12/03/2024
The home of the hardest hike I’ve ever done 🥵👇
📍 South Kaibab Trail, Grand Canyon National Park
2 years ago I came here for the first time with my buddy . We initially planned to do a 6-7mi hike down the South Rim, but quickly changed our minds 😬😵💫
We decided to run all the way down to the Colorado River, which is ~7mi. The logic was “if we run the whole downhill, we have plenty of time to complete the uphill.” We made it down quickly, cooled our legs in the river, & made sure we were nourished before starting the ascent. We were feelin pretty damn good 🥾🤘
About 1.5mi into the ~7mi ascent I knew we were in deep s**t. The trail is brutal on the way up; never-ending switchbacks, lots of loose rocks, and not a ton of protection from the sun. We thankfully made it back to trailhead in great time, but my body was fully depleted. I couldn’t talk, I was shivering even though it was warm out… I’ve never been that tired. 14+ miles, almost 5k feet elevation gain 🥴😩
I’d do it again though, and the Grand Canyon is AMAZING 😈😛🌎
