hours rim-2-rim!  It was a great trip (even if I did lose 5 toenails. Ouch!)!!!