Hiking Grand Canyon (rim to rim) in July???

Rim to rim? That is so hot!

I did it in mid June... S to N, just hiking it took 7.5 hrs. It was in the 90s most of the day. It can get a lot hotter than that, though! I was headed to Utah so I had a pickup on the north rim.

There is a shuttle that will take you back. Kinda pricy though.

Consider spring/fall and trying rim-to-rim... I think its about a 40 mile run. Hoping to do that myself this year.

I hiked R2R2R with a few XC friends (2 girls, 1 other guy) last summer late July. We actually hiked most of it at night because my brothers had ran it around the same time and said it was HORRIBLE during the day....just plain miserable.

I must say, it was nice at night but we didn't get to see a lot of the canyon. We were only in the daylight about 4 hours for the entire trip there and back (minus during the day when we were at the N rim), and when we were hiking in the daylight, it was BEAUTIFUL.

I would highly recommend finding a more mild time of year (later in the fall or early spring) to hike it if possible so you can really enjoy the beauty, or at least avoid the midday heat if you do hike it in the summer.

We started hiking from S rim just as it was turning dark, got to N rim an hour after it got light, slept for a few hours, checked out the sights, then started hiking a few hours before it got dark again that night. Those first 3 hours hiking back were absoluely BEAUTIFUL!

Finally, I would recommend running it rather than hiking, as it goes by a lot faster, more engaging, you can enjoy yourself more when you get to N rim, and still get to see the whole route. It got a bit long at time just hiking.

You can do it, but you better start early and expect temperatures over 105 at the bottom.

What I would do is start on the South Rim and take the Bright Angel trail all the way to the North Rim. Start very early in the morning (you might consdider using a headlamp). There are water stops all along the trail. I did it with just a Camelback and some Clif Bars and stopped at Phantom Ranch for a salty snack and a soda.

You can take a shuttle back to the South Rim from the North, but it's a long drive (250 miles). A better idea is to stay the night at the North Rim and run back to the South the next day. All told, rim to rim to rim, is about 50 miles. Remember the return trip is easier because the elevation of the South Rim is lower than that of the North.

If you are in good enough shape to complete a marathon on consecutive days, you should be fine. The trails are very well marked and your only obstacle will be all the mules you encounter at the end of day 2!

I did it in late June. We went down the South Kaibab trail to Phantom Ranch and back. We were not very fit at the time from studying. Temps were over 100 with very little shade along significant parts of the trail.

There was a sign near the bottom of South Kaibab which advised taking the Bright Angel back. It said the South Kaibab was the hottest most difficult way back

How could we not return the same way? We refilled our water at Phantom Ranch.

The only scary part was a big horn sheep that seemed like he might charge us near the top.

I've always wanted to go back for R2R2R

Dude, they don't make stickers for that to put on your car yet, so you may want to choose another yuppie activity for your mid-life crisis resume.

yeah this can be done, but how much fun would it be

you may want to reconsider and plan on the transition months(mid-sept-nov or april/may

is all the difference

If you have any intention of camping during the trip apply on the first day of the month, four months ahead of time or you probably won't get a permit. I think the Bright Angel trail has more frequent water availability than South Kaibab but both are beautiful.

I've done it in July in a day. I would definatley recommend going north rim to south rim (down North Kaibab and up Bright Angel) for several reasons. First, the north rim is higher, so the net elevation change from north to south is slightly negative. More importly, the Bright Angel trail has more water available. Start early when it's still cool out, stop at Phantom Ranch to rest and get out of the afternoon heat, and then start heading up once it starts cooling off. If you're not up for that, then spend a night at Phantom Ranch and hike out the next morning.

Make sure you are prepared for this. I'm a 2:30 marathoner and I found it tough as hell to do it in a day. Just like a marthon, you need to manage your fluids and your calories. By the time you start feeling bad you are already screwed, and you do not want to be paying for a medevac out of there.

good luck wrote:

There was a sign near the bottom of South Kaibab which advised taking the Bright Angel back. It said the South Kaibab was the hottest most difficult way back

I've done South Kaibab too, and out of all three it is definatley the hardest (and least water available). That being said, I also think it offered some of the best views and was definatley the least crowded. All things being equal though I would definatley recomend coming up Bright Angel over South Kaibab.

I've run RxRxR in June and July before. Figure temps to be about 20 degrees warmer at the bottom versus the top. Although I don't know your fitness level or your planned effort, I would say that a July outing is not smart at all. Keep in mind that canyon runs can be figured at about 1.4x distance (I made that factor up and I'm not defending it) so if you are going 24 miles (basically the distance across), then you should be prepared for a 34 mile effort. Bright Angel is the only option coming out that you should consider. Don't attempt to go out S Kaibab in July. That be an error you make only once.