14er vs. Grand Canyon Rim to Rim

[two lunches]

awesome comparisons

i really need to bump this trip up on my list of late spring To-Do's.

[Briere]

For training for the R2R2R has anyone ever started at the top of Pikes and run down -> summit -> down -> summit to closely simulate R2R2R? I was thinking about that but heard the road isn't open 24/7 so getting there and down would have to be timed carefully then.

[seannunn]

For training for the R2R2R has anyone ever started at the top of Pikes and run down -> summit -> down -> summit to closely simulate R2R2R? I was thinking about that but heard the road isn't open 24/7 so getting there and down would have to be timed carefully then.

I read somewhere that just doing one single downhill running session makes a huge difference in terms of ameliorating the soreness that comes from descending. (Sorry, I never can remember where I read things.)
The Pikes Peak idea is a great idea. You could take the earliest possible train to the top and probably have plenty of time to descend the Barr trail.

Sean Nunn
Peculiar, MO

[Shredstick263]

For training for the R2R2R has anyone ever started at the top of Pikes and run down -> summit -> down -> summit to closely simulate R2R2R? I was thinking about that but heard the road isn't open 24/7 so getting there and down would have to be timed carefully then.

When I did it last year, 2 weeks before, I summited Pikes via the Barr lot, went back down to Barr camp, back up 3 miles, and then all the way down to get to 30 miles for the day. I did do Gray's / Torrey's from I-70 the weekend before as a smaller training session, but had no issues when I did the R2R2R. If you can do close to 10k vertical feet here in Colorado, you'll be fine for the Canyon. I wouldn't worry about the fact that all the vertical gain is at both ends -- if you're going for it, you've likely learned to pace yourself out here. Going back across in the heat will zap your energy more than the mileage / vertical gain (for reference, I started from the Yavapai lodge at 1:30 am and it was still mid 80's when I got back to the south rim)

[geg86]

I’m going to offer an alternate opinion here since it seems a lot don’t agree, but I found R2R substantially easier on my body than a bulk of the 14ers, even the easier class 1 routes. By background, I’m a distance runner so generally feel good covering larger stretches of terrain. I am pretty sensitive to altitude and usually end up nauseous and dizzy, even if I’m doing multiple peaks a week and getting out consistently, it never totally goes away. We ran R2R in about 4.5 hours (which is comparable to the keyhole route for me as a reference), had a super good forecast (it was COLD at the rims and nice at the bottom), we never overheated, enjoyed having access to water and carrying less stuff (do bring a steripen, water was off for us in one spot). I never got the nausea or dizziness I always get slogging up high and never had the inevitable slow down above 12-13k so we were able to move much quicker and I tend to think less time on feet is better for recovery. So it may vary depending on the person, the forecast, and their background covering longer mileage and what you prefer. If it was 100 degrees, I might not have this opinion, but I’d happily do another R2R over pike’s or any of the sawatch slogs any day.

[jibler]

I have nothing to add - other than noting that I ran into these two dudes in later afternoon who said they were going rim to rim as i was heading back up from my 'epic enough for me' journey to river and back**.

but the notable fact to me was how little water they had! I am prob above average thirsty hiker i guess - but i mean come on. they both had one nalgene. I cannot fathom operating on that little water.

(**let the history books recall that despite not going rim to rim that day - I did cover something insane like 33 miles over three days that weekend in canyon)

[pbakwin]

In case it's not obvious, the issue with the R2R is that the N Rim is closed until about May 15, at which time it's usually already very hot. The previous poster's comment about the R2R taking about the same amount of time as Longs sounds about right. But most people are going to take much longer than 4.5 hours, so by the time you're trudging up to the S Rim it's going to be baking. The R2R2R is not comparable because almost everyone will do that at a cooler time of year, since you don't need to be able to access the N Rim. In my experience, running (particularly) or even hiking downhill is much harder on the legs than going up. On a mountain climb when you get to the bottom you're done, but with the R2R it's the opposite. It's surprising how tired my legs feel just after the first (5000 foot) downhill of the R2R2R. It's intimidating.