The 2012 Grand Canyon Double Crossing (GCDC) also known as Death March is in the bag. And it was excellent!
We woke to snow on Friday morning after a night of nasty rain. Quick check of the weather said the storm was to clear out by evening, but it would be freezing overnight, thus a cold camp and a cold start! We dodged rain showers all morning as we packed and prepped - this caused us to throw in warmer clothes than we typically take for 'just in case'. We were looking forward to meeting the 3 new people who were coming along with Pete, an old friend and long time companion on the GCDC. Pete dropped out a few years ago due to various physical complaints that made doing this endurance event more pain than it was worth. John, Mike and Mark were all newbies.
The alarm went off at 1:30 am Saturday morning. I hadn't slept much so went to the Bright Angel (BA) Lodge with about 3 hours sleep since Friday morning. I chugged an Ensure Plus, 2 Starbucks Frappuccinos (with added instant coffee) and an egg sandwich. Maybe not the breakfast of champions, but quick, easy calories. Construction at the trailhead had us wandering through the lodge, but at least we got to meet everyone in the light. Mike and Mark are in their 20's while John is of a similar vintage as Pete, Tom and me. We head out the back way, sneak through some fences, jump over a retaining wall and finally reach the trail. (We could have walked around to the new, moved trailhead but we wanted to start from the lodge.) I'm wearing shorts, t-shirt, hat, arm warmers and gloves and it is really cold out with a biting wind! Pete has a tank top and shorts, while everyone else has lots of layers on. I hate to be too warm and know I'll heat up quickly once we start hiking, even downhill.
When it is just Tom and me, we cruise down the trail, but we have new folks to talk with and need to catch up with Pete, so our social urges dominate the desire to go for a record time. Besides, we have all day and know that we will only be together as a group for a short while before spreading out. Mike and I get into some serious philosophical stuff and talk caving adventures (he recently moved to Phoenix from Birmingham). We get to Indian Gardens (4.5 miles, 3050 feet of descent) in 90 minutes and pick up some water, eat some boiled potatoes, and attend to necessities. Tom and I set off with Mike for the river. Mike drops back to join the other group after telling Tom I hike too fast. Tom tells me that he did not tell Mike that I am slow in the dark. Whatever... a hint of daylight is creeping into the canyon as we get to the river. Tom stops to go to the bathroom and I keep going, flashlight in hand as I cruise the trail along the river. I turn off the light as I get to the suspension bridge over the Colorado and then walk into Phantom Ranch (3:30, 9.9 miles, 4300 feet in elevation drop) in the dim morning light. It is chilly again along the river bottom.
It is 10 minutes before Tom and Mike show up. I'm talking with some guys staying at Phantom about the days' adventure and about how long it will take them to hike out the next day. We eat, drink and then refill water as the next stop is Cottonwood camp, about 2 hours away. Mike decides to wait for Pete, John and Mark to arrive, so Tom and I set off figuring we will next see the guys at the North Rim lodge. Despite the hoards of rim to rim hikers coming down from the North (clearly a church bus dropped off a big load), we make good time to Cottonwood at 2:05. This is the mellow part of the climb to the North Rim, climbing only 2000 feet in 6.8 miles (some of that a couple of steep hills with steep descent). We decide to go on up to the Pumphouse which is another 30 minutes and 500 feet higher to get water. That was sort of a mistake as the Pumphouse rest stop was a zoo with oodles of people headed across the canyon on a single crossing. We did it because we have a 'standard time' from this point to the North Rim trailhead.
The trail gets really steep at this point. Just as we set off, 2 runners from Atlanta come by and Tom wants to talk with them so goes a little crazy keeping up. Before long, the climb and altitude get to them and we pass as they are going too slow. It is still cool, but as we climb into the sun we warm up quickly. From the Pumphouse to the North rim trailhead we will climb 3700 feet in 5.4 miles. Our best time ever for this segment is 2:20. We made it in 2:05 with a couple of stops to drink and apply sunscreen and without feeling like we were killing ourselves. I totally credit the gazillions of lunges I did this summer. My legs felt strong and powerful!
At the rim, we took a quick break to drink and have an electrolyte. It was cold, so we added a layer and then set off for the Lodge and the food that awaited us there. It is a 1.7 mile walk along the bridle path to get to the lodge (mile 25.3 in the days trek). We each had a slice of veggie pizza, a bag of fritos, a truly massive Canyon Cookie (to die for!!!) and a root beer - total for the 2 of us $27.00 and worth every dollar! We sat in the deep leather arm chairs in front of the big picture windows in the lodge, basking in the sun and totally indulging in this decadent food. After a good break we went back to the deli where Tom got another slice of pizza for himself and another cookie for each of us. I carried my 2nd cookie and the bag of fritos with me for later. Mike showed up shortly after we started hiking back along the bridle path. We told him to be sure to get one of the cookies and to bask a little in the sun. His feet were hurting already and he needed to do some damage control if he could. We were nearly back to the trailhead when we met Pete, John and Mark. They were looking really tired and Mark said he was dreading the mental effort of going back across the canyon - not a good sign when one is only halfway through a 50 mile monster hike.
Tom and I set off down the North Kaibab trail after spending almost 2 hours (walk time and seat time)on the rim. Downhill on this hike is what does one in! I can climb all day, but the downhill is deadly. Feet hurt, toes hurt, knees hurt, shoulders hurt (stupid day pack!) - it all takes turns hurting on the downhill. We pass lots of people we passed on the way up. Some cling to the walls forcing us to walk by on the outside (left) of the trail. Many are sitting, others huffing and puffing. The farther down we get, the more I watch them for signs of trouble. These folks will be getting out late, it will be cold and maybe dark. These are the folks who will have an epic story to tell about their Grand Canyon experience. Back at the Pumphouse station, we stop so I can change my socks. I have a hot spot forming on the ball of one foot, some minor grumpiness that I might be able to head off with some attention. Ever the social one, Tom is talking with a trio of hikers we have seen a few times today. They are doing their first double crossing having done many singles. Two of the 3 are doing well, the other guy - he is going to have a really bad night.
We continue down to Cottonwood, then on down to Phantom ranch. Whew - so glad the down is DONE! We have covered about 41 miles, climbed about 6200 feet, descended almost 11,000 feet and have just one more big hill to go. The guys I was talking to in the morning at Phantom call out to us as we pass through, offering shots of tequila, beers or wine. We pass, but thank them for the offer. We are at 15 hours and if we can get out in under 4, we would break into the 18's for our time. Tom thinks this is silly and unlikely, but I'm not willing to give up on the idea. I tell him that if we get to Indian Gardens in 1:30 and then do each segment above in 45 or less, we would do it. Tom says "No, not possible and by the way, I could bonk" which shocks me into a new reality.
It is full on dark again and we are climbing up the Devil's Corkscrew by flashlight. This is a very steep section that really holds the heat of the day. We stop, drink, have a GU, and climb some more. There are no lights to be seen above or below us, but the stars are out and we find some old familiar constellations. We reach Indian Gardens in 1:53 - no record time there. We have a GU, I am still happily eating fritos from the North Rim, and have a big drink, then set off again. I'm up front and climbing strong, but Tom is with me every step. We get to 3 mile house in 38.51 - much better than expected. I tell Tom that my breathing is weird, I am exhaling much more strongly than usual and not really inhaling strongly at all. He tells me this is because I am burning up my muscle and my body needs to exhale the ammonia. WTF!?!?!? I am operating on very low brain power at this point, I've had 3 hours sleep in the last 40 and now he tells me this. In a bit, Tom says I am very quiet and I say I am obsessing about burning up my muscles because my tired brain can't think of anything else. I notice that my max heartrate now seems to be about 130 - nothing increases that number. I just keep climbing. We reach 1.5 mile house in 37.23, one last section to go and we are done! There are lights ahead in the darkness, something I can never resist. A drink, another GU, and we are off to reel those hikers in. The first group is easy - they stop when they hear us coming. The next group tries to speed up, but can't sustain it. The last group is almost certainly doing a double. As we get close they speed up briefly, but again, they can't keep it up and we pass them at the lower tunnel. Just .75 miles and 600 feet to go! We walk it out, finishing this last segment in 38 minutes. Yesssss!
HRM says 6800 calories, avg HR of 115, max of 156. We've climbed about 11,000 feet, hiked over 50 miles in a smidge over 19 hours, and were stopped for about 2.5 of those 19 hrs. It was a really good day. We find our way back to the truck, strip off wet clothes and pile on warm dry stuff, chug an Ensure for the calories and 13 grams of protein and then go to the campground to slip into our tent and crash. We are sound asleep by about 10:30. We hear the guys come in around 2:30 and listen for all the voices. They all made it. Sunday we enjoy breakfast at the Bright Angel Lodge and share stories, then go out on the deck overlooking the canyon. The condors are putting on an amazing show for the tourists, it is incredible to watch them dive and play. None of us wants to do any hiking today.
