Hiking the Grand Canyon – Day 1

Hiking a Rim to Rim of the Grand Canyon is not advisable in the summer. Every single Ranger at the top of the canyon is going to do their best to discourage you from entering the canyon. And I get it – a lot of people aren’t prepared. A lot of people make big, life-threatening mistakes. And the Rangers at the top of the canyon are usually the ones who are going to have to hike down to help you if a call comes in. 

The Grand Canyon is really well taken care of. There are Rangers at every camp site, there are really clean, compostable toilets at 2 sites and flush toilets at the bottom of the canyon. There are water spigots – as long as there isn’t a break in the pipe – that give you access to clean water (that you don’t have to filter). There are creeks and streams that you can filter water from if there is a break in the pipe. Mistakes shouldn’t happen. But they do. And I made some on our first day.  

My friend Michelle and I flew into Las Vegas on July 2^nd, rented a car and drove straight to Mather Campground at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon – about a 4-and-a-half-hour drive without stops. Despite there being a guy in a rented motorhome who almost got into multiple accidents in front of us, we made it just fine and set up our campsite quickly, around 11:30pm. 

We spent the next day sight-seeing and prepping for our 4-day Rim to Rim. Going through our gear, making last minute switches and dealing with indecisiveness. We went to see the Grand Canyon from the top of Bright Angel Trail – the trail we’d be hiking up in 4 days. Man, that was daunting.  

There are no words to adequately describe the Grand Canyon. It’s gorgeous. It’s huge. Pictures will never do it justice. And as we stood at the top of the canyon, in the heat, looking at what we were about to tackle…. I was anxious. I tried to bury it down, but it was there. Could I do this hike? Would I need to call a Ranger? Would the heat get to me?  

After taking care of all of the last-minute things, getting some souvenirs and prepping our backpacks, we took in a gorgeous sunset and headed to bed.  

I had a lot of anxiety when I got up on July 4^th to start our hike. I was nervous. Scared. It was a terrain I didn’t know. I didn’t know how my body was going to handle it. I had been training for this for the last 2 months – but was also dealing with some long Covid symptoms (namely exhaustion, a dry cough and shortness of breath). The nerves were real. The reality is that I was more prepared than I thought I was. I needed to trust the process, trust what I had done. But the anxiety that morning was present. The pit in the bottom of my stomach was real. And it wasn’t until we were actually on our way that my nerves faded. One foot in front of the other. That’s all it is. I can push through some pretty intense pain (thankfully, I didn’t really have to on this hike because I was more prepared than I ever had been for a thru-hike!). I’ve done 2 thru-hikes in the past – both longer than this, and I was less prepared. I could handle this, right?  

We got up early and drove to the Bright Angel Lodge where the shuttle was going to pick us up (okay, full disclosure. Michelle graciously offered to drop me and our backpacks off while she parked the car in the overflow parking and walked back to the Lodge. THANKFUL). We quickly made a few friends – Aaron who had just finished running the canyon in 7 hours and was heading back to the North Rim and his car, and Paul, a funny guy from Maui who was going to hike the whole thing through the night. It’s about a 4 and a half hour ride from the South Rim to the North Rim. It was incredibly beautiful and with the two guys keeping us occupied with interesting conversation, the ride went quickly.  

We got to the top of the North Rim around 12:30pm and were trying to decide if we should head in or not. Every Ranger at the top of the canyon had told us it wasn’t advisable to hike into the canyon between 10am and 4pm, but we were eager to get going and there was a breeze. After eating a few quick things and taking a few pictures, we stepped onto the North Kaibab Trail around 12:45pm, with Paul telling us he would catch up with us soon.  

In we went. Immediately we were both struck with how beautiful it was. It wasn’t too hot in the shade and there was a slight breeze. We headed down into the canyon, completely overwhelmed by the changing colors in the rock and the grandeur of it all.  

Paul caught up with us quickly, right as we were letting a group on mules pass us by, and we kept heading down, brightened and uplifted by his jokes and quips.  

Down feels different than up. It hits differently. Both Michelle and I were feeling the constant down. My hip flexors immediately were aware of the 40lbs backpack I was carrying (yes, I over packed. Of course I did. Like I say, mistakes were made. Every year I do better with getting the weight down… but it’s still a work in progress). The ground wasn’t terrible to hike on though and we just kept at it.  

We foolishly thought that a first rest stop was our campsite. It was soul crushing for me to realize that we still had at least 5km of hiking to go. I was hot. I wasn’t feeling the best. I kept hydrating and getting some electrolytes in, but I was definitely overheating. One foot in front of the other. 

 We had a quick stop at Manzanita Creek to refill some water and get in some sustenance, and headed on our way to Cottonwood Campground. Along this last stretch, Paul said goodbye. I was slowing down and he needed to keep going.  

Soon after Manzanita, Cottonwood came into view. We quickly found a campsite, put out our permit and Michelle got me some water to pour over my head to cool me down. I definitely had some mild heat stroke. I laid down on the picnic table (what a luxury to have a picnic table!) and rested as Michelle set up her tent and got water for dinner. 

The first things that have to be done to keep the wildlife (and your food) safe are putting everything that has a scent into the box provided at each campsite (another beautiful luxury. On my last thru hike, we were hanging our food the entire time). We set up our tents (without the flies… why did we bring those into the canyon!? Baha) and tried to shovel in some food. Neither of us felt great, but we knew we had to eat. So, we did our best to get something in. As they say, ‘todays food is tomorrows fuel’. You have to eat.  

After resting for a bit, Michelle found a place for us to get into the creek. It was freezing but wonderful. Fully clothed, we both got right into the creek. Exactly what we needed after our long day of hiking.  

We were pleasantly surprised by the cleanliness of the bathrooms and the composting system they have in place. On my last thru-hike, we were dealing with thunder boxes (google these if you dare), so this was a welcome joy! We spoke with a few people in Cottonwood who suggested getting up even earlier than we had been planning to, and changed plans accordingly.  

Y’all, I don’t sleep well in the backcountry. And inside the canyon is even hotter than at the top. We were definitely trying to sleep in temps that fluctuated between 30 and 40 degrees Celsius. It was also hard not to be distracted by the incredible stars. There is no light pollution, so the milky way just glows. It’s stunning. I got about 3 hours of sleep that night. Not great when you’re not feeling well… but it was what it was. We got up at 2:30am, packed up camp and got back on the trail, in the dark, around 3:30am (a note to fellow hikers – be quiet getting up this early and use your red light on your head lamps so you don’t wake the others around you. Trust me). 

Things that I definitely would have done differently – because we were hiking in the summer, it would have been good for us to have slept at the North Rim, gotten up early and headed into the canyon. Because we had a 4-and-a-half-hour ride in the shuttle before doing the biggest distance of our Rim to Rim, it ended up being an incredibly long day. I have no regrets, because we ended up meeting Aaron and Paul – but it would have been easier on my body to have been hiking in the morning. I also forgot to pull out my buff (that I like to wear around my wrist) and wet it down – a mistake I did not make on the other 3 days. But it would have been incredibly helpful to have been able to keep me cooler. A silly mistake that I didn’t even realize I had made until too late into our hike. I should have eaten more. We hadn’t planned on heading into the canyon right away – the plan had been to hang out at the top and head down a few hours later. When the plans changed, we were eager to get going and I hadn’t fueled properly. A stupid mistake.  

While none of these things ended up being incredibly detrimental, doing even just one of these things differently would have made my day a little bit easier. It is what it is as they say (and as Paul hates to hear – baha). But it could have been an easier day.  

When you’re attempting a big hike like this, especially with fibromyalgia or other chronic illnesses, you want to be on top of everything else to make sure you are taking care of yourself as much as possible. I got into my head a bit too much and forgot to do some very basic things. I did better the next 3 days! Next time, I’ll make a list of things that I need to get done before setting foot on the trail. It’s so easy to forget the basic things. And if I ever do a Rim to Rim of the Grand Canyon in the summer again, the tent fly and my sleeping bag are staying in the car. Ha! 

Day 2 coming soon… thanks for reading. Feel free to ask me any follow up questions! I’d love to help, especially if you’re planning a Rim to Rim or just a day hike into the canyon.  

Just remember what they say… going down is optional, coming up is mandatory.