Discussion: Anyone up for some adventure?

I am traveling to Arizona from Greenland for the SWSW, and I am going to spend a few days before and after on some adventures, and I want to hear if anybody want to join?

On 17 Feb, I booked a day of canyoneering on Mt Lemmon.
While in Tucson, I rented a Mountain Bike to go ride some trails in the afternoon.
On 27 Feb, I want to do a long hike / jog in the Grand Canyon (bright angel / S Kaibab trail) - I even considered camping, but I think, I will do it in one day.

Anyone want to join?
Any suggestions?

Christian

Be prepared for ice&snow @GCNP.

If there’s anyone prepared for ice and snow, it’s Christian. He’s from Nuuk.

For anyone looking to add some mountain biking, here's a little rundown of the options. Note that you can ride on good trails from the same parking lot as the orienteering events on the first five days.

Saturday - Catalina State Park
50-Year Trail is a popular ride starting in the park, and you can get to a larger system of trails to the north. Driving from the park it's a quick trip to either Honeybee Canyon or Tortolita Preserve (easier).

Sunday - Box Canyon
Arizona Trail (singletrack) and Forest Service roads

Monday - Colossal Cave Mountain Park
Arizona Trail and other trails in the park. Also, the McKenzie Ranch cross-country mtb park (official park info) is a short drive away.

Tuesday - Ironwood Picnic Area at Tucson Mountain Park
Tons of trails in Tucson Mountain Park, very gently from the orienteering parking, gnarlier if you go east into the Tucson Mountains.

Wednesday - Cave Creek
Arizona Trail and Forest Service Roads again, other side of Kentucky Camp from Sunday's event

Thursday - Lincoln Park
You could ride in Lincoln Park but a better bet would be to take a short drive to Fantasy Island. The original trails on the north side are fast, furious, and mildly technical. The south side is as gentle as possible for singletrack.

Friday - University of Arizona
From UofA I'd drive over to Sweetwater Preserve, a big favorite in town. Another option is to park at Starr Pass or the 36th St. Trailhead for more Tucson Mountain Park access.

For the Grand Canyon, my understanding is that S Kaibab to River to Bright Angel in one day is definitely doable for someone very fit. (I haven't done it but am planning to in late March, maybe.) Here's the Bright Angel Trail webcam to see current conditions near the South Rim. Definitely a microspikes kind of day.

I would definitely be up for some mt biking. Maybe Mt Lemmon.

Gail and I did down to the river and back, South Kaibab both directions, in early March several decades ago. Seemed like the perfect time of year, getting hot at the bottom but not bad, a little bit of snow and ice at the top but nothing we needed (or had) spikes for. With global warming, late February might be perfect.

Of course the really good route is over to the north rim and back in a day.

(☉_☉) Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim in a day?!? I know some Ultra folks who've run this mostly at night during the fall (I did it in 2.5 days with a pack,) but that's 44+ miles and 12,000+ ft elevation gain (if you do S Kaibab and Bright Angel.) Big day.

North Rim is 1000ft higher, will usually have snow in Feb/Mar, sometimes pretty deep.

Brad Poe in the Tucson club has done a no-camping R2R2R a few times, most recently last fall. He’s a good resource for Grand Canyon adventures.

Joe, right now you’d be better off with skis on Mt Lemmon than a bike—ski resort is open! Can’t predict how it will be in three weeks, though.

The North Rim is closed for the winter.

If you can leave the car at eirher end and take the shuttle (or have two cars) Bright Angel and S. Kaibab will be about 25 km with 1400 hm. If you do the entire round it’s 40 km.
All doable, I think, in 8 - 10 hours.

From what I read on official sites, I would bring spikes (what we call grandmother nails), but from people’s pictures they seem more nice to have than need to have.

It would be great with company.

You can write me on messenger (Christian Wennecke) or we can just talk about it during the SWSW.

Joe, write me on messenger (Christian Wennecke), we’ll find some trails

Waaay back in June 1991, when I visited Grand Canyon NP, rangers were warning visitors not to try to do a down & back in one day (South Rim), emphasizing how much harder up would be than down. Do they no longer think that?

Or they do, and that's why everybody wants to do it...

They still emphasize that narrative, Guy - baked into one of the Visitor Center displays and in trail literature. With good reason, we saw a young ranger sprint off to respond to a first aid call as we finished our backpacking trip, and that was in the off-season. But there is also a healthy ultra-running contingent evident on shuttles and trails, so lots of people out at varying levels of experience and ability.

Definitely worth the trip, still a highlight from our gap year explorations of the western national parks.

And I agree with the rangers that this kind of hike/run is dangerous, if you don’t know what you’re doing.

The canyon is treacherous because the second half is the hard one, even finishing with possible ice cover when you are most tired.

You should not do this unprepared.

I guess weather is a huge factor as well. It can probably change in a second in the canyon.

AJ & I did Bright Angel to River to S Kaibab - it was a non-trivial challenge for both of us, and it was a relative nice weather day (by Grand Canyon standards.)

I think the great majority of folks who show up to do a hike in the Grand Canyon vastly underestimate the challenge. Most of the people who would be reading a thread like this are in way better shape than your average tourist, but it's still a big effort. I think the Rangers (and the signs) are trying hard to discourage 95% of the people who set out to something long and stupid (as they should).

I'm going to miss the SWSW because I'll be canoeing the Grand Canyon. Hopefully next year the SWSW will be in my schedule.
It's my second time down the Grand Canyon. First was in March. This time will be Feb/March. Last time we did a couple rim hikes from the river. Nearing the rim was hard pack snow and some ice. I'll be bringing micro spikes and poles for slippy trail conditions as well as a headlamp because the days aren't long in Feb/Mar--in case it gets dark before finishing the hike.
Happy orienteering and adventuring.