Courtney's Hiking Blog

Grand Canyon – Rim2Rim – South Rim to North Rim

My aunts Terri and Fran have hiked the Canyon many times, it was finally my turn to join them! We flew into Phoenix and arrived in Flagstaff on May 19. On the 20th we drove to the South Rim where we spent the night before beginning our hike down on the 21st. We were at the Bright Angel Trailhead by 4:45am. Our plan was to hike down the South Kaibab Trail but the taxi was running late so we made a quick change of plans.

It was a beautiful morning and it was incredible to see the sunrise in the canyon. We hiked through Indian Garden, Bright Angel Campground, had our lunch at Phantom Ranch, went through Cottonwood Campground and lastly Manzanita before beginning our trek up the North Rim.  The hike up was exhausting, by farm the most physically demanding activity I have ever done. On the way up, it began to get dark and we put our headlamps on. We finally reached the Supai Tunnel and at that point I knew we weren’t too far from the finish. I kept pushing on. My Aunt Fran was leading, Terri was in the middle and I was bringing up the rear! Eventually I heard Terri yell, “Courtney, you’re there!” I thought she was kidding! Turns out she wasn’t kidding and I DID IT! I finished Rim2Rim in one day around 8:15pm!

We finished the hike and it was still about a 2 mile walk to the Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim. I had it set in my head that I was NOT walking any farther. I flagged down a car and the driver was nice enough to give us a ride. We made it to the Deli at the Lodge just before closing time and we were able to get some pizza. The best pizza ever!! (not really, but after that hike, anything tasted amazing). We got into our cabin, took showers and got a good nights sleep.

The next day we walked to the Camp Store and hung around the lodge. They had amazing Adirondack chairs on a patio that overlooked the canyon. I honestly sat there for most of the day! The original plan was to hike back to the South Rim on May 23rd. I was exhausted and Terri’s hip was bugging her so we opted to take the Trans Canyon shuttle back to the South Rim while Fran did a SOLO Rim2Rim! 

Overall an incredible experience, absolutely amazing views and many memories made!

This was an awesome hike with my dog Sadie and my friend Laura! We did an 11.5 mile loop and summited East Quarry, West Quarry, Rand, Klem, Mack, Anna, Straightback and Major! My longest hike so far! This was a solid training hike for me since I had my Grand Canyon trip coming up.

This was Sadie’s first 4,000 footer, and my first winter 4,000 footer. I knew that it was going to be a foggy day, but I was glad I still went. I parked at the ski resort and was able to park right near the trailhead as the ski season was over. There were a few water crossings that I had to carry Sadie across but otherwise she did great. The trail was like mashed potatoes and spikes were not very helpful. It was steep and hard but we pushed on. We finally made it to the summit, had a quick snack got a few pictures and headed back down the trail. I fell a few times on the decent and slid pretty far. Sadie was so confused as to why her human was on the ground! We saw about 20 other people and a few other dogs too. Even though it was foggy and summit views were limited, it was a great day. As we finished and headed back to the car, I couldn’t help but feel proud of myself and my dog for doing our first 4,000 footer together!