Doublecrossed!

Note: This draft has been in my blogger for almost two full months. I guess I better publish it. Pics to come when I get around to it. Which probably means in 2 more months. Maybe I'll finish the rest of the entry someday too.

Saturday 4/21/2012 Keith, Steve, Jeff, Greg, Ryan and myself all went to “run” the doublecross of the grand canyon. With the north rim closed until 5/15, we were forced to add a couple hundred miles onto our drive to the south rim of the grand canyon. The drive was not without excitement. A bad crash had closed the highway in both directions just past Page, AZ, and it was obvious that it would be a while before they opened the road again, so we decided to take a bypass road which really was just a maintenance road for the powerlines that ran parallel to the highway. A whole convoy of cars decided to take the same dirt road and we were all hoping the van would make it because having to salmon the little dirt road back to the highway would have been a major time killer.

Road trips with a car full of excited people makes any outing fun. Our attempt to do the doublecross was no exception. At long last we made it to the south rim and were able to set up the tent, get some burritos and check out the trailhead before the sun went down. We were all tucked in bed with an ambient assist at 8pm in anticipation of our long run the next day.

Saturday, the day of our run was Jeff’s birthday. On the way to the trailhead, we sang to him and gave him a pop tart with a candle in it in lieu of cake. We started running @4:30a to beat the burros on the way down. As the sun started to paint the eastern sky a faint shade of color, the darkness lifted and we were able to get our first views of the canyon. The relief is impressive and the canyon so vast! Pictures really don’t do it justice.  I was going at a fun run pace all day which included a mix of running and walking in an effort to make it fun and not too soul crushing of a day. Somewhere near cottonwood I looked at my watch and being 3:20 into it, I let the group know that Jason Dorais would be on the north rim already. We all laughed. At ourselves.

Just getting started.

Bridge across the Colorado.

Jeff came straight from a tailgate party to meet us for the run.

I picked up my skimo suit from Jared before heading down. I had to try it on when we were stopped
for an accident. 

Down down down.

Cell service again! Nerds.

The GC is stunning.

Mission accomplished. I think it took us around 15ish hours but I'm not sure. My watch died on me. Who cares anyway?

I felt really good all day even on the last climb up the Bright Angel trail.

A couple notes about nutrition: I get really sick of gels, bars, etc. on a long day like that. The best thing I had all day was a small stick of beef jerky. Ryan had boiled potatoes, Jeff had a Lynn Wilson burrito (he let it thaw in his pack)