Grand Canyon Rim To Rim in One Day: Training near St. George, Utah

Getting creative with hikes in Southwestern Utah to prepare for the Grand Canyon.

Grand Canyon North Rim to South Rim Hike Facts:
Standard route north to south (North Kaibab Trail and Bright Angel Trail).
Distances/Elevation gain/loss:
North Kaibab Trail = 14 miles/5,700 feet loss.    Bright Angel Trail = 9.4 miles/4,350 feet gain.  Note: I've seen various estimates of "net elevation gain" that are higher.  Since there is not any major regaining of lost elevation, I am estimating gain by difference between Colorado River and south rim.  
Elevations:  north rim = 8,200 feet, south rim = 6,850', Colorado river = 2,500'.
Geology:  Oldest rocks are Vishnu Schist, an early Paleoproterozoic basement rock (2 billion years ago) at bottom of Grand Canyon.  Youngest rock is the Kaibab Limestone on the top of the rim, a cream and white sandy limestone.  
"By far the most sublime
of all earthly spectacles . . .
the sublimest thing on Earth."      -   Clarence Dutton referring to the Grand Canyon.

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​On May 23, we will be walking Grand Canyon from its north rim to its south rim in one day - again.  Fred and I first hiked this 23 years ago, to celebrate birthday #40 for both of us.  We hiked it on our 50th.  We talked about doing it for our 60th, but it wasn't until our friend Robin asked us to go that we got our motivation to train for rim to rim #3.  Jeff will do it too, and Lindy will train with us but when it comes to the big day, she has generously offered to drop us off at the north rim and drive all the way around to the south rim to pick us up.

Since January, Fred, Jeff, Lindy, Robin and I have been hiking the most challenging trails near St. George, Utah and in Zion National park.  Creative planning like linking trails together ensures optimal distance and elevation training.  We need to be able to cover 23 miles and a 4,500' gain for rim to rim.  Just when your legs are tired from descending 14 miles on North Kaibab Trail, you face the biggest challenge:  climbing up Bright Angel Trail for another 9.4 miles.  And temperatures on the climb out can be hot, which was the case when we did this hike 23 years ago.  We ended up soaking our hats in streams on the way up to cool off.  Fred drank 9 liters of water!  The next day, we hiked back to the north rim.

Some of Our Training Hikes

• Snow Canyon south to north
• Wittwer Canyon/Land Hill - Santa Clara River Reserve
• Zion NP - West Rim Trail
• Red Mountain Traverse in Red Mountain Wilderness
• Zion NP Kolob Canyons section - LaVerkin Creek Trail to Kolob Arch
• Suicidal Tendencies Trail, Barrel Roll Trail and Ivins "badlands"

Planned training:  Skyline Trail in Palm Springs, a portion of Cactus to Clouds hike, a 10,300-foot gain challenge that Ray Wilson and I created in 1993.

Strengthening for Hill Climbing - Walking Lunge with Overhead Weight
Climbing out of the Grand Canyon requires strong glutes!  The most important function of your gluteus medius during hiking is to stabilize your pelvis to keep it level while standing on one leg (stance phase of walking).  The stronger they are, the better protection for your knees, and the more efficiently they work, the less energy you waste.  Walking lunges challenge your glute and core strength.  Holding a weight over your head adds more challenge to your core musculature including abdominals and back extensors, as well as your shoulder girdle stabilizers (rhomboids, trapezius, serratus).  Good training for scrambling hikes where you have to use hands to propel up rocks.
Action:
Hold dumbell or kettlebell overhead with elbow straight, next to your ear. Or, you could hold the weight in a "goblet" position next to your chest.  Take a large step forward, that knee should not go ahead of your foot.  Opposite knee taps the ground.  Squeeze glute on stance leg to raise to lunge with opposite leg.

​Here's some scenes from three of our training hikes:

Snow Canyon from Bottom to Top and Then Some:  Berm Trail to Joan's Bones (12 miles RT,  ~1600' net gain)
Berm Trail → Padre' Canyon Trail → Red Sands Trail → West Rim Trail → Lava Flow Trail → Whiterocks Trail →Joan's Bones → car at Whiterocks Trailhead.   
Living near Utah's Snow Canyon State Park sure has its advantages.  Each time I hike in this Navajo Sandstone paradise, I love it more.  We started near where we live, caught the berm trail and walked to the Whiterocks Trail on the north side of the park, then walked east to almost the top of Joan's Bones.  This route features gorgeous pools in cross bedded sandstone, soaring orange and red towers, petrified sand dunes, and pristine white sandstone slickrock strewn with black basalt boulders. 
Joan's Bones hike is on AllTrails (misspelled as "Jones Bones").

Snow Canyon training!  Robin, Lindy and Jeff at top of Padre' Canyon.

Scenes from Snow Canyon State Park, except upper right photo is from Joan's Bones Trail to the east.

Jeff, Robin and Lindy on the Padre' Canyon Trail.

Padre' Canyon:  Jeff and Lindy in the grotto (left), hiking up to the saddle (right).

Fred climbing up cliff band on Red Mountain Trail, backside of Padre' Canyon.

Exploring off the Padre' Canyon Trail.

Moss after a rain near Padre' Canyon.

Hiking up toward Joan's Bones - basalt and sandstone.

Descending Joan's Bones Trail.

Reflection at Whiterocks Amphitheater

Old juniper on Butterfly Trail in Snow Canyon State Park, Utah

 Old juniper image shot with my new Sony mirrorless, full frame sensor camera!!

Zion National Park - West Rim Trail to Horse Pasture Plateau (10 miles, 3,000' gain).
Right after the shuttle service opened in early March, Lindy, Robin, Jeff and I headed to Zion to get some elevation training in.  Starting at the Grotto Trailhead, 4,300' elevation, we hiked up West Rim Trail, past Angels Landing to the entrance into Horse Pasture Plateau at 6,713', at the intersection with Telephone Canyon Trail.  After regaining ~ 300' of elevation loss to and from, I calculated our gain to be ~3,000 feet.  We hiked on some icy snow.  Down in the canyon and at the plateau, temperatures were a bit chilly.  Zion was not especially busy with visitors that day.  We celebrated afterwards in Springdale with beer and burgers at Porter's restaurant.

A view of Walter's Wiggles, tight switchbacks up through Refrigerator Canyon on the way to Angels Landing.
Named after Walter Ruesch, Zion National Park's first superintendent who helped construct the trail in 1926.

Sue beneath Angels Landing and walking in snow on West Rim Trail.

One of the last switchbacks up to intersection of West Rim Trail and Telephone Canyon Trail on Horse Pasture Plateau.

Looking at Zion's West Rim Trail and Angels Landing (orange fin beneath Great White Throne).

Aprés hike brew and burgers!  More scenes from Zion, and Jeff on Walter's Wiggles on the way to Angels Landing.

Ascending Walter's Wiggles, Refrigerator Canyon to the right.

Ivins and Santa Clara, Utah:  Suicidal Tendencies Trail and the "Badlands."
The "badlands" is my nickname for the landscape west of Land Hill in Ivins, and east of the Beaver Dam Mountains because it reminds me of South Dakota's badlands.   A spectacular view of this formidable-looking red and white striped land cracked by crooked canyons and washes and plateaus with well-established biological soils can be savored from the top of Land Hill.  We hiked Wittwer Canyon, a major tributary that washes into Santa Clara River. 
Fred and I put together a 10-mile hike that linked the petroglyph trails on Land Hill to cross the Santa Clara River, to wander through the "badlands" to find a way to link to the Barrel Roll Trail in the Cove Wash Trails.
​In just one hike, Fred and I saw all the "cool stuff on this trail," (see photos below) and then some.  A conglomerate boulder hanging on the steep wall under Land Hill looks like it has embedded dinosaur tracks.  I called the local paleontologist; stay tuned!​

We were trying to find a route down the western cliffs along the Santa Clara River when Fred jumped backwards and yelled.  Buzzing under a tree was one of the largest rattlesnakes I've seen!  Ready to strike.  After giving it a wide berth we came upon some petroglyphs and found a passage through the cliffs to the river.  

Wittwer Canyon's walls, in the "badlands," are the Triassic-age (250 million years ago) Shnabkaib Member of the Moenkopi Formation, and the strata  have a characteristic "bacon stripe" appearance.

The "bacon stripe" pattern of Shnabkaib Member of alternating red siltstone and the lighter limestone layers in Wittwer Canyon.

We're fortunate to have Colorado Plateau hiking to the east of us and Mojave Desert hiking to the west.  One day we hiked the 11-mile Suicidal Tendencies, a popular mountain bike trail with scary drop-offs.  The more we hike this part of Utah, the more we find to explore.  Not only are the views magnificent - black lava flows blend with red and orange cliffs, signs of past cultures and geological events adds a lot character to this part of southern Utah. My next post (rim to rim training, part 2) will highlight another Zion hike and Red Mountain Traverse.

Getting Ready for the Big Day!  Keep On Exploring!!!

Cool Stuff on the Trail
One angry rattler, Santa Clara petroglyphs, preserved ripples, beaver dam on the Santa Clara River, dinosaur tracks(?) in Shinarump Conglomerate, a well-developed biological soil crust in the "badlands."

The "badlands" west of Ivins, Utah.  Top of Suicidal Tendencies is on the left butte.  Fred and I descended down to the cottonwood trees below and crossed the Santa Clara River, found a path through the badlands to the left and looped back using Cove Wash trails.

Jeff climbing a dry waterfall in Wittwer Canyon, finding our way up-canyon.

Wittwer Canyon:  upper part is located in the Shivwits Band of Paiutes Land.

Wittwer Canyon - Santa Clara River Reserve on a cold and windy day.

Western cliffs along the Santa Clara River - the rattlesnake is up there!

Fred and I found a shallow crossing on the Santa Clara.

Jeff walking toward top of Suicidal Tendencies Trail (green plateau).

From Suicidal Tendencies Trail looking north across "badlands" to Red Mountain and Ivins, Utah.  Snow-covered Pine Valley Mountains on the right horizon.

On the top of Suicidal Tendencies - a survey marker that has "Santa Clara" and "1954" stamped onto it.