Hiking the South Kaibab Trail

Starting Out

I woke up at 4:30am in order to grab breakfast before catching the bus to the shuttle to the trailhead. By the time we got there, the sun was already coming up. We got out of the shuttle and I caught my first glimpse of the Grand Canyon. I was speechless; the majestic view took my breath away. The rising sun cast shadows on the canyon, revealing only the highest points of the north rim in the distance. The near-full moon was still out, completing its setting arc over the west rim.

After taking a few photos at the trailhead, my team, consisting of 6 hikers from 4 different chapters, plus our two guides, set out down the South Kaibab Trail around 6:45am. Our lead guide, Elaine, works full time for the Grand Canyon Association and has years of experience leading hiking groups on trails. Jorge is from Costa Rica and is a professional hiking guide and biologist. Both of them were extremely knowledgeable about the area’s flora and fauna, as well as the history behind the creation of the Canyon and the different rock and mineral layers within its walls.

It was about 40 degrees and windy out when we started on the trail, and most of my teammates were bundled up in jackets, mittens and hats. I knew that it would heat up pretty quickly once we got into the sun, so I wore an extra long-sleeved base layer, but that was it. It wasn’t too bad, and I had time to change shirts whenever necessary.

The South Kaibab Trail begins at an elevation of 7,200 feet on the south rim of the Grand Canyon, and runs about 6.5 miles down to cross the Colorado River on the canyon floor. As a guided day hike, we were not allowed to go past the 3-mile point. This trail is one of the two maintained trails in the park (the second being the Bright Angel Trail) and was created by the National Park Service expressly for the purpose of hiking and mule travel. It also (supposedly) has the best and clearest views of all the south rim trails, but I have to say that just about any view of the Canyon is pretty amazing.

The Incident

After descending a side ravine, we reach “Ooh-Aah Point,” named for the sound people make when the canyon opens up and they can see the majestic views to the east and west. The trail makes a sharp turn to hug the canyon wall and descends further.

Halfway to our turnaround point, about 1.5 miles down, is Cedar Ridge. There we were able to use the facilities (a glorified outhouse, which is a lot better than the lack of facilities we had the whole time we were training!). After our rest and snack stop, we ventured out to the overlook at the edge of the ridge. Now, all morning the wind had been whipping up sand and dust from the trail and smacking us in our faces. It definitely tasted like sand at any rate. I wanted to protect my eyes, so I broke Rule #2 (which is “Don’t use any gear you haven’t trained in.” Rule #1 is “Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.”). My sunglasses had broken prior to the trip, so I had purchased an inexpensive pair the day before the hike, thinking I wouldn’t really need them since I rarely hiked in sunglasses. Well, these particular sunglasses skewed my depth perception, so I actually stumbled on the trail a couple of times.

I followed Elaine and Melissa (one of my DC teammates) down some rocky “steps” to the overlook. I peered down through my sunglasses and saw the step below me as one long rock, which in reality was two rocks with a large crevice in the center. I stepped down right on the crevice. Since there was nothing there to catch me, I just kept going down. I pitched forward, falling probably 3 feet, landing mostly on my left side. Next thing I knew, Elaine had thrown herself on top of me to keep me from rolling over the edge of the canyon. (Don’t worry. I wasn’t really that close to the edge.) As I dusted myself off and sat up, I felt sharp stabbing pain in my left shoulder, my left shin and right thigh (which had landed on a large pointed rock). I could tell large bruises were starting to form already, and I had skinned both my knees. We were only 2 hours into the hike!

My guides asked me if I had pulled anything. I was shaken and throbbing, but I stood up and took a step. Miraculously, I didn’t feel like I had pulled anything, so I said I was okay to finish the rest of the hike. JoAnn, one of my teammates from the Chicago area, gave me her unused neck cooler (a special neck bandana soaked in ice water that you wear to keep cool in extreme heat). I spent a few minutes applying the cool pack to my bruises, gulped some Advil and kept on going.

The Halfway Mark

The trail continued fairly straight, going down steadily but not too steeply, and curved around O'Neill Butte. My thigh hurt with every step I took, but I ignored it and kept going. Around 10am we stopped for lunch at Skeleton Point, 3 miles into the canyon at an elevation of 5,200 feet. From our spot at the edge of the point, we could see part of the muddy Colorado River, as well as the lush green trees and grass of Phantom Ranch, a facility for hikers who choose to stay overnight in the Canyon. We also had clear views to the west, perfect for taking lots of photos, which I did.

We stayed at Skeleton Point for almost an hour, heading back up the trail around 10:45. At this point I realized that I had over-packed. The night before the hike, I panicked and packed an extra half-liter of water (for a total of 5.5 liters), plus a bunch of extra food for energy to get up the trail. Turns out I didn’t need it, but I would have rather over-prepared than under-prepared for this hike.

Before we left Skeleton Point (no idea why it’s called that, by the way), we spotted a mule train way down on the trail, heading up. Elaine said that they would probably catch up with us before too long.

Getting Back Up to the Top

One of my teammates, Amy from Eastern PA, also had a heavy pack. I also think she has asthma, but has never been diagnosed. Or maybe it was the altitude. During the really steep climbs, she and I stopped fairly often to catch our breath, but fortunately, I never needed to use my inhaler. During our breaks, I’d snap a few photos. By this point, clouds were beginning to dot the otherwise clear blue sky. I realized that it helped give the photos depth, so I shot lots of them. Sometimes the canyon seems so massive (spreading over 1.2 million acres), its grandeur is incomprehensible. I realized that if you’ve never been there, sometimes the photos just look like a fake backdrop or plastic model. It’s just too amazing to be real…

Anyway, we continued to trudge up the trail into the glaring sun, stopping at the steep switchbacks. I kept looking back on the trail to see if the mules were going to catch up with us. Sure enough, not too far below Cedar Ridge, they caught up to us while we were taking a snack break. They passed us – 13 mules with 3 riders – and stopped on the trail just above us. We just prayed the wind wouldn’t kick up while they were taking a potty break.

We made it back to Cedar Ridge and took a longer break and used the outhouse. We set our packs down on a circle of rocks around a tree. A very bold squirrel popped out and approached us, looking for some tasty handouts. He probably would have jumped on me if we hadn’t scared it away. I sat and took in the view. Even though we’d been here before, it was 4 hours later and the light had changed so much that the scenery somehow looked different, the colors more vivid.

A couple from Pittsburgh (or at least they were Steelers fans by the look of their outfits) were sitting by a large rock, closer to the overlook. In my peripheral vision, I saw the same bold squirrel run across the ridge and hide behind the rock. I watched as he got closer and closer to the guy, who was oblivious to its presence. Suddenly, the squirrel jumped on the guy’s thigh, begging like a small terrier for a treat. The guy shot straight up and did a little “a-wild-animal-just-pawed-me” jig. I was trying not to crack up too loudly.

The Final Stretch

We got back to our feet after a nice break and kept heading up the trail. Did I mention how steep it was? We got back to Ooh-Aah Point and ran into a group of teenagers. We joked with them about going down to the river, which fortunately they weren’t since they didn’t have ANY water on them. It amazed me how seemingly unprepared some of the people were who we encountered. There was one girl trudging slowly up the top part of the trail as we were coming down, clutching only a Sprite bottle. The thing about being rescued in the Grand Canyon is that if you do something stupid (like dehydrate because you didn’t bring enough water), they will charge you for the rescue – something like $25,000 for the helicopter ride. They are serious about people being prepared for the heat and elevation.

We passed Ooh-Aah Point and the top of the rim came into view. From a distance, you could barely make out the 9 steep zigzagging switchbacks at the top of the trail. Suddenly, I turned a corner to see Jorge on his stomach, hanging over the edge of the trail. Apparently he had spotted a snake that he wanted to show us, but it was having none of that. It was kind of a bummer because we didn’t see much wildlife on the trail besides enormous ravens and the crazy squirrel.

We made it to the final switchbacks, maybe 15 minutes from the top. Everyone was in front of me except Amy and Elaine. I got to the second switchback and suddenly both my legs cramped up violently, right next to the bruises. I had never cramped up on a trail before and never this badly in my entire life. I felt like sharp knives were slicing into my leg muscles and I literally couldn’t take another step, I didn’t know what to do. Elaine told me to sit down on the trail and elevate my legs on the closest rock. I did that for about 10 minutes, until I felt like I could walk again. I put my pack back on and trudged up the next switchback.

Jorge had led the rest of the ladies to the top so they could use the restroom. Next thing I knew, he was running down the trail towards me. I waved and said, “I’m fine. My legs just cramped up, but I’m fine now.” He came up to me and said, “I figured. Give me your pack.” I replied, “What do you mean ‘give you my pack?’ You’re not carrying my pack.” I thought to myself, ‘I trained for 3 months and I’m 10 minutes from the top. No way I’m wimping out now,’ and told him as much. But he insisted, and seeing as how I was having trouble walking, I reluctantly handed him my pack. And then he asked Amy for hers.

Suddenly 30 pounds lighter and carrying only my camera, I felt like Superwoman heading up the trail! I teased Jorge about being our personal Sherpa, but it felt really good to hike unburdened, and I finished the trail in no time. We celebrated by asking some random guy to take our group picture back at the top.

We completed the hike in just under 8 hours – 6 miles with 4,000 feet of elevation change. We did it!!

The Aftermath

We took the shuttle back to Bright Angel Lodge where some of us stopped for a frosty adult beverage before heading back to the hotel for the celebration dinner. I checked out my “battle wounds” in the restroom. I normally bruise pretty easily, but I was stunned by the rainbow of colors all over my body. My left shin looked the best, a tennis-ball sized black-and-blue ring – not too harsh. On my left shoulder, an oblong blob of dark purple, about 3 inches long by 1 inch wide, painful to the touch. But my thigh was a whole ‘nother story. The bruise had grown as I hiked and was now bigger than my entire hand, with stripes of magenta, purple and indigo. That definitely hurt the most.
I put ice on the bruises as soon as I got back to the hotel. It was only after taking a shower and trying to shampoo my hair that I realized I did not have a full range of motion in my left arm. In fact, I couldn’t lift anything with that arm, or raise it above shoulder level without pain. I really beat myself up! But I’m tougher than I look. All I can say is thank God I did not fall and re-injure my back. THAT would have been difficult to deal with on the trail.

Reflections

Despite the fall, I had a wonderful experience and an amazing hike. I achieved one of my dreams – to hike the Grand Canyon. The park gets over 4 million visitors annually, but less than 1% actually step foot on a trail inside the canyon. I decided that I would love to see the Grand Canyon a couple more ways – doing a hike to the bottom from the North Rim, and on a whitewater rafting trip on the Colorado River.

The point of this trip was to do something that challenged me physically, to give me a feeling of accomplishment and purpose. During our breaks, I stopped to reflect on the strength and courage that cancer patients need as they undergo treatment. I was inspired by all the stories I’d heard from you of survivors’ struggles as they beat the disease and went on to live cancer-free. I remembered those who were not as fortunate, but was touched by the love and caring that surrounded them as you all sent in their names to be included on my list. I carried the list of honorees with me while I hiked.

Most of all I thought about my friend Alison and how much I miss her. But I know her spirit was with me the whole time. It’s because of her, and because of your support that I was able to raise over $7,000 towards a cure for blood cancer. I could not have done this without the support of my family, friends and colleagues. Because of your generosity, and that of others like you, our chapter with 18 participants raised the most money of all the chapters this season - $88,000. The grand total for participants from all of the chapters was $500,000. It’s amazing how it all adds up, and it’s important to remember how many more lives we’ve saved by doing this event together.

So again, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart, and I look forward to the next challenge!

To see my complete album (over 200 photos), please click here.