Hiking the Rim to Rim Trail

From Backpacker Magazine Grand Canyon

A great friend of Upcycled Education, Dr. Irwin, is soon-to-be hiking the Rim to Rim Trail of the Grand Canyon.  Have you ever hiked that trail?  You basically start on one rim of the Grand Canyon and hike to the other rim.  Cool, isn't it?

Over a decade ago, when teaching on the Navajo Nation at the coolest high school ever, a group of friends and I hiked the Rim to Rim Trail.  It took us 13 hours to complete.  We hiked from 6pm to 7am.  My group started on the South Rim.  The other group started on the North Rim.  And when we crossed paths, we traded car keys (that way we all had a ride home and didn't have to shuttle cars or pay for a shuttle).

Since we hiked all through the night in October during a full moon, we didn't need to bring anything else with us except for snacks, water, a first aid kit and some light clothing (although we watched the weather report and there wasn't a chance of rain or snow; it is high elevation, you know).

I've done a ton of hiking, in my time, all over the world.  The Rim to Rim Trail is probably one of my favorites.  Plus, how often do you get to say, yes, I hiked the entire Grand Canyon from rim to rim in one night?

Enjoy the hike, Dr. I.  I know you are going to love the solitude and experience.



PS - As I was researching this topic, I came across the photo above from Backpacker Magazine and this video of their Rim to Rim to Rim hike.  Wild!