After a year of training and preparation, I finally had the incredible opportunity to cross the #GrandCanyon. For 24.6 miles and starting at the North Rim (elevation 8,241’) and descending to the Colorado River (2,400’), we crossed back up to the South Rim (6,860’) through cold rain. The adventure took 12 hours and 45 minutes, starting at 4:55 am in the dark with snow and ending around 6:45 pm, again in the dark and rain. It was a fantastic experience with awesome teammates who supported each other along the way. All images were taken with the fixed 35 mm equivalent (23 mm) lens of the Fujifilm x100vi.
Getting There
We drove the day before to reach the start of the hike, staying there for just one night. The drive from Southern California took about seven hours, and the temperature dropped significantly as we gained elevation heading toward the North Rim, near southern Utah and northern Arizona. As we arrived, the North Rim received about 8 to 10 inches of the first snow of the season. Luckily, though, the next morning was clear.
Hiking Down
We started our hike around 5:00 a.m. It was 21°F (–6°C), but daylight began to appear a couple of hours into our descent.
Hiking Up
At the very bottom, after crossing the Colorado River, we began our climb toward the South Rim. It was sunny and clear at the bottom, but clouds moved in as we ascended. In the last couple of hours, we had a light, chilly rain, arriving at around 6:50 p.m.—making it a nearly 13-hour hike.
The Morning After
