How to Hike Rim 2 Rim in the Grand Canyon

[Music] how to hike rim to rim ah the epic an iconic rim to rim hike in the Grand Canyon a Wednesday what are we doing we are going into the canyon on the Kaibab trail the South Kaibab going down to phantom ranch and going up to the North Kaibab to complete a rim to rim perhaps you've done some Grand Canyon hiking and you're now ready to cross the canyon perhaps you never hiked Grand Canyon and you're really ambitious wanting to see a lot on your first visit in this video I'll break down all the logistics of hiking rim to rim in the Grand Canyon this video is for those of you planning to do it in a few days and also for those of you crazies planning to do rim to rim in one day what does rim to rim even mean [Applause] the majority of people visiting the Grand Canyon will show up at the South Rim as you walk to the edge of the canyon you will be looking across to the North Rim South Rim North Rim here's Mather point on the South Rim right by the visitors center here's the North Rim Lodge on the North Rim and yes you can see this Lodge from Mather point most visitors will never even notice it but if you know precisely where to look and you've got yourself a nice pair of binoculars or a good telephoto lens you will notice the Grand Canyon Lodge sitting on the North Rim going rim to rim does not mean you are walking around to the North Rim this would easily take a few weeks to do seeing as though there are only three bridges to cross the Colorado River between the Glen Canyon Dam and the Hoover Dam and yes when you hike rim to rim you will cross one of these three bridges [Music] when we say hiking rim to rim in the Grand Canyon we are referring to a hike down to the bottom of a canyon and back up the other side and notice while we're looking at a map with a straight overhead view that the Colorado River is much closer to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon than it is to the North Rim so now notice that we're looking at three different trails the Bright Angel Trail the South Kaibab trail and the North Kaibab trail the North Kaibab is the longest of the trails used in a traditional rim to rim hike now looking at the trails you can see there are four main ways to hike rim to rim at the Grand Canyon course options coming from the South Rim you can go south kaibab trail to North Kaibab trail or Bright Angel Trail to North Kaibab trail coming from the North Rim you can use the North Kaibab trail to the South Kaibab trail or the North Kaibab trail to the Bright Angel Trail if you go south kaibab to North Kaibab the mileage will total twenty point seven miles that's thirty three point three kilometers we'll use the black bridge if you go Bright Angel to North Kaibab the mileage will total twenty three point two miles that's thirty seven point three kilometers and you will use the Silver Bridge and obviously doing those same yet opposite courses from the north side will come out to the same distances that's twenty seven point seven miles thirty three point three kilometers two miles thirty seven point three kilometers now at this point some you are probably saying why wouldn't you just choose the shortest distance well what is most important to consider is where your water sources are for those of you planning to do rim to rim in a day hiking from the South Rim to the North Rim you will have your easiest part of the hike down Bright Angel or South Kaibab but when you're wearing out and the day is heating up you'll be going up the North Kaibab trail most of the North Kaibab trail runs along the Bright Angel Creek so if you bring a water filtration system you'll have plenty of water until the last two miles 3.2 kilometers because after you leave the soup I'll tunnel notice the soup I'd tunnel right here there are no more water stations until you reach the top of the trailhead this is why I recommend bringing bottles and bladders that add up to water carrying capacity of two to four liters also be sure to get on the National Park website and check which water stations are turned on see the riskiest way that you could do a rim to rim in regards to water sources is by hiking from the North Rim to the South Rim and coming up the South Kaibab trail in following this course your last chance to refill water will be just before crossing the black bridge which means you'll be hiking uphill the last six point five miles or ten point eight K of your rim to rim without any water stations or any creek crossings to refill water I would just scratch the of a North Kaibab to South Kaibab rim to rim unless you are a true expert hiker who plans to carry more than four liters of water that's more than a gallon of water realize there is a water pipeline system dispensing pre-filtered drinkable water and this pipeline system runs from the North Kaibab trail head to the Bright Angel Trail head with various taps to simply open and refill your water storage at these checkpoints if you are going to hike rim to rim in a day I suggest North Kaibab to Bright Angel Trail or South Kaibab to North Kaibab even though the South Kaibab trail has no water from between the top and boat Beach on the other side of the black bridge you will ideally be hiking in the early morning and of course going downhill if you are to leave just before sunrise and have two to four liters of water you should be flying making it to the refill stations at the bottom again that's if you're going south to north south kaibab to North Kaibab remember it's much much better to have more water than less [Music] in regards to time how long will a rim to rim hike take well personally I've done rim to rim and as little as 12 to 14 hours at a moderate pace with a long breakfast stop and Phantom Ranch and the rest of the day moving briskly up the North Kaibab when going rim to rim in a day you will have a lot less weight on your back and you can move faster and take less breaks than someone going rim to rim in a few days with a big heavy pack full of gear the range is very big some of the rim the rim records are around 2 hours and 45 minutes other people might spend an entire week going rim to rim if you're going to spend a lot of time doing a rim to rim understand there is plenty of opportunity to resupply water especially if you have a water filtration system in your pack however there is only one chance to resupply the food and that is that phantom wrench with this information I'd say doing a rim to rim in one day is best done by going from the south kaibab to the North Kaibab and a long-term rim to rim is best done by going North Kaibab to Bright Angel now let's entertain this idea of somebody who wants to see the most of the Grand Canyon in a rim to rim hike and has about a week to spend at the canyon i 100% recommend spending your night before and after the rim to rim hike at one of the hotels in Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim or north rims Grand Canyon lodge I don't recommend camping the night before or after your rim to rim hike I suggest staying in the hotels because you'll want to eat a good full dinner the night before the big hike you'll want a good full night's sleep and you'll want good light to see that you've packed all your gear properly also you won't want to waste time tearing down camp as you'll want to get on the trail just before sunrise trust me you'll have plenty of time to rough it setting up and tearing down camp while inside the canyon so take it easy the night before the reason you'll want a nearby hotel the night you come out of a canyon is because your legs are going to be dead your brain will be experiencing that euphoria that only comes after a long night of binge drinking or in this case absolute extreme exhaustion from the depletion of your body's physical mental and emotional resource you just you just hopped out of the Grand Canyon what are you gonna do next take off my shoes you don't want to operate a car in this condition the best thing you can do after finishing off a rim to rim fake is eat an epic meal and take a hot shower or bath to soothe those tired legs some people may not even make it to the shower for they may just pass out at the dinner table into the plate of food in front of them per my suggestion if you're planning rim to rim in a day you will ideally be spending two nights at the Grand Canyon one before and one after that's two nights total maybe you want to hike rim to rim without carrying a sleeping bag sleeping mat tent and tons of food for meals you could spend night one on the rim night two at Phantom Ranch and night three on the opposite rim that's three nights total Phantom Ranch has an option of tent camping at the Bright Angel campground yet they also offer private cabins for rent and bunk beds in male or female dorms for rent that means you don't need to bring bedding or a tent you'll be able to recharge phones and cameras and you can take a hot shower at the bottom of the Grand Canyon plus you can even pre-order hot freshly cooked meals to eat at Phantom Ranch so that's a way you can go rim the rim in two days without carrying a ton of gear also note the meals are still an option even if you're not staying the night at Phantom Ranch you can still preorder a meal and yes you must preorder it all food that comes into Phantom Ranch is taken in by mule so you can't just show up and purchase a full-on meal they do always have snacks we have bars they have sugar blocks for sale they've got lemonade ice-cold lemonade for sale for walk-in customers now let's break down that really long term rim to rim hike you could spend night one in a hotel at the Grand Canyon Village night - could be camping at Indian garden night 3 could be camping at Bright Angel campground or staying in the lodging at Phantom Ranch night four could be at cottonwood campground along the North Kaibab trail and night five could be at the Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim that's five Grand Canyon nights you could even extend that out by staying two consecutive nights at Phantom Ranch to really soak in the sensation of being at the bottom of the Grand Canyon so that's five or six nights total and that will cost you five hundred to a thousand dollars yet not really that much considering some day trip visitors to the Grand Canyon will pay over twelve hundred dollars for a family of four to do a 45-minute helicopter flight trust me spending three to four nights inside the Grand Canyon is a much better value it's risky yet it is a magical and surreal experience that will forever change you for the better well that is of course if you survive now the big question on your mind at this point should be how do you get back to your car or how do you get your car back to you fortunately this has all been thought out already there is a shuttle system we call the Trans Canyon shuttle and I put links to all this important information in the video description realize that the main season for doing rim to rim is from May 15th until October 15th this is because the services on the North Rim shut down on October 15th every year and that's because it gets cold very fast the North Kaibab trail head sits at 8,000 240 feet or 2,500 11 metres above sea level to put that into perspective Denver Colorado you know the cold snowy mountainous Denver Colorado the mile-high City home of the Broncos that's only five thousand two hundred eighty feet or 1600 meters above sea level the rims of the Grand Canyon are very high above sea level it's as if when you're standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon you're on a mountain top and it's hotter down below on the rims of the Grand Canyon we typically get our last snow in May and first snow in October if you plan to camp the night before or after your rim to rim take this into consideration again that is why it is my personal preference to plan to sleep in a hotel the night before and after your rim to rim hike in my opinion the absolute best time to do a rim to rim is the last week of May or late September into early October otherwise you'll be dealing with extreme heat or extreme cold if you're ok with heat summer is a lot of fun because there is a whole lot of water down in that Canyon which is fun to splash around in and need I mention hundreds of waterfalls so summer is highly dangerous for hiking yet if you spend midday in the shade if you take plenty of water and salty snacks and you submerge yourself in this water you could stay quite cool now back to the shuttle thing you have four wise choices here you could drive your car to the South Rim spend the night wake up do your rim to rim to the North Rim spend the night then shuttle back to the South Rim the next day at 7:00 a.m. or 2 p.m. and as long as you bought a park pass it is ok to leave your car in the backcountry Information Center parking lot on the South Rim during the duration of your rim to rim hike for no additional charges it'll be there waiting for you when the shuttle brings you back around your other choice is to drive to the North Rim spend the night wake up hike your rim to rim spend the night then shuttle back to the North Rim the next day at 8 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. as long as you bought a park pass it is ok to leave your car at the North Kaibab trail head during the duration of your rim to rim hike the other two choices would be to do the opposite to drive your car to the rim you plan to end on then grab all of your hiking gear and take the shuttle that morning to the other RHIB spend the night wake up at sunrise do your rim to rim and when you get to the other side your car will be there waiting for you if you think you might end your rim to rim late at night if you think you might have something that might slow you down a little bit in this rim to rim this is perhaps the best way to do it because you might pop out of the Grand Canyon at midnight 2:00 a.m. and this could be a time when shuttle buses are no longer running in this sense there is a huge advantage to having your car waiting for you when you finish your hike something to note here is that the North Kaibab trail head is about two miles or 3.2 kilometers from the North Rim Lodge if you're leaving from the North Rim there's a shuttle to the trailhead in the mornings however if you're hiking south to north rim you will have to hike an additional two miles or 3.2 K to the North Rim Lodge if you haven't coordinated a ride or left your vehicle a one-way TransCanada ticket costs $90 other options would be to hop on the Grand Canyon hikers Facebook page and try to coordinate with other rim to rim errs going the opposite way you could plan to exchange keys with them at Phantom Ranch or somewhere in the canyon and then exchange cars when you get out or you might even find someone willing to Ober you rim to rim driving rim to rim takes about four hours total and in doing so you will use the third bridge between the Glen Canyon Dam and the Hoover Dam the only bridge you can drive a car across for a 360 mile span of the Colorado River this of course is the Navajo bridge that's 579 kilometers of river with only one bridge to drive a car across that's truly what makes the Grand Canyon so spectacular is how hard to access everything is making it a deep dive into the very surreal world of the great mystery [Music] hiking the Grand Canyon will kick your think about a Stairmaster when you hike down on your hike back up that's three hundred four hundred flights of stairs coming back up a little bit you know do some squats do some running get ready because you need to have the best time you can here at the canyon so if you can exercise and prepare you can have a better hike you're gonna feel better you'll simply at elevation so you might not feel as great but anything that can prepare you for these hikes and bring so much water bring as much water as you possibly can at this point I've covered the basics about doing a rim to rim realize that there are massive elevation drops and gains in the Grand Canyon the trails themselves are relatively smooth yet it's the time that really gets you the slightest lean in your posture we'll get to you old past and forgotten foot and knee injuries will come back to life for most people this will be the longest hike you've ever done so be mindful of how much weight is on your back we like to say every ounce counts yet don't underpacked by not taking enough water or salty snacks if you're doing the hike in July or August expect extreme heat closer to the bottom and plan for the potential of thunderstorms and flash floods there are thousands of scorpions and rattlesnakes everywhere multiple times I've encountered rattlesnakes sitting right in the middle of the trail [Music] [Music] [Music] how to arrange accommodations if you want to stay at Phantom Ranch you can book through Grand Canyon National Park lodges online you will have the option of searching current availability or to enter the lottery Phantom Ranch is a very popular destination and has only 90 beds per night you will want to enter the booking a lottery 15 months before you plan to stay at Phantom Ranch to check availability in person or to see if there are any last-minute cancellations you can drop by the Bright Angel lodge in the Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim the day before or morning of your hike if you plan to camp in the campgrounds on your rim to rim you will need to get back country permits and those can be attained through the Grand Canyon National Park website you can mail in or fax requests about five months before your hike if you'd like to inquire about backcountry permits in person this can only be done about three months in advance and just like Phantom Ranch if you are already at the South Rim you can drop by the backcountry office the day before or morning of a hike to see if there are any last-minute cancellations as you can see overnight stays in the Grand Canyon need to be planned far in advance this may lead some of you to wanting to hike rim to rim in a day the Grand Canyon National Park doesn't recommend people attempt rim to rim in a day and neither do I yet we all realize that because there are no permits required for day hiking the Grand Canyon there is nothing to legally stop someone from going rim to rim in a day if you are very much experienced and equipped it is doable and for some it's even a fun time I hope this video provides enough information that you can ultimately make the right choice and if you are going to attempt rim to rim in a day do more research than just this video take in all the information and advice you can the two types of people who died in this Canyon are number one those who underestimate by thinking that they already know everything and number two the amateurs who blindly make risky choices not knowing anything lastly here is some of the Grand Canyon etiquette that will keep you and other hikers safe and keep the Grand Canyon beautiful for all future generations of hikers mules always have the right away stand on the inside of the trail and allow them to pass you hikers going uphill always have the right away hikers going uphill are suffering more than those just starting their hiking stand on the inside of the trail and allow them to pass you never throw rocks or short cut trails by going off trail you can easily kick rocks that may slide and land on hikers below you pack out all of the trash you take in with the same idea of every ounce counts I do recommend repackaging your food items so you have much less waste use proper toilets if you are going rim to rim on any of the trails I've suggested in this video there will official hit toilets along the trail and Phantom Ranch even has toilets with running water try your best to plan for these toilets many of the pit toilets will have toilet paper yet it's also a great idea to pack in your own toilet paper and also bring a designated sealable bag to pack out used toilet paper in the description of this video I've included maps and a packing checklist now let's end with a timeline leading up to your hike 15 months before your hike apply for the Phantom Ranch lottery 6 to 8 months before your rim to rim hike reserve your lodging on the north and south rims and get your butt on a Stairmaster 5 months before your hike apply for backcountry permits if you plan to camp at one of the campgrounds along the trail for months before your hike reserve your spot on the trans Canyon shuttle one week before your hike check weather conditions make sure to purchase all gear and food you will need one day before your hike final check of weather and visit the backcountry office or visitors center to see which water stations are turned on inside of the canyon [Music] day of the hike enjoy your journey hike smart and don't forget to slow down and enjoy the details [Music] [Music] hi I'm Canyon Julie reminding you to pack out your trash and to not be a loser

Channel: GrandCanyonTV

Views: 11,817

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Keywords: rim2rim, rim to rim, grand canyon, hiking, trekking, how to, details, length, south rim, north rim, camping, phantom ranch, grandcanyontv, north rim to south rim, south rim to north rim

Id: n5r-VKBlTYc

Length: 31min 51sec (1911 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 14 2020