Travel

SEEMINGLY ORDINARY PEOPLE CHALLENGE 50 OF THE TOUGHEST HIKING MILES IN AMERICA RIM to RIM to RIM THE GRAND CANYON RIM RIM RIM "TEN!"

First of all, be aware that I have a very distinct fear of falling from high places.

"NINE!"

For more than half a century, I have periodically visited the Grand Canyon, but never have I hiked down into it because the chasm is awesomely deep, nearly 4,500 feet from the Bright Angel Trailhead, where I am now standing, to the roaring Colorado River at the bottom.

"EIGHT!"

Along the switchback trail that angles into the maw of this immense and overpowering gorge, the route skirts precipitous drops so steep that a fall could transform a human body into instant mush.

"SEVEN!"

So, why am I standing here in the middle of darkest night, wearing shorts and running shoes, with a water bottle and small pack strapped to my body? I have no ready answer. Probably never will.

"SIX!"

Feet shuffle expectantly like the hooves of racehorses waiting in the gate. A stiff May wind is blowing in from the south. Tiny headlamps and flashlights switch on, outlining portions of anxious faces.

"FIVE!"

I am hemmed in by 63 bodies, male and female, bodies that shortly will propel themselves (taking me along) toward the edge of the abyss, then turn abruptly onto the narrow trail at the Canyon's edge, and lunge into enveloping darkness.

"FOUR!"

I am thinking of words spoken by a World War I American Army officer as his troops prepared to spring from the trenches into the face of the German juggernaut: "Let's go boys! No one needs to live forever!"

"THREE!"

The swift ones, the runners, are toward the front.

"TWO!"

The route is down the Grand Canyon's Bright Angel Trail to Indian Gardens, then east on the Tonto Trail to the South Kaibab Trail, and from there down to the Colorado River and across a suspensionbridge to Phantom Ranch. Vertical descent at this point is 4,460 feet; distance, 12.1 miles. From Phantom Ranch, the participants will take the North Kaibab Trail across the Inner Gorge and up a zigzag route to the North Rim of the Canyon. Total distance: 26.3 miles; total vertical ascent/descent: 10,270 feet.

bridge to Phantom Ranch. Vertical descent at this point is 4,460 feet; distance, 12.1 miles. From Phantom Ranch, the participants will take the North Kaibab Trail across the Inner Gorge and up a zigzag route to the North Rim of the Canyon. Total distance: 26.3 miles; total vertical ascent/descent: 10,270 feet.

Very few hikers or runners even those in absolute peak condition attempt the rim-to-rim in a single day. Members of the group surrounding me in darkness not only will endeavor to cross from the South Rim to the North Rim but will then turn around and immediately return by a slightly different route for a total of more than 52 miles and a vertical ascent/descent of 20,440 feet. The object is to complete the course within 24 hours.

MILE 9 "ONE!"

Strangely, I have no desire to step to the side and let the group leave without me. Perhaps the darkness gives me respite from my high-places anxiety. What I cannot see, I do not fear. Something like that.

"GO!"

Bobbing lights move forward at a brisk pace, turn left, and funnel single file onto the trail. It is 4:00 A.M. Those who return before 4:00 A.M. tomorrow morning will be eligible to purchase a T-shirt commemorating the experience. That's it. No trophies, no certificates. Those who participate are motivated by some intangible incentive not apparent to most of us.

I sweep the path ahead with the beam of my flashlight, peripherally aware of other shafts of moving light in front of me. At my heels are the crunching sounds of fast-moving feet on gravels.

The trail, crude but distinct, is from three to five feet wide. In most places, there is a deep single rut gouged by foot traffic and the hooves of the Canyon's famous mules. In spots large stones protrude. Often, there are logs set into the trail to impede erosion. The hikers and runners step around and across these impediments. So do I.

I have covered less than a hundred yards when my beam of light misses a pothole. My right foot finds it. I twist, lurch forward, feeling the stab of pain. My knuckles brush the dirt as I recover. A female voice behind me calls out softly, "Be careful."

Now a male voice comes out of the darkness and over my shoulder: "Passing on the left." Ghostlike, he drifts by me.

This event, conceived by the Southern Arizona Hiking Club, started six years ago. In the beginning, only hikers participated, but in the last several years a few long-distance runners have joined in. Apparently, the spirit of the runners' pace has rippled down the line. Those ahead of me begin jogging. So do I.

I am aware that if the people directly ahead were to miss a turn and continue over the edge I would, like a nocturnal lemming, follow them into the void. Peculiarly, the thought doesn't seem to bother me. The pain in my ankle does. It is low-level and nagging.

In less than 30 minutes, the distance between those at the head of the pack and those at the rear is nearly a mile. For fractions of seconds, I raise my eyes and dart glances across the steep side canyon we are negotiating. On the far wall, a quarter mile away, bobbing along in a switchback pattern, are tiny points of light. Otherwise, blackness.

It is my intention to remain with the pack only until we reach the Tonto

RIM RIM RIM MILE 40

about unusual flowers she saw along the way, little silver frogs floating in a quiet trailside stream, a fat lizard, so unafraid of humans that it permitted her to stop and stroke its back.

Sherry's running partner, Melody Davis, arrives 50 minutes later. Quiet Vic Myev, the man from Moscow, finishes with a time of 14 hours, 25 minutes. The sun is sliding behind the massive Redwall to the west and darkness starts settling in on the Canyon. From this point on, all of those returning will need their lamps and flashlights. Sherry, Melody, and I walk toward the lodge.

I return several times during the evening to watch for incoming hikers. About 11:00 P.M., I make my last check. Far below, two glittering pinpoints move in the darkness. Nearly half the hikers are still on the trail, but most are too deep in the Canyon to be seen. A chill breeze urges me inside. I turn my back on the lights and leave those who carry them to their lonely, midnight labor. The next morning, participants gather in the El Tovar Hotel dining room. Big

RIM RIM RIM

breakfasts sometimes very big breakfasts are the order of the day. I move from table to table, listening to the animated conversations. Nancy Halley, 48, of Phoenix, is talking. "When I get to the North Rim, this very authoritative voice inside my head says, buy a ticket on the shuttle bus and ride back." (Highway distance from the North Rim to the South Rim is 217 miles.) She takes a sip of coffee and continues. "But this other voice says, that's stupid. You can hike to the South Rim quicker than you can ride. So what the heck I picked up my pack and headed back." She completed the course in 16 hours, 27 minutes.

MILE 44.5

Two entrants, too exhausted to continue, did ride the shuttle back from the North Rim.I find that Pete Dunten will return to Sweden with a time two hours faster than the previous year: 17 hours, 11 minutes. Sid Hirsch, on his seventh trip across and back records his best time ever: 17 hours, 7 minutes. Sandy Njaa had leg cramps and fell behind her previous best time by nearly an hour. Peter Ibbetson in 19 hours, 58 minutes did, indeed, become the first Canadian to cross the Grand Canyon and return in one day.

I stop at a table to visit with two who did not complete the course. Sandi Richmond, 47, and her daughter Rachel, 15, hiked together. "We were about a mile and a half from the North Rim," says Sandi. "We stopped, talked it over, agreed it wouldn't be smart to go on. We turned back, and when we reached Phantom Ranch, Rachel sat on a bench and cried. Then she said she was ready to climb back out of the Canyon. Although they didn't finish the rim crossing, Rachel and her mother had spent more than 22 hours hiking on the trail, nearly 10 of them in darkness.

Under the clear sky of early afternoon, I wend my way through the pine forests of the Kaibab Plateau, driving south toward Phoenix. Of the 63 who started, 48 finished the torturous 52 miles in less than 24 hours. I am trying to figure outhow people so ordinary in appearance and mannerisms could do something so extraordinary. The words "not human" keep circulating in my mind.

By the time I reach the Verde Valley, I am thinking about flying saucers, extraterrestrial stuff. Maybe aliens have landed. Maybe these are they. If so, fear not. They laugh a lot and appear friendly.

Author's Note: This year's Grand Canyon rim-to-rim-to-rim event will be May 16. For more information, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Sid Hirsch, 2934 E. Broadway, Tucson, AZ 85716.

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TRAVEL WITH THE FRIENDS OF ARIZONA HIGHWAYS

Whether you are a casual point-and-shoot photographer, a serious amateur, or just someone who wants to experience Arizona in a unique way, the Friends of Arizona Highways auxiliary has a trip for you.

Excursions include twoto six-day Photo Tours, led by our photographers and technical representatives (from Kodak, Nikon, or Tamron), and twoto five-day Scenic Tours of the state's most spectacular locales, guided by premier photographer Ray Manley.

PHOTO TOURS

Paria Canyon; May 13-17: Join Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Jack Dykinga on a backpacking trip 45 miles down into the beautiful and wild canyon in far northern Arizona.

Sunset Crater Volcano/Wupatki Indian Ruins; May 28-31: Peter Bloomer will take a tour to Sunset Crater Volcano, a beautiful black cinder cone that rises 1,000 feet above jagged lava flows near Flagstaff, and Wupatki National Monument with its multistoried Indian pueblos dating from A.D. 1100.

Slot Canyons/Vermilion Cliffs; June 4-7: Slot canyons are the focus of this tour, led by Jerry Sieve, who knows these magnificent and unique whimsies of Nature intimately.

Prescott Rodeo; July 2-5: Ken Akers and Jeff Kida will lead this visit to one of Arizona's premier rodeos, with the focus on arena action and behind-the-scene cowboy camaraderie. And the scenic surroundings offer additional photo opportunities.

Grand Canyon-North Rim; July 30August 2: Experience the remote and unspoiled beauty and grandeur of the North Rim with Tom Till, who will share his favorite locations for very special images.

SCENIC TOURS WITH RAY MANLEY

Havasu Canyon; May 1-3: Instead of hiking or riding a horse for nine miles into "the Land of Sky Blue Waters," helicopter there in just six minutes, then head on foot to a spectacular waterfall against a backdrop of red travertine.

Canyon de Chelly/Monument Valley; May 4-8 and October 26-30: See ancient cliff dwellings at Canyon de Chelly accompanied by a Navajo guide, and experience the awesome geologic wonders of Monument Valley.

Colorado River; May 11-18: Raft the river, discover Indian ruins, hike, and relax around the campsite on this experience of a lifetime through the spectacular Grand Canyon.

For information and to make reservations, telephone the Friends of Arizona Highways Travel Desk at (602) 271-5904.