My friend Rondi planned and invited us on a trip to hike the Rim to Rim in the Grand Canyon. She’s already done it (both directions, running) and wanted to take her husband, so then invited all her friends! She tore her ACL and meniscus shortly before the trip, so they’re saving the hike for later, but they went to Las Vegas with us. But thanks to her – this happened!
Day one
We flew Allegiant from Grand Rapids to Las Vegas and rented
a 15-passenger van, but with no room in the back for luggage, there’s no way we
could have fit 15 people in there. We had to use the back row for our suitcase.
There were 10 of us – Matt, Moriah, and Clara Newman, Matt and Kate Upton, Suzie
and Jared Fromson, Andrea Hallead, Matt Spiess, and me. So many Matts. We
called them Spiess, Upton, and Hamms, for obvious reasons.
We were going right past the Hoover Dam, and it seemed a shame not to stop, so we did! The size and engineering looked amazing. I’d never seen it before, and I want to take a tour next time to hear all the amazing stats.
It was a four hour drive to South Kaibob Lodge in the Grand
Canyon National Park. We checked in and ate at the outdoor restaurant at our
lodge. Four of us set off because I wanted to see the canyon before sunset. On
the map it looked like it was .5 miles, but after we walked through the woods
for awhile, two headed back, and Matt Spiess and I walked by a campground, a
fenced area, deserted paths, until finally we found the Visitor’s Center, and
then sprinted to the canyon to see it before dark! (Who knew this giant hole would be so hard to find?!) Totally worth it.
Breathtaking as always. This was not my first time to the Grand Canyon, but the next
day was something new…getting all the way to the bottom!
Day two
We got all ready to hike, and we packed a lot of food and water. While standing outside, Matt Upton
and I each saw a different shooting star. Matt Newman shuttled us to the South
Kaibob trailhead. We got all ready, started off, and then heard a yell from the
path: “Turn off your headlamps! Don’t go!” One of the mules below had broken
away, and they were trying to collect it. We waited about five minutes until
they yelled, “Okay, now you can come!” And…we were off again! We used our
headlamps for the first little bit, but it was quickly light. I started with a
light jacket because it was about 45 degrees, but took it off after about 20 minutes.
A lot of my friends used hiking poles, and they would be
helpful for the more technical (i.e. steep and rocky) parts of the hike. We descended
for a long time. I slipped and fell once when I was putting my phone back in my
running belt, and when my arm hit the ground it jarred the phone out of my hand,
where it crashed against the rock wall and landed on the path. Unbroken!
I was familiar with the first part of the hike, because I’d
hiked halfway down this trail twice. I did the same on Bright Angel, but I like
this path’s views better. We watched the sunrise, and made the long trek to the
bottom, stopping for breaks along the way.
I was so excited to get to the Colorado River! All the times
I’ve hiked here, I’ve wanted to get to the bottom. It was so nice to put my
hands in it.
We stopped at Phantom Ranch for lunch, and we noted we were
a third of the way done. So far, so good! The views were unbeatable.
There was then a long section of flat. We were along a river,
walking by giant cliffs of rock, and it was an easy walk. It was hotter here, (about 89 degrees), but we were in shade for a lot of it, so it wasn’t too hot. People were prepared
and soaked handkerchiefs in the water and put them around their necks. This part
wasn’t technical, and you didn’t really have to watch your feet. It was dusty
though, and our shoes and socks were covered in a fine red film.
There was a sign that said you could go to Ribbon Falls by one
path or another, and Matt Spiess and Jared got separated when crossing the
river. I wanted to go by bridge, but when we got to the bridge part, it said
the bridge had been removed and I could just cross the river by wading it. I chose
not to, and we waited until Matt Spiess returned to go forward. Andrea got
really hot here, but Jared gave her a cooling cloth for her neck, I poured
water on her head, and she was fine.
We started the ascent! There were stops for water and
bathroom all along the way, and we all filled up and ate. We saw waterfalls, a helicopter
pad, mule deer, lizards, and talked to the other hikers. Moriah and I sang show
tunes, we chatted, and we took a lot of pictures.
We got to one spot that was out of this world. It was so dramatic. The colors, the size of the cliff we were walking on, the long view across the valley. I just sat and soaked it in. It’s funny to think that one place can be so wonderful when the entire hike’s views are also wonderful, but it really was.
We took our last photo in the light, since it was dark by 6:00 p.m., and we continued the hike in the dark. Now there weren’t any views outside of my little circle of light, but my phone started getting service, so I was texting and hiking! I could see my friends' headlamps below and above me.
We met some people coming back who said we had three miles
left to go, and Kate put it on her watch. At three miles, we still weren’t done.
Okay, maybe we have another half a mile, we thought. We went another half a
mile and reached Coconino Overlook, which I knew from the map meant we had .7
more to go. That’s it! We marched out the .7 and then…saw Matt and Clara’s
lights greeting us at the end! We made it! As Andrea walked up Suzie said, “Let’s
put our poles and arms up and have her walk through them!” Jared said, “The
thing about this group is you can always count on someone making it weird.” We
did and then we all celebrated! Suzie and Jared presented us with medals they
handmade for each of us.
Matt told us he made $90 shuttling people from the parking lot while he waited for us. Bonus!
Matt drove us to our lodge – the North Kaibob Lodge. There
was nowhere to eat anywhere around us, so he had bought snacks and drinks for us, and we talked and celebrated in one of the 8-person cabins. When I showered, red dust swirled
down the drain!
Day three
The aspen trees at the lodge were so beautiful, I couldn’t
stop taking pictures of them. So white and yellow against the green trees! We
ate a hearty breakfast buffet there ($15.99 and worth it) and then drove to Las
Vegas, dropped off the van, Ubered to the Mirage, and met up with Rondi and Andy!
They’d gone ebiking in Zion with friends Destinee and Thom. We went right to
the pool, which has waterfalls and a hot tub and palm trees, and it was
beautiful.
People split up for night – some to see Miranda Lambert, Beatles
Love Cirque de Soleil, ziplining, and Andrea and I went to see Mystere Cirque
de Soleil, where I was nervous the entire time for the performers since they
could DIE at so many moments! We also went to the Venetian to see the sky room
(the Grand Canal Shoppes), ate a giant shake at Black Tap, and watched the volcano
erupt at the Mirage. After that, three Matts and a Jared went to old Las Vegas
to the Evil Knievel placed called Evel Pie because they had Hamm’s there, which
you can’t get just anywhere.
Day four
Pool day! We spent a lot of the beautiful, hot day at the
pool, and Destinee and Thom joined all of us, too. All together! With friends I
also saw the Bellagio decorations inside (so gorgeous) and the Bellagio fountain
(always a crowd-pleaser.) It was particularly fun to see it with Moriah,
because she loved it and cheered like we were at a concert!
We also walked in the Cosmopolitan, because it’s fancy,
watched the volcano again, and enjoyed seeing all the people walking around Las
Vegas.
We got all dressed up in our gowns and suits we recently
wore to Kate and Matt’s Great Gatsby party, and many of us wore wigs. This is
the second time I’ve gone out in Las Vegas in this wig, but the first time was
20 years ago. We ate at The Still in our hotel, and it was delicious. We danced,
the Newmans went to ride the Ferris wheel (very fun), and I watched people lose
a lot of money before I decided I was not going to join them.
We left the next morning and headed for home. Overall, the
Grand Canyon hike was amazing. Strava said it’s 27 miles, which is what my Fitbit
said, but some clock it at 22 miles or 24 miles. Anyway, it was long, elevation
5,790 feet down, and totally worth doing. If you don’t want to do the whole hike,
then going halfway down and back up is great, too.
This was my fifth time to both the Grand Canyon and Las
Vegas, so if you have any questions about either, I’m happy to answer them. This
trip was really made possible by Rondi, so thanks to her, and thanks also to our amazing friends who always say YES!
Update: Andrea made a video of the entire trip and it is amazing! Link here.
