BY SILKE WEIDEMANN

My husband Markus and I had hiked to Plateau Point in 2010. Standing there and watching the river flowing down in the gorge below he said: “We have to come back and go down there. I must touch the river”. That was, when the idea of Rim to Rim was born. Last year in May we were lucky to get a permit for the date in September we planned. On September 3rd we got married at Red Rock Overlook near Las Vegas and on September 9th we started at North Rim. Is there any better way to spend a honeymoon? The next days really changed our lives and especially our perception of our mother nature and our essential needs in life.

On our first day we headed down North Kaibab Trail. Just below Supai Tunnel we encountered a place, where parts of the trail were washed away caused by heavy rainfalls during the summer. I was happy to manage that part with my fear of heights. It took us about four hours to get to Cottonwood Campground. We spend a lot of time inside our tent, because of the storm front which passed through the Southwest during these days. Cottonwood Campground is a really nice and quiet place, especially when the sun starts to set and the day ends.

On our second day we had a late start at about 8 am. Usually one should avoid a late start when heading for the bottom of the canyon. The last part before reaching Phantom Ranch is called “The Box” and with its narrow and dark walls you easily feel like hiking in an oven. Luckily the weather wasn´t that hot and the sky was cloudy, therefore our late start caused no problems. At around noon we found a nice place at Bright Angel Campground. We managed to dry our tent and then went to the Phantom Ranch Canteen to grab a T-Shirt and a cup of coffee. While drinking our coffee and writing some postcards we talked to a lot of hikers. This was really fun. We shared a table with Mary and her family from Iowa. They were hiking on the same itinerary like us. After our coffee break we went down to the mighty Colorado and Silver Bridge. Rain started again and we went back to the campground. Bright Angel Campground has water toilets and really nice places.

Day three started with an early breakfast and we hit the trail at about 7 am. After crossing Silver Bridge we reached the River Trail, which beautifully winds along the Colorado. Near River Resthouse we went to Pipe Creek Beach and my hubby´s dream came true: we touched the river and felt the water and the red earth in our own hands. I cannot describe how that felt. Next part of the trail included some nice switchbacks called the Devils Corkscrew and they were quite challenging. After four hours of hiking we finally reached Indian Garden. The campground has nice shelters and we enjoyed to sit under that roof while a thunderstorm roared over the canyon, talking to Mary and her husband and having some coffee.

Our last day started well before dawn and with our headlights on we went for our final spurt. I can hardly explain how I felt that day. The sun started to rise and bathed the canyon walls in golden light. My heart was touched deeply like I never knew before. While heading up Bright Angel Trail we met a lot of people who encouraged us and admired our trip. We met a ranger and she said “Looks like early morning folks out of the garden” and “Good to keep it slow”, when we told her that we had taken four days for our R2R trip. The higher we went, the better it felt. And then the last tunnel came in sight and the trailhead shortly after. Upon arriving at South Rim we fell into each others arms and were just happy. We really made it. The canyon is now enclosed in our hearts forever and we can´t wait to come back, jump into our boots and go down there again.

And that was our rim to rim experience!