Not all fitness takes place in a gym. Earlier this summer, Ready Fitness Vice President Rob Colls set off on an outdoor fitness challenge: Hiking the Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim in one day with his sister, her husband and a friend. This is his story of an epic day!
“We woke at 3:30am and hiked from the South Rim (South Kaibab Trailhead) to the North Rim. We started before sun up with headlamps on at about 4:45am. It was a beautiful sunrise but 34 degrees to start the day and about 80 degrees at the Canyon base. Snow flurries at the north rim the day before.
It was a 5,000 foot descent to Phantom Ranch (canyon base) and a 6,300ft climb to the north rim. North rim is at 8000 feet above sea level. A very steep climb with tons of switchbacks!
You must carry your own water and food so my backpack was about 15 pounds. I trained 
with a 30 pound ruck pack so I was good! From what I’ve read, the average pace is 12-14 hours to complete.
with a 30 pound ruck pack so I was good! From what I’ve read, the average pace is 12-14 hours to complete.We managed to complete it in 8 hours, 43 minutes of pure movement. About 10 hours with rest and food breaks. Trail runners do it in half that time. New goal for me… maybe.
No cell phone coverage for any portion of the hike and no landline phones on the trail. Once you drop in, it’s you versus the Canyon. If you get injured, dehydrated or sick, no medics or park rangers anywhere except at each rim.
For those who like data:
We walked a total of 23+ miles for the day, over 63,000 steps per my Garmin. Our group had heart rates of 135-176 for the four hours of straight climbing. So you’re working hard to get up the north rim, you use 5000 calories of energy.
My ankles, calves, quads and glutes were a bit sore. Not too bad!
What are you doing on your summer vacation? GET OUT THERE!
