You have excellent questions - group dynamics is key to a successful joint hike. Thank you for taking the time to list these......just love them. I may add them to my informal training notes.
And another wise decision on your race....I have at least one friend who has run Tunnel Hill and heard it is a speedy course.
Great article Jenn, but chilling. So many underestimate the demands of the environment and our bodies. Thankfully, I haven't had an adventure take an unexpected turn. Hopefully I never will!
Thank you, Jenn, for this series. "Have you ever had an adventure take an unexpected turn?" Great question, and yes! I was young and stupid. LOL but turned out fine in the end.
"Have you ever had an adventure take an unexpected turn?"
Long answer Jenn!
Ah, yes. Actually more than I care to admit, but I have been lucky enough to be fairly fit, and reasonably well versed in "Exit Strategy" thinking. Also well versed in bailing on plan A and moving to plan B.
Two Cases in point. Relevant since these involves two separate R2R2R adventures.
Both example took place in late October when the weather is MUCH better. I know better than to challenge the Canyon in summer or even spring weather. Spring is fickle, Summer is a blow torch.
On my first attempt of the double cross, I was with two companions, and we reached the Supai Tunnel before noon, having started our run at 3:30 AM that morning. The water was off, as it often is at this point, even when the water is on enroute, the Supai source can be off for various reasons. One of my two companions was low on water, and feeling "off". We had only the last 1.5 miles to the top, but that is a really HARD section, and likely would add 3 hours to our day to get up and back to the tunnel before descending further. Even though we were THIS close to completing the R2R2R, we chose to turn and head back down.
As soon as we did, our companion started to feel better, having rested, gotten food and reduced elevation which likely contributed to his feeling bad. He was able to make his water last until we reached the Roaring springs pump house. We made it back to the south rim around 7 PM that night. Had we attempted to do the last 1.5 up and then down, the day could have ended badly or MUCH later than that. The companion was so exhausted, he straight to bed.
On my second R2R2R attempt, I had one companion. We started even earlier, 2:30 AM. The weather and the day was perfect in every respect, although a little colder than we thought, and this is relevant.
We checked the info on the north rim water and all indications were, that it was on. Temps in the lower canyon were reaching only the high 60's, low 70's. When we reached the North rim approach, we had one last chance to fill at the pump house, but we felt we had enough to get to the Supai tunnel to re-fill. Yes its only 5 miles, but it's a hard 5 miles.
Mistake. First, if you have a good water source, absolutely ALWAYS drink up and fill up. Two things we didn't do.... We didn't know it yet, but hikers we would meet in a few miles told us all the water was off all the way to the rim, shut off due to an overnight freeze. NO natural sources to filter on the way up.
Decision time, assessment time. How much do we have? Enough, if we conserve, and don't push too hard. Pushing hard at elevation makes you lose more water though respiration. We took many breaks, and kept respiration and effort as low as we could.
We chose to go on. Supia tunnel? water was off as we told. We continue to the top, water off there too. Now we have to hike the extra mile to the admin buildings to get water. There's snow up there, temps are lower than we expected, I am a bit cold but not overly, but now we have to keep moving.
We ALMOST didn't go to the admin building, thinking well, this is all downhill right? We had found some campers who gave is about a quart each. I didn't want to expend the extra time and energy, but my partner thought it was best that we just do it.
We spent an extra hour going to the admin building, and we unknowingly picked a maintenance building and not the actual admin building, but they had a hose so we used that.
Refreshed but later than we thought, its now 1 PM and we have to get back. Our wives were expecting us to finish between 6-8 PM. This was going to be a challenge, but doable. But we will be late. It took 9.5 hours to get here, and if we were lucky we might shave 30 minutes off the return trip.
We made it back to Bright Angel campground, just as it got dark. We found the emergency phone, and briefly considered calling the rangers to tell them we were OK.. if our wives call we are not lost or in trouble! Don't send rescue out after us!
When we reached Havasupai Garden (Then known as Indian Garden) we got cell reception and texted our wives, who were worried about us, but not panicking yet. We finished with no further issues, at around 10 PM, late, but happy to be done. Late? Yes, but alive is always the first goal, completing the adventure is the 2nd goal, and any time based goals are a distant 3rd.
So there's my (long) stories!
Moral of the stories: The Canyon doesn't suffer fools. Take a deep breath. Stop and assess, be realistic about conditions, including your own. Bail on your A goal if anything goes south.
Thank you Marty for sharing. I admire your patience and ability to assess the situation clearly. Hiking with others poses challenges - must consider their safety as well as yours. I am a little nervous about hiking with another couple. I know them but do I know them? Interesting that the altitude change helped your hiking companion. I would like to hike later in October than we have planned - October 6 - 7. Of course, we plan to adjust our schedule (start time, start day) based on the temperatures in the bottom of the canyon. Our plan right now is to hike south to north and start very early. And we are hiking, not running. I do wish I lived closer to the canyon so I could do some "practice" shorter hikes.
Such tough stories! How did you do last weekend at your running event by the way?
Practice in your planned environment is always good! I agree with that 100%. Oct can be hot, but an early start will help immensely! Like first light.
We could have a LONG conversation on group dynamics in stressful situations. You are right to be concerned, or least thoughtful about it. Are they risk takers? Are they good planners? Are they over packers, or under packers? Do they understand safety vs. comfort needs? Do they know how to read a map and compass? When pressed or stressed how do they react? Have you ever seen them get stressed in an everyday situation? How do they problem solve? Are they working on their fitness in advance of the trip? Do they have any health issues, now or in the past, especially biomechanical ones like knees hips, feet and back?
Sometimes small things you may not have noticed in the past may be important. I trust you are thinking about it in a realistic way, you seem thoughtful and safety conscious.
The team is everything in those situations. It life or death or injury situations: Safety of everyone is always first, even when it's hard.
Short answer on the past weekend: I caught a bug of some sort on Thursday, and that zapped my energy. :(. It wasn't enough to bag the day entirely, so I went with the plan for as long as I could, holding onto 8:50 per mile pace through 30 miles before my energy gave out. I rounded it to an even 50K, in 4 hours and 38 minutes, really just 1 minute off goal pace even then. But. I knew it wasn't sustainable, I just had no gas at all. So, since it's a 12 hour race and really there is no DNF, I stepped off the track and called it a day. Reset, I will try again in November at Tunnel Hill! Amp up the goal to a sub 7 hour. I know I can do it! But this time, first goal is to finish the 50 miles. Time goal is secondary. Thanks for asking!
Love this series. Great to learn from our own mistakes. Even better, learn from the mistakes others maker, particularly when it comes to specific adventures. Good stuff
These are all very sobering stories. I’ve had close calls of my own, but nothing like the heat of the Grand Canyon!
I am really enjoying this series, Jenn. It is good that you have that experience having visited before as well.
Thank you Neil…..it certainly has been interesting and educational for me. Thank you for sharing too.
You have excellent questions - group dynamics is key to a successful joint hike. Thank you for taking the time to list these......just love them. I may add them to my informal training notes.
And another wise decision on your race....I have at least one friend who has run Tunnel Hill and heard it is a speedy course.
Great cautionary stories!
The book was certainly an eye opener….I almost did not read it. But the stories were fascinating.
Great article Jenn, but chilling. So many underestimate the demands of the environment and our bodies. Thankfully, I haven't had an adventure take an unexpected turn. Hopefully I never will!
Thank you, Jenn, for this series. "Have you ever had an adventure take an unexpected turn?" Great question, and yes! I was young and stupid. LOL but turned out fine in the end.
I have made those "young and stupid" mistakes a lot too. Glad it turned out fine.
Thank you Jenn! Me too.
"Have you ever had an adventure take an unexpected turn?"
Long answer Jenn!
Ah, yes. Actually more than I care to admit, but I have been lucky enough to be fairly fit, and reasonably well versed in "Exit Strategy" thinking. Also well versed in bailing on plan A and moving to plan B.
Two Cases in point. Relevant since these involves two separate R2R2R adventures.
Both example took place in late October when the weather is MUCH better. I know better than to challenge the Canyon in summer or even spring weather. Spring is fickle, Summer is a blow torch.
On my first attempt of the double cross, I was with two companions, and we reached the Supai Tunnel before noon, having started our run at 3:30 AM that morning. The water was off, as it often is at this point, even when the water is on enroute, the Supai source can be off for various reasons. One of my two companions was low on water, and feeling "off". We had only the last 1.5 miles to the top, but that is a really HARD section, and likely would add 3 hours to our day to get up and back to the tunnel before descending further. Even though we were THIS close to completing the R2R2R, we chose to turn and head back down.
As soon as we did, our companion started to feel better, having rested, gotten food and reduced elevation which likely contributed to his feeling bad. He was able to make his water last until we reached the Roaring springs pump house. We made it back to the south rim around 7 PM that night. Had we attempted to do the last 1.5 up and then down, the day could have ended badly or MUCH later than that. The companion was so exhausted, he straight to bed.
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On my second R2R2R attempt, I had one companion. We started even earlier, 2:30 AM. The weather and the day was perfect in every respect, although a little colder than we thought, and this is relevant.
We checked the info on the north rim water and all indications were, that it was on. Temps in the lower canyon were reaching only the high 60's, low 70's. When we reached the North rim approach, we had one last chance to fill at the pump house, but we felt we had enough to get to the Supai tunnel to re-fill. Yes its only 5 miles, but it's a hard 5 miles.
Mistake. First, if you have a good water source, absolutely ALWAYS drink up and fill up. Two things we didn't do.... We didn't know it yet, but hikers we would meet in a few miles told us all the water was off all the way to the rim, shut off due to an overnight freeze. NO natural sources to filter on the way up.
Decision time, assessment time. How much do we have? Enough, if we conserve, and don't push too hard. Pushing hard at elevation makes you lose more water though respiration. We took many breaks, and kept respiration and effort as low as we could.
We chose to go on. Supia tunnel? water was off as we told. We continue to the top, water off there too. Now we have to hike the extra mile to the admin buildings to get water. There's snow up there, temps are lower than we expected, I am a bit cold but not overly, but now we have to keep moving.
We ALMOST didn't go to the admin building, thinking well, this is all downhill right? We had found some campers who gave is about a quart each. I didn't want to expend the extra time and energy, but my partner thought it was best that we just do it.
We spent an extra hour going to the admin building, and we unknowingly picked a maintenance building and not the actual admin building, but they had a hose so we used that.
Refreshed but later than we thought, its now 1 PM and we have to get back. Our wives were expecting us to finish between 6-8 PM. This was going to be a challenge, but doable. But we will be late. It took 9.5 hours to get here, and if we were lucky we might shave 30 minutes off the return trip.
We made it back to Bright Angel campground, just as it got dark. We found the emergency phone, and briefly considered calling the rangers to tell them we were OK.. if our wives call we are not lost or in trouble! Don't send rescue out after us!
When we reached Havasupai Garden (Then known as Indian Garden) we got cell reception and texted our wives, who were worried about us, but not panicking yet. We finished with no further issues, at around 10 PM, late, but happy to be done. Late? Yes, but alive is always the first goal, completing the adventure is the 2nd goal, and any time based goals are a distant 3rd.
So there's my (long) stories!
Moral of the stories: The Canyon doesn't suffer fools. Take a deep breath. Stop and assess, be realistic about conditions, including your own. Bail on your A goal if anything goes south.
Thank you Marty for sharing. I admire your patience and ability to assess the situation clearly. Hiking with others poses challenges - must consider their safety as well as yours. I am a little nervous about hiking with another couple. I know them but do I know them? Interesting that the altitude change helped your hiking companion. I would like to hike later in October than we have planned - October 6 - 7. Of course, we plan to adjust our schedule (start time, start day) based on the temperatures in the bottom of the canyon. Our plan right now is to hike south to north and start very early. And we are hiking, not running. I do wish I lived closer to the canyon so I could do some "practice" shorter hikes.
Such tough stories! How did you do last weekend at your running event by the way?
Practice in your planned environment is always good! I agree with that 100%. Oct can be hot, but an early start will help immensely! Like first light.
We could have a LONG conversation on group dynamics in stressful situations. You are right to be concerned, or least thoughtful about it. Are they risk takers? Are they good planners? Are they over packers, or under packers? Do they understand safety vs. comfort needs? Do they know how to read a map and compass? When pressed or stressed how do they react? Have you ever seen them get stressed in an everyday situation? How do they problem solve? Are they working on their fitness in advance of the trip? Do they have any health issues, now or in the past, especially biomechanical ones like knees hips, feet and back?
Sometimes small things you may not have noticed in the past may be important. I trust you are thinking about it in a realistic way, you seem thoughtful and safety conscious.
The team is everything in those situations. It life or death or injury situations: Safety of everyone is always first, even when it's hard.
Short answer on the past weekend: I caught a bug of some sort on Thursday, and that zapped my energy. :(. It wasn't enough to bag the day entirely, so I went with the plan for as long as I could, holding onto 8:50 per mile pace through 30 miles before my energy gave out. I rounded it to an even 50K, in 4 hours and 38 minutes, really just 1 minute off goal pace even then. But. I knew it wasn't sustainable, I just had no gas at all. So, since it's a 12 hour race and really there is no DNF, I stepped off the track and called it a day. Reset, I will try again in November at Tunnel Hill! Amp up the goal to a sub 7 hour. I know I can do it! But this time, first goal is to finish the 50 miles. Time goal is secondary. Thanks for asking!
Love this series. Great to learn from our own mistakes. Even better, learn from the mistakes others maker, particularly when it comes to specific adventures. Good stuff
Thank you Kyle for your positive remarks - much appreciated.