I first started thinking about hiking Rim2Rim at the Grand Canyon 8 years ago when Daughter #2 and I were heading from University of Mary Washington in Virginia to Concord, California for her first post-graduation job with Light River Technologies. (Ok. Got to brag on her a little. She graduated in 4 years with a double major in math and physics. She was headed to a company that had few women engineers. Cool AND brave, huh?)
We promised each other we could each choose ONE entertainment stop on our 4-day whirlwind trip across the continent.
I chose the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. It’s awe-striking, it’s more remote than the oh-so-touristy South Rim, and it’s on the way to Las Vegas, where Daughter #2 chose a Cirque du Soleil show for her one stop.
At the North Rim, while eating at the dropped-right-on-the-edge Grand Canyon Lodge, we met folks who had hiked across the canyon from the South Rim–more than 20 miles! “What’s that?I want to do that, too!” …maybe for my 55th birthday, I thought.
Two years ago, after doing the first six weeks or so of Bret Contreras’ Strong Curves: A Woman’s Guide to Building a Better Butt and Body, Brenda reminded me my 55th birthday had come and gone. “When are we going to hike the Grand Canyon?” she asked.
“What’s that?” Donna asked. “I want to go, too,” she said.
Then in November 2016, Brenda’s brother-in-law passed away unexpectedly and she decided to hike the NH White Mountain’s 48 4000-footers in his honor. “What’s that?” Donna and I asked. “We want to go, too.”
And so, with the 30th edition of the White Mountain Guide for support, three fairly inexperienced women became seriously hiking-addicted, getting out every day we could while still keeping up with jobs and family (Donna, at 64, still had 6 kids at home; Brenda and I both had more calls on us from aging parents). We worked out at the gym 3-4 days/week in fall, winter and spring; Brenda and I entered occasional races; Donna burned the competition, medaling at tri-athlons and races more than once; and we hiked every chance we got.
Finally in the spring of 2018, Brenda said, “You know, if we’re going to do Grand Canyon, we better do it this year. You never know what may happen.”
We started making plans. Our bodies were ready and flexible. We learned our attitudes had to be, too.