UP IS MANDATORY
GRAND CANYON SOUTH RIM - SOUTH KAIBAB TRAILHEAD TO OOH AHH POINT
MILE 0 - 1 ELEVATION 6,840’ The alarm rang at 4:15 a.m. and Marie jumped out of bed proclaiming, “Kapow!” I got up a little slower and thought, “Oh shit. She’s ready. I’d better get up. Kapow.” We were in a rustic room at the south rim of the Grand Canyon, ready to hike across it, and back. It was Labor Day weekend, and the tourist area of the south rim was packed with sightseers. We had gotten in the night before, organized our backpacks and laid out our clothes. Two women from the central Ohio valley would be hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, and out the other side. Then returning the next day. A hike known worldwide as rim to rim to rim. Or rim to rim times two. Whatever. Forty-six miles in two days. Lots of elevation changes. “I’d better eat.” I sipped my coffee and obsessed over my shoes and socks, while Marie was messing with her hiking poles and checking over the map. We had a 5:30 a.m. shuttle to catch that would take us to the South Kaibab trailhead where we would start our descent. I would need food and clothes for two days. My backpack looked like it would burst at the seams. I filled the hydration pack with water and shoved it in with the snacks, first aid kit, change of clothes and headlamp. We walked out into the cool desert air. The stars were still out as we rolled our suitcases to the car and threw them in the trunk. I double-checked that the car was locked, put the key somewhere I would not forget, and off we went to find the shuttle pick up. The previous night, we had found a spot to look out over the canyon as we hashed out our plan. A hiker overheard us and asked if we were hiking rim to rim. We said we were. He told us he was from Phoenix and has done the rim to rim to rim hike every year for the past seven years. We asked a bunch of questions, took his advice and encouragement, and said our good nights. As we boarded the shuttle, we were pleased to see him again. We would start out together. Chatting with others aboard the shuttle, were learned about their plans for hiking and camping. Some were set for days and days in the canyon. Others had reservations at Phantom Ranch, the campground at the bottom of the canyon on the Colorado river. After a twenty-minute ride, the shuttle came to a stop just off Yaki Point Road and we filed off the bus toward the South Kaibab trailhead. There isn’t much there, just a small sign pointing to the trail and a restroom. We got in line. No sense missing any opportunity to use a real bathroom, when heading into the wild. We seemed to be taking our time getting started. We took a few dark, fuzzy pictures. A few selfies. Asked a hiker to take one of the two of us, arms held high. We hoisted our packs onto our backs and set off down the first switchback. Our friend from the night before took off at a faster-than-women-from-Ohio clip so we waved and wished him happy hiking. His long gray hair bounced as he navigated the switchback descent like a mountain goat. It was still dark. We inhaled the sunrise while hiking the first mile on the South Kaibab Trail to Ooh Aah Point. This relentless descent is comprised of several staircase switchbacks that are heavily used by mules. That means we spent the morning dodging mule poop and getting used to hiking downhill. There just is not anything like this in Ohio, so most of our training took place on cement stairs at the reservoir dam, or on the hilly, wooded trails of Highbanks metro park. It warmed up quickly once the sun came out. Gone were the chilly 50 degrees we had at the rim. It was warm and dry. The morning sun cast long shadows over the red rocks and formations as we stopped frequently for pictures. I understood now why it was named Ooh Aah. It was difficult to say much else. We took it all in, grabbed a snack, and took more pictures of the morning light streaming across the trail. As we had prepared for this adventure, we trained in two ways. First, we hiked and walked for miles and miles in the heat. We tried to do back-to-back long mileage days every week to simulate hiking across and back in two days. I worried about day two. I am nine years older than Marie, and at age fifty-one, I do not bounce back the way I used to. You do not hear me popping up out of bed at four in the morning saying, “Kapow!” Second, we read and studied maps and accounts of the trail. It seemed more doable broken down into pieces. In all the literature, warnings about the South Kaibab trail always included how steep it was and that there were no water sources available anywhere between the trailhead and the North Kaibab and River Trail junction seven miles later. Heeding this, we took our downward steps carefully, while lugging three liters of water in our packs. It was slow going, but every turn provided exhilarating views. There was often a wall of rock to one side of us and an exposed ledge on the other, as we continued past Ooh Aah Point on our ridgeline descent. Next stop: Skeleton Point. To keep reading, click here. |