This week I took my 2022 Ford F250 Tremor on a long road trip from my home in Vista, CA all the way to the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Besides taking my truck offroad, for physical exercise, I do the same by going running. I run dirt trails and the Grand Canyon is the perfect playground for that.
In this case, I did a double-crossing of the Grand Canyon from the South Rim to the North Rim and then back to the South Rim – in one day. Read on to see some stunning pictures from the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
I left Vista and used Google maps to direct me to the Grand Canyon Village and what a beautiful trip it turned out to be. Google routed me around accidents and heavy traffic, but it also routed me through the beautiful California Mojave Desert – away from the Interstates on small roads. And best of all, the route was traffic and fuel-efficient even though I was a bit concerned about that. My Google Map route settings are configured to avoid tolls and to prefer fuel-efficient routes when arrival times are similar.
I really enjoyed the drive and if I would have not had to be at the Grand Canyon that evening I would have used OnX or Gaia to look for some offroading opportunities right then and there.
Google directed me to hit Interstate 40 near Needles and from there it was a straight shot to Williams, Az. and from there I took the 64 North to the Grand Canyon. I arrived about one hour before sunset and as to be expected the local wildlife comes out of the woods during that time.
I checked into the hotel (Yavapai Lodge), put my luggage into the room and went to the Mather Point overlook for sunset. It was cold, but mother nature put on a fantastic sunset that evening.
The reason I drove all the way from California to the Grand Canyon was to do a so-called Rim to Rim to Rim run (R2R2R). What is a R2R2R? It is a double-crossing of the Grand Canyon and ideally to be done in a single day. You drop down into the canyon (in my case) from the South Rim and then run over to the top of the North Rim (North Kaibab Trailhead). Then you turn around and run back to the South Rim. The South Rim has two trails down into the Canyon and in my case I went down on South Kaibab and went back up on the Bright Angel trail.
Game on. I started at the South Kaibab trailhead at 3.00 AM on November 10th of 2022 and worked my way down into the Grand Canyon. It was very cold and the trail was frozen. There was some ice, some frozen puddles, and overall the ground was frozen hard. And of course it was dark, but it was just a few days after a full-moon. Considering the lack of artificial light I was able to see a lot of the Grand Canyon. It was fascinating for sure. Of course I had a headlamp and it was well needed to made it down safely.
Once I reached the bottom of the Grand Canyon I refilled my water bottles and started my way running towards the North Rim.
The difference in temperature between the top of the South Rim and at the bottom of the Grand Canyon was tremendous. It was around 20 degrees Fahrenheit at the top and my guess was that the temperature at Phantom Ranch (bottom) was in the low 50s.
The climb towards the top of the North Rim is about 14+ miles from the bottom of the Grand Canyon, but a lot of these sections are runnable, while others are not. The biggest challenge is the change in elevation. From the bottom of the Grand Canyon it is about 6,000 feet in elevation gain to the top of the North Rim. On the South Side the elevation gain from the bottom to the top is closer to 5,000 feet.
I reached the North Kaibab trailhead after a little over 6 hours. It was a brutal hike for the last 2-3 miles due to snow and ice on the trail + the temperatures dropped below freezing.
I spent about 10-15 minutes at the top to catch my breath (living at sea-level sucks when you have to climb up to 8,700 feet lol) and to eat something. Once I had rested and eaten a few calories I turned around and started my way down. I slipped and fell a couple times, but fortunately no injuries.
Now I back-tracked my way to Phantom Ranch at the very bottom of the Grand Canyon.
Shortly after I passed through Phantom Ranch I crossed the Colorado River at one of the two bridges down there and then selected the Bright Angel Trail.
I had my work cutout for myself. Almost 5,000 ft. over a distance of about 9 miles. My legs felt tired of course, but it had to be done. I was rewarded with a beautiful sunset along the way.
A little over 14 hours after my 3.00 AM start I made it back to the top of the South Rim. My GPS watch clocked about 45 miles, but I think the official distance is closer to 47 or 48 miles, but that is not important really. The Grand Canyon is very narrow in some areas when going up to the North Rim and GPS signals are “getting lost” along the way.
What an incredible day it had been. It felt magical in a way when it is just you and mother nature in such an incredible setting like the Grand Canyon. I love these type of challenges and testing my limits. I also enjoy being away from people and life when offroading and I do so as well when I go trail running. Of course it would have been an easier day doing this with my Ford F250 Tremor, but sorry – no vehicles allowed down there for good reason ha ha :-).
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