Welcome back from your trip, Whitney Fan.
I've been meaning to add a little more about some of the other people I met on the trail. ...or I should say, who passed me on the trail. I would guess there may have been 15 Rim-to-Rim hikers heading to the North Rim that morning.
Five of them were ultra-runners who came jogging down the trail behind me, with their tiny packs and nylon running clothing. They passed me, and of course I never saw them again. I am wondering whether this occurs often, or just in May as soon as the North Rim opens up. I know if I were doing the trip, May is truly the best time, since it can get so much hotter later in the summer.
And then there were the three women who were resting at the Phantom Ranch Canteen. Two in their upper 20s were continuing on the the North Rim, while the third, who was the mother of one of the women, was heading back to the S Rim. The mom had set up an overnight stay for the two at the North Rim Lodge many months before. They were going to spend the night, and then make the reverse crossing the following day! This mom and her daughter had completed marathons together. I was definitely impressed.
I also had fun talking with James, working in the Canteen. He noticed my Whitney T-shirt, and he told me he was hiking out the next day, to join a buddy to go and hike Mt Whitney. I sure hope he made it.
Here's James at work:
