Hello All!

Thought I would give a quick intro and ask a couple questions. My name is Dustin, from New Mexico. I've always been a fan of hiking and have hiked off and on since I was probably 10 or so. Never backpacked, always been a camp out of my FJ60 Land Cruiser guy. This October my dad and I are going to do a rim to rim (North-South) Grand Canyon trip over 4 days.

Yesterday I went and bought myself a pack, Deuter ACT Lite 65+10, after much deliberation, research, trying on, loading with weight, taking on and off and picking the poor REI girls brain about every pack in the store, I decided on that pack. Felt right and didn't cause too much pain in the wallet.

This is my dads first backpacking trip as well. Well, I shouldn't say that, his first trip since 1978 when he was in high school. I am in ok shape, not great by any means but not terrible either, and he is in the same.

My questions are, what can we do to get in better shape in such a short time? This trip kind of came together accidentally and short notice but we have always wanted to do it so we jumped on it. We have been hiking every weekend for the last 3 weeks, about 8 miles every weekend. Now we are going to start hiking with our packs loaded with about 40lb. We are hoping to have our actual trip weight for the packs to be in the 25-30lb range. Does that sound like a reasonable weight to shoot for? Too heavy? Too light? We will be splitting the weight of cooking gear and food between us. We will probably also split the weight of a tent between us too.

I think that's it for now, sorry for the long post. Thanks in advance for any replies!

Check out the articles on lightening up your pack, selecting gear, sample gear lists on the home page of this site.

Trying to get in shape with a pack heavier than what you're going to carry is most likely to cause stress injuries. I suggest hiking with a very light pack, up and down lots of hills. If hills are not available, try stairs. Add weight and mileage very gradually over time until you're fairly close to what your actual pack weight and mileage will be.

Remember that a gallon of water, which is recommended for Grand Canyon hikes per person per day, weighs 8 lbs.--which is why you want the rest of your gear as light as possible!

I highly recommend several overnight trips beforehand to learn skills. You don't want to be setting up your shelter for the first time by flashlight after a long day in the GC!

Thanks! I broke my rule of look before posting, as soon as I clicked submit I noticed the stuff on the left side, Doh!

We do plan on doing some overnight and weekend jaunts locally to get dialed in on our gear and such. Thankfully we do have hills and some pretty steep climbs available close to us and we have been doing them on our hikes.

Great advice from OM, as always. I want to second her idea that HEAVY packs are more likely to cause damage....condition yourself by working UP to your ideal pack weight. That lets your body adapt and get stronger, rather than getting hurt.

And yes, a practice trip or two (even in the backyard!) will really help you make sure you have eventying you need on the trip.

I would add two things: hiking every day (with some real cardio exercise) for an hour or two is probably going to do more for your conditioning than a single 8 mile hike on a weekend. It would be best to do both, but daily workouts are the road to real fitness.

And I am not sold on limiting your workouts to hiking alone. I ride a road bike (and I ride it hard!) during the week and it keeps me in great condition: gets the blood pumping, gets me breathing hard, gets me sweating, and gets me used to the idea that I still have to get home, no matter how hard I've ridden up to that point. An hour a day will make a big difference. Two hours will chance your life!

Fortunately I can work out at work, so I do hit the treadmill when I am at work for an hour or so. My Dad is limited to weekends or after work and I have a 4 month old at home that tends to take up my time when I'm off till the wife get's home. Thanks, we will certainly try to get out more though!

My concern is not with your gear, or your water weight; others will help with that. My question is, how old is your dad?

Now, I'm not going to try to discourage you from your trip, and I'm going to freely admit that I know nothing about hiking in Grand Canyon - except that I don't think you've got a convenient, trip-shortening bail-out point. As I understand it, your only options are, up to the halfway mark, turn back; beyond that point, keep going.

What kind of pace does 4 days lock you into for this hike? Are you confident of your abilities to maintain that pace for 4 days? For example, if it's a 15-mile-a-day pace, I'd be asking whether you've left yourself a safety margin; if it's a 6-mile-a-day pace, I'd be more comfortable. You can always slow down and kill some time along the trail, but if the minimum pace is too much, how will you make up any time you lose because you can't keep up the pace?

I think you definitely should take at least one two or three day trip before you go, maintaining the same pace you'll have to use on the trip, to get a feel for your capabilities versus the demands of the Canyon.

Perhaps others can fill in details for you on whether 4 days is too aggressive.

He's 51 and a retired fire fighter, so he's still in pretty decent physical shape. I'm a fire fighter too, so I'm in alright shape as well. We are just doing a straight rim to rim with no side trips. First night is camping on the north rim, second day is to the bottom from the north rim, days 3 and 4 are back out the south side. All the research we've done sounds like 3 days 2 nights is about average for a rim to rim.

Great - sounds like you've allowed for an extra day as a safety margin. Have a great hike!

Do some body workout for your core. Back, abs, lower back, etc. Let your body muscles get used to carrying weights all day. Lunges will do wonder too, but I don't know how much climbing and downhill are involved in the Grand Canyon. If regular lunge are too easy, put your pack on with weights then do it. Otherwise keep your endurance up by hiking everyday, etc. Try do some hills too since it's different walking up and downhills than on flat land and treadmill. Have fun and take a lot of pictures!

The thing about hiking in the Grand Canyon is that you begin by hiking downhill, which is actually a disadvantage. Downhill, especially with heavy packs, is quite stressful to the legs,knees, ankles, etc.

After a night at Phantom Ranch, the next two days, all uphill, should actually be fairly straightforward. Just don't get in a hurry and settle into a good, comfortable, sustainable pace. I assume you will be camping at Indian Gardens on your last night in the Canyon. The longest stretch without water is that between Phantom Ranch and Indian Gardens, at least that was the case the last time I was on that trail.

Pay attention to the weather. October is prime time in the GC, as it is nearly everywhere in the southwest, but watch out for chubascos coming up from the Gulf of California - they can give you a good drenching.

Best of luck and enjoy your trip!

Thanks! Yes we will be camping at Indian Gardens the last night. Good to know that stretch between Phantom and Gardens has no water.

There is potable water from a facet at Roaring Springs, Cottonwood Campground, Phantom Ranch and Indian Garden.

Between Cottonwood Campground and Phantom Ranch the trail is next to Bright Angel Creek, but it needs to be treated.

Between Phantom and Indian Garden you will have an opportunity to treat Colorado River water, Pipe Creek water and at the top of the Devil's Corkscrew Garden Creek. A rim2rim is pretty wet compared to the Tonto.