Rim-to-Rim - How long will it take???

I provided a lot of information in my post on Just the Facts.

But I missed one thing that is really important.  How long will it take?  This will dictate how early we leave and whether or not we need headlights.

This seems like a really simple question.  But of course it is not.  It depends on how in shape you are, how often you will stop, whether you will take some of the side trips, and how long you will spend at lunch (or drinking a beer as is our plan).

Here is what I have found on other sites.

4:55a North Kaibab Trail head

...

5:45p South Rim 

If you are in good shape and do not plan to stop too many times, you can do the rim-to-rim hike in 12-13 hours. This means that you do not need to start before sunrise unless you are hiking in october (when sunset is at 6pm). If you are not in good shape, you should not even think of trying this hike anyway. So leaving before sunrise may sound a bit unnecessary. 

One way trip time: 12 hours 7 minutes

The trip was successful (13 hours for the hike). But -- it was absolutely, positively, without question, by far . . . the hardest thing I've ever done in my life.

Based on all of that, it will take beween 12-13 hours.  If the sun is going down at about 6pm on the South Rim, then we should be hiking by 5am.  That means headlights and enough warm cloths for at least an hour of dark.

I will be writing about headlights next.

Training #6 - Sea to Skyline

You read that title right. We decided to do the challenging Skyline to the Sea trail again, but this time
backwards - up hill to get more climbing in. This is our last big training hike in preparation for the Rim-to-Rim hike. We expected the hike to be ~27 miles and ~6k of elevation gain.

Greg and I (Gary is on vacation) were dropped off on the Waddell Beach Skyline to the Sea trail-head at 6:30, just as the sun was coming up. We started early because we knew the hike would take a long time, and because it was suppose to be in the 90's later in the day.

We set a blistering pace, getting to Big Basin (about 15 miles) not much after 10:00. This was too early for lunch to stayed maybe 15 minutes and continued. We continued our fast pace until ~12:00 when we decided to eat lunch.  Greg opened his pack and again pulled out beers having carried them ~20 miles this time. What a treat!

We didn't rest for very long and hit the trail again. As we climbed it started to get hot. And as we moved out of the trees, we could really feel the heat. This didn't seem like a problem. We were getting a bit tired, but still feeling good.

After another few miles, Greg's calves started to cramp. He stretched out and we continued. But the cramping was just the tip of the iceberg. He started feeling it in his stomach and them across his body. He hit the wall.  He rested up and pushed on for another mile or so. We happened to be in text / phone range so called our ride. After trying to go on, we decided to go back a bit to a place where we could be picked up.

We were ~2 miles from the end but did 26.5 miles and 5527 feet of elevation gain. A great training hike! And great learning in terms of eating enough, at the right frequency and making sure to get enough electrolytes.

I feel confident that we are fit enough for the Grand Canyon. I am really looking forward to it!!

Training #5 - Pacific Crest Trail from Sonora Pass North

We are down to three weeks left, and as a result three hikes before the big day.  Two long ones and one shorter.

1. Pacific Crest Trail, Sonora Pass North - 20+ miles, 4k+ elevation gain
2. Skin Cancer Take A Hike - A fundraiser for my step father, 7.5+ miles, 3k+ elevation gain
3. Sea to Skyline - ~27 miles, 6k+ elevation gain

Panorama

Yesterday was the first of these.  A really nice hike along the Pacific Crest Trail in the opposite direction from my other two Pacific Crest Trail hikes.  This post will just be some pictures to give you an idea of what the hike is like.

Elevation - Out and Back

 This hike really makes me want to take it all the way to Lake Tahoe!

Motivation and Exercise

I was taking a hike the other day with my wife Julie and we got to talking about motivation.  I am motivated, I like to workout and have for a long time.  My first thought was - "maybe I am not a good person to write about this."  But the more I thought about it, I do have to work at insuring that my workouts are productive.  I do have a fair number of tricks that help me.  So maybe many of us are actually the same, just to varying degrees.

I plan to exercise every day, seven days a week. My routine is not to think about if I will exercise, but rather what kind of exercise do I plan to do and when I will fit it in.  I put it in my calendar just like a meeting and move it if something comes up.  I know that I will miss one and once in a while two days and am ok with that.  There are just some days when it doesn't work.  But by planning to exercise 7 days, I always get in at least 5.  I think that if I were to plan for 5, I would end up with less.

Here are my thoughts on staying motivated.

1. Train for something.  This makes working out more focused, creates a bit of urgency and as a result reduces the likelihood that you will miss.
2. Keep it simple.  I know people who plan out their workouts in a fair amount of detail, but not very many of them.  When I see someone start off this way, I don't see them stick with it.  I don't plan every workout, but do plan some measurable steps along the way.  In this case, longer and longer hikes every other week.  That keeps me on track without making it another job.
3. Schedule your exercise!  I talked about this above.  Make it just like anything else that you do, put it into your schedule.  Treat it like it is important. If something comes up, move it to another time.
4. Find a way to make it fun.  Exercise with a friend.  Mix up the kind of exercise you do.  Play while you are exercising.  I like to skip down hills, sometimes go backwards or jump from rock to rock (yea, when no-one is looking...). Listen to a book, music or a podcast.  Whatever keeps it fun for you.
5. Take breaks.  Even world class athletes like Michael Phelps take some time off.  He needs a break after training for the Olympics. It keeps him fresh.  You can do the same. It is also a good way to keep your body healthy.

Hope there was something useful in all of this for you.

Training #4 - Skyline to the Sea -or- Pills and Poles

We are getting closer to the big hike.  We now have less than a month and a half to go.  Time to put in some serious miles.  The plan is to go long every other weekend leading up to the Grand Canyon.  Yesterday was one of these long hikes - Skyline to the Sea, with Gary and Greg.

The hike starts at Saratoga Gap, where Highway 9 and Skyline cross.  You can also start from Castle Rock Park or if you are really ambitious, you can leave from Sanborn Park (longer and more elevation gain).  The distance of this hike is approximately 27 miles.  When you first read about the hike, you assume it is all downhill.  It is not.  The altitude gain is nearly 3000 feet!

Pam dropped us off at the top at just before 7 am.  As we pull our day hydration packs out of the back of the car, it is all wet - someone is leaking.  I assume it is me because I had a problem filling up at home.  It turns out that it was Gary.  His hose had pulled away from the bladder and all the water leaked out.  He reattached, reassembled and filled it up again.  Water started leaking out again.  A bit of panic as we refilled his bottle from what was left in the bladder.  We cut the tube and reattached again, but decided not to refill the bladder until we reached Big Basin.  Luckily it was not very hot.

With that out of the way, we took off.  The pace was good.  The conversation was great.  The weather was perfect.  With a couple of short stops along the way, we reached Big Basin in the middle of the beautiful redwoods.  This was a good time to refill our bladders, empty our bladders:), and have lunch.  One of the things that we have all talked about a number of times was that the Rim-to-Rim hike is not the time to try something new.  Eat what you have eaten before, wear what you have worn before, drink what you have drank before.  So to my surprise, while we are sitting at the picnic table, Greg pulls out three cold beers.  We are planning to stop at Phantom Ranch in the Grand Canyon to have a beer before continuing.  Greg smiles and says "In the spirit of trying things out ahead of time...".  That beer tasted really good:)

The rest of the hike was really nice.  The terrain changes multiple times as you make your way through the remainder of the redwoods, along the creek and toward the ocean.  You can feel the onshore breeze well before you can see the ocean.  Gary and I thought that you could see the ocean well before you actually can.  Maybe it was different 13 years ago when I last did this hike.

I am sure you are asking - why does the title include "Pills and Poles"?  My two hiking buddies were both popping pills along the way in order to save their knees.  Gary the red pills, Greg the blue pills (Ibprofin and Aleve).  That together with all of us having poles, seemed to do the trick.  With the amount of downhill that this hike has, there is real risk of knee pain.  We made it and all felt good - tired, but good at the end!

Back to the hike.  We reached Waddell beach at around 4:45 pm.  Julie and Suzanne were waiting for us with sandwiches, fruit, snacks and beer.  Thank you so much - what a great way to end the hike!

With this long hike done, we still have two more long ones, along with regular shorter hikes in between. Gary will be on vacation so will find some good hikes on his own.  Greg and I are likely to do Mt. Diablo next.  I am looking at some routes that will get us more than 500- feet of elevation and more than 20 miles of distance.  And then one more super challenging killer hike.  We plan to do the hike I just wrote about - but in the opposite direction, Sea to Skyline.  This will be the same ~27 miles, but with almost 6,000 feet of elevation gain.  Wish us luck!

Rim-to-Rim - What to Eat

We expect the hike to take 14-16 hours.  That is a lot of time on the trail.  We need to make sure we eat and drink right.  I will talk about eating first and drinking in another post.

The first thing to think about is what to eat the night before the hike, and in the morning before leaving.  My approach is always to have a good balanced meal the night before, making sure that you get a mix of protein and carbohydrates.  I don't totally buy into carbo-loading, but some good carbs will be included in what I eat.  I will also lay off the wine and beer.  And I will make sure that I drink a good amount of water.  All of that will leave me in the best state when I get up.

Breakfast is about eating what I have eaten lots of times before.  I will not try something new.  My go to meal is peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, on toasted whole wheat bread.  My stomach likes this.  And I think it is a decent combination of protein and carbohydrates again.  I will drink water.  And I will have coffee (I am a bit of a coffee prude so will bring my own to the hotel).  I am not sure coffee is right for everyone, but I am a big fan and have it all the time before I hike or bike.  It will not cause any problems, and I think the caffeine gets me going!

As an aside, I will make sure I am up at least an hour before we start hiking.  I need that time to enjoy my coffee and to give my body time to wake up, shower, go to the bathroom, and be in the right state of mind to enjoy the day. 

Once we get moving, I like to eat something every 45 minutes to 1 hour.  That can be a gel or bar.  I like to mix it up a bit, but mostly eat bars, making sure that I have one that is high in protein.  This is not an advertisement, but I am a Clif fan.  I like the ingredients, the way they quickly disappear from my mouth, and most importantly the way they make me feel.  I am not a fan of the blocks.  They stick to my teeth.

I have read a lot on nutrition and hiking.  I know that some people eat dried meat, dried fruit, crackers, cheese, etc. I will likely bring along a bit of fruit.  In the end, it is your own preference.  The main thing is that it be something that you are use to eating, in similar conditions (long day of exercise), and that you eat regularly.  It is really hard to recover if you bonk!

Last thing. When we get to Phantom Ranch, there is a good chance we will have a beer.  I don't typically drink beer on a hike, but it may happen this time:) Lets hope the carbonation is not a problem!

Half Dome!

Finally got the chance to do Half Dome.  One of my bucket list items!!

As part of preparing for the Rim-to-Rim, I decided that it was time to do one of my bucket list hikes - Half Dome.  I mentioned this to a number of people, including Gary and Greg who are doing the Rim-to-Rim with me.  Almost everyone that I asked said they wanted to do it - including my brother and family who were planning a trip out from Utah.  Very quickly we were up to 18 people!

The first step is getting enough permits.  I asked everyone who is going, along with their non hiking spouses, to apply.  We ended up with 17 submissions (we had a few people under 18 applying, so with non hiking spouses, that got us to this number).  For more, go to the Half Dome Permits page.  Long story short, we ended up with 3 permits, just enough.  All of the submissions really paid off.

The next step was to make sure that everyone is ready.  This is a challenging hike.  It is 14-16 miles with about 5,000' of climbing. And to end it all off, you have to go up the cables to get to the top of the dome.  The group planning to go were all in pretty good shape. But most for this kind of hike.  So I shared as much information as I could on the hike, what others say about it, etc.  I think it was eye opening and really helped.

Here is the list that I shared with all of our hikers

• Water.  The recommendation is that you bring a gallon.  If you have a 3L CamelBak or similar, you should bring a bit more with you.  That's what I do.
• Electrolytes.  It is a good idea to add something to your water or include a drink with electrolytes.  I am a fan of Cytomax, but there are lots of other choices. I don't like to mix this in my CamelBak.  I instead carry a bottle or two that have it pre-mixed.
• Food.  You will need to eat.  Bring something that you have been eating on other hikes.  This is not a great time to try out something new.  I am a Cliff gel and bar fan.  I will bring some extra just in case.  I recommend eating regularly.  I like to eat every 45 minutes - 1 hour.
• Hat.  We will be on the trail for a long time, sometimes in the shade and sometimes in the sun.  Might be worth bringing a hat. I look really bad in a hat but will be wearing one - sorry.  I will put lotion on as well.
• Layers.  The temperature will vary a lot.  Best to bring layers so that you can take off or put on depending.
• Sticks.  The down is hard on the knees.  I will bring mine and will carry them on the up but use them on the down.
• Gloves.  You will need gloves for the cables. There are some at the beginning of the cables, but they are old and worn.  I recommend that you bring your own. I found a good article on gloves by a guy who has done half dome 40 times http://hikehalfdome.com/?s=Gloves. I went ahead and bought pairs for me and my kids. They are $6.12 on Amazon.
• Harnesses.  I don't think you need these, but do what makes you feel safe.  If you are thinking of bringing a harness, read the post from the same guy who wrote the one above.  Use a real mountaineering harness, a homemade system could be worse than none at all http://hikehalfdome.com/?s=Harness.

Everyone that hiked was well prepared.

We started the hike  just after 6:00am.  The weather was great.  Almost everyone wore shorts and t-shirts and we were fine.  We parked in the trailhead lot in Curry Village.  We all started off together, but pretty quickly started to spread out.  Some of us met up along the way, and did all see each other at the top (all but two who decided not to go up the cables).  We then left the top separately and met back up at the bottom.

A few things of note.

• We had a few people cramp.  Bring electrolytes.
• We all drank a lot of water.  You need a gallon or more.  There is no water (unless you filter) up the trail.
• Poles were definitely helpful on the down.
• Go early.  It gets busy in the afternoon.  And especially busy at the waterfalls on the way down.

This is a GREAT hike.  I am so glad that I did it.  It was hard, but with training, not impossible.  It took us about 4 hours to make it to the top and another 3 hours to make it back down.  The beginning up the falls was hard.  The sub-dome, up the zig zag was the hardest part.  The cables were intimidating but actually not that hard. We all spent time on top enjoying the incredible view and the accomplishment.


There are so many great hikes in Yosemite that I have not done.  I think that I will check a few of them off first, but will definitely do Half Dome again!