Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Rim to Rim Grand Canyon vs day hike up Main Trail

I did successful summit, day hike, of Main Trail last August at age 68. It took me a solid 16 hours and I did the necessary training and acclimation. Hydration and eating was sound, too. I took it slow to deal with altitude. But I was tested mentally and physically. I am doing rim to rim hike mid October this year. I choose mid October to take the heat out of the equation as much as possible. Doing the South Kaibab to North Kaibab route as I want to end up at North Rim.

Can anyone give me any feedback as to the degree of difficulty between the two trips. Anything is possible with the weather, but the average temperature in the canyon mid October is a high in the low to mid 80's. so I don't believe that will be the deciding factor.

Any input would be appreciated. Thanks

grizz,

This subject has been discussed on the Message Board under the title "Rim to Rim or Rim to River to Rim." The initial post was on Oct 10, 2014 and the most recent post on June 4, 2021. To retrieve the discussion in its entirety (lengthy), go to the Search Function on the Message Board and enter "Rim to Rim." You must be logged in to find use the Search Function.

If you do the Rim to Rim this Fall, update us on your take on the comparison of the two day hikes.

Jim

Jim:

Thanks. I reviewed the reports. Your story with your daughters was special. When I climbed Whitney it was with my son. No better feeling. My hike is Oct 10. I will share my thoughts between the two day hikes. My primary prep for Whitey was cycling, about 3,500 miles in the 6 months leading up to the hike. That was not sufficient. I have found that nothing prepares you better than hiking itself. For rim to rim my training is more focused on hiking. I hope it pays off because Whitney day hike nearly broke me mentally and physically.

I did Mt Whitney as a day hike in the summer of 2022 at the age of 68. It took me 16 hours. I knew I would have issues with altitude so I arrived 4 days early, two nights at horseshoe meadows and two nights at the portal. It did not help much. I was not feeling good from the start but I managed to get up and down.

Last week, at the age of 70, I did rim to rim, SK to NK, as a day hike. I would estimate that only about 10% of the hikers go in this direction. Although it is a shorter distance, the hike up the north rim is much more steeper. I finished this hike in 15 hours.

Although both hikes were challenging, for me, Whitney was more difficult due to how the altitude hits me. I can mitigate the heat of the canyon by getting wet.

I am amazed by the reports of people doing Whitney 20, 30, 40 times. Much respect. But if you have not done rim to rim you are really missing out on an epic adventure. The Whitney hike will always be a part of my DNA but the grandeur and vastness of the grand canyon is on another level (my personal opinion).

(Triggered memory:)

Back in my 20'x, myself and a few college buds were doing a tour of Lake Powell (in a power boat)...I loved running rapids in the wrong direction when I was young, so we headed up (don't remember the name of the canyon, but it was above the north end of Powell) to the Colorado River...While we were drifting back down to the lake, a group of rafters who had run the complete canyon drifted past (there was a LOT of dead water at the end of the canyon)...we talked...they has a permit for the Grand Canyon the next summer..."Want a tow to the Marina?" The trade was for a spot on one of their rafts...

Long story short, they kept their word and I was invited to join them from Phantom Ranch out to Lake Mead...of course, my buds were coming up canyon to tow us out...

(There's another story about flash floods that sank my boat when we were up canyon on another trip...surfed down canyon where I knew there was a big commercial group heading out...the look on their faces as I pulled the board up onto the beach thay were camped on...they motored up and tried to pull my boat off the bottom...it was partially beached on a sand bar..., but failed...they gave us a ride out on their rafts...)

Point is...I agree...the Grand Canyon is an AMAZING place...and lots of head dunks do a lot to make the heat of the canyon tolerable...

(My hike down to Phantom Ranch was not a pleasant experience because I was carrying a $$$$-ton of gear and food down to the river...)