KathyW, that's interesting about your observation that the Whitney hike is 2 to 2 1/2 hours longer. It's interesting because that sort of meshes beautifully with my estimate for the time it will take me to do the canyon hike. I'd posted way above my time for the Whitney round trip . . . 4:00 AM to 6:42 PM (with a hour and 5 minutes on the summit), or 14 hours and 42 minutes. Subtracting 2 or 2 1/2 hours from that gives either 12 hours and and 42 minutes or 12 hours and 12 minutes.
My canyon estimate (again, posted earlier) is leaving at 6:00 AM and finishing NLT than 7:30 PM -- or 13 1/2 hours. So, actually, perhaps I've estimated too conservatively? I'd been "on the bubble" about doing the side trip to Roaring Springs, and hadn't really considered Ribbon Falls -- but perhaps I should schedule these in.
Please tell me -- did you actually do this hike (down the North Kaibab, up the Bright Angel)? What were your exact times as far as start and finish? And did that hike include both Roaring Springs and Ribbon Falls, or just what exactly?
Thanks!
All three of my hikes up the N. Kaibab trail have included the side trip to Ribbon Falls (It's just 1/2 mile round-trip and very beautiful - also, if you hit that area when it's hot out you can go under the falls and cool off). I never left the main N. Kaibab trail at roaring springs, but looking back I wish I had gone to see the water gushing out of the cliffs.
Whitney day hikes have taken me between 13 and 13.5 hours round-trip, but I don't spend anymore than 30 minutes on top. I'm a slow steady hiker, and then just a slow hiker once I get over 10,000' elevation.
The Grand Canyon hikes started with a day hike down the S. Kaibab and up the Bright Angel Trail a few years ago - that took me 8 hours. Since then I've done 3 R2R2R hikes.
The first one was an overnighter. We went down the S. Kaibab starting at about 5:30 or 6 am and got to the N. Kaibab 11 hours later. We stayed overnight at the N Rim and hiked back down the N. Kaibab and up the Bright Angel the next day - I believe it took about 11 hours to hike back on the second day; so 22 hours total for both ways.
The second time I did it in a day (sort of). I went down the Bright Angel at night (around 8 pm) and then up the N. Kaibab, and then turned right around and went down the N. Kiabab and up the Bright Angel Trail. Surprisingly enough it took about 11 hours to get to the N. Kaibab that time too even though it was a longer route, but I really slowed down on the way back up the Bright Angel Trail (I like the S. Kaibab a lot better than the Bright Angel Trail), and it took me 15 hours to get back; so a total of 26 hours to do the 48 miles using the Bright Angel both ways.
Then I had to go back again because I hadn't done it in under 24 hours; so I couldn't call it a day hike. So, last October I started in the afternoon around 3:30 pm and went down the S. Kaibab Trail and reached the N. Kaibab Trail 11 hours later. I turned around and went back down right away, but it was still dark when I got to Ribbon Falls; so I had to wait about 45 minutes for it to get light enough for the side trip to Ribbon Falls. I just can't see doing that hike without going to Ribbon Falls because it's so beautiful. I went back up the S. Kaibab that trip and made it back to the S. Kaibab Trail in just under 24 hours - that version was 42.5 miles.
Both times I did the R2R2R hikes in one stretch, I just drove there and started hiking without getting any sleep. I don't sleep real well the night before a big hike; so I'm better off just waiting to sleep after the hike. I'm done now with R2R2R trips.
Also, October is a really nice time to do the hike - the N. Rim facilities close down in mid-October; so you have to keep that in mind.
For my next Grand Canyon trip, I want to do the Deer Springs/Thunder River Lollipop loop (as a backpacking trip), but I didn't get the days I requested for mid-October this year. I'm going to expand my request to include days as late as early November and see if I can get a permit for this year. If not this fall, I'll try for the spring.
Tips: Pack real food or arrange for a sack lunch you can pick up at Phantom Ranch - It's just not the kind of hike you can do on just goop and jell. It can be very hot in "The Box" between Phantom Ranch and Cottonwood; so hydrate well before that section. It can be really cold and windy at the N. Rim; so don't forget some light gloves, a warm hat, and some kind of jacket or warm layer to put on. Go down the S. Kaibab it's prettier and shorter.
