rim2rim2rim - a grand adventure - part 1

My best friend gave me the best advice
(She) said each day's a gift and not a given right
Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind
And try to take the path less traveled by
That first step you take is the longest stride....
--Nickelback If Today was Your Last Day

About six months of planning came to a head Tuesday morning about 3 am. I think it all started with an issue of Trail Runner magazine.  My friend Danelle read the "Bucket List" article, great runs to complete before you kick the bucket. And she started talking about Rim to Rim to Rim of the Grand Canyon during our long runs.

First it was alone she was going to do it. My response was "No way in hell." I feel somewhat protective of my running partners...good ones are hard to find. Found out that Tom W. and Lynn H. had completed this run last fall, so I invited her to a November meeting of Cornbelt Running Club to hear about it first hand. The intent was to either scare her out of it or convince her to do it with someone.  She was not sufficiently scared.

This is not a race, but an unsupported outdoor hike that the National Park Service officially discourages. Like any other hike in the canyon, but somewhat longer.  No permit required, since we planned not staying overnight. Just a little day hike.

That someone else became yours truly, and over winter planning and training began.  Spring break 2011 became our target date, even though we knew icy conditions could prevent topping the north rim. Family vacations that would intersect for one long day...she by car then plane, me by train both ways.

The minimum acceptable outdoor training temperature dropped lower than ever for my warm blooded friend. We trudged through knee deep snow and icy winds on 3-4 hour training runs.  Climbed stairs in 16 story buildings.  She walked for hours backwards and forwards uphill on the treadmill at the Muscatine Y, to the delight of on onlookers (who risk being struck by thrown five lb plates she put in pack.)  Intense weight and cross training sessions of spin and pool....including breaking the record team time at a local indoor triathlon. A rediscovery of yoga for me at her prompting.

The packing list grew to three pages. Snake bite kit. Water filter. Food, water.  Gloves and mask.  Jackets and shoes with screws for traction. Dress rehearsal of four hours with full pack and headlamps.

After a sleepless 30 hr train ride, a multi day car ride, we met the day before for final strategy dinner. Tried our best to put on brave faces and comfort children and spouses. Staring at the south rim, with the Colorado somewhere below and the north rim disappearing in the haze, we looked at each other with unsaid words...."What in the devil have we gotten ourselves into?"

After three years of training with this woman, I knew that she would be strong enough. Trust in your training.  Trust in your prep. Trust in your friend. There are few I would attempt this with.  Someone unstable need not apply.  Two ways out...on two legs or via expensive helicopter ride.  Or like several each year...one way, without return.

Continued in Part 2.

-Larry