Starting Location: Las Vegas, NV (Rachel’s Casa)
Finishing Location: North Rim Campground, Grand Canyon, AZ
People: Rachel, Barry, Dennis, & Clare
Special Guests: Anne & Holly (from Santa Fe, NM)
Goal: Enjoy fabulous Grand Canyon by running R2R
Runners: Anne, Barry, Clare
Hikers: Dennis & Rachel & Holly
We left Vegas in the am, with a Honda Civic stuffed full of camping gear. We were all so excited about the weekend ahead of us! We loaded into the car, and let Homer Simpson (aka the GPS Navi) guide us to the North Rim.
The drive was pretty, lots of desert vistas. We stopped for lunch in St. George. Time was flying by. We listened to Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, This American Life, and Terri Gross interview the Dudes who created South Park. Funny!
Finally, after 4.5 hours on the road, we made it to the North Rim Campground. Anne & Holly beat us there and snagged campsite 19, so we pulled into 21. Both sites are nice, but we discovered 19 was a little flatter. No matter, it was *way* more than enough space for the 6 of us!
Shortly after pitching our tent, we drove to the North Kaibab Trailhead to check it out for the following morning. We would be starting at 4am, so we wanted to make sure we had the right trail. The TH is about 2 miles by road from the campsite (1 mile if you take a short cut on trail)! Since we were already running 24.4 miles, we didn’t want to add any extra mileage. Holly volunteered to drive us there in the AM. Sweet!!!
Back at the campgrounds, we walked over to the Canyon Rim and took some pictures as the sun was setting. It was amazing. I tried not to think about the following day’s exertion.
It was pretty chilly when the sun was setting, so we started dinner & a fire. The menu was burritos, good fuel for a long run! We all enjoyed the night, and then got ready for bed. It was going to be an early wake-up! There was a very consistent howling wind, so I hoped for peaceful sleep.
Tags: Camping, Grand Canyon, North Rim, Road Trip