In Part 1 of the Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim hike, we made it from the South Kaibab trailhead to the North Kaibab trailhead in just over nine hours—a hike done completely in the darkness.

With the sun finally coming up, I have nothing but questions as I wonder how my body will react having already hiked 21.5 miles with 11,000 feet of elevation change. Now, we do it all over again—21.5 more miles to the finish at South Kaibab. Only then will the double crossing—the one-day Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim hike—be complete.

Whether your goal is Rim-to-Rim, Rim-to-River, or any of the Canyon's iconic hikes, you'll no doubt find some useful information in this first-hand, from-the-trail account of my attempt at my first Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim. Primarily the domain of trail and ultra runners—which I am not—I knew I wanted to do R3 as a hike. 

In the second part of this adventure, my struggles will be evident as I try to complete the #1 hike on my bucket list.

This is part two of what the one-day Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim hike—43.9 miles with more than 22,000 feet of elevation change—is really like.

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The all-new Grand Canyon Shade Tracker is LIVE!! This incredible interactive tool lets you see when and where you'll have precious shade on your Grand Canyon hike—every hour of every day of the year. Check it out at gcshadetracker.com. Another free resource from Bright Angel Outfitters aimed at making your Grand Canyon adventure the best and safest it can be.

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For the best and most helpful Facebook groups dedicated to hiking the Grand Canyon, search for:

• Grand Canyon Hikers
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• Grand Canyon Hikers and Backpackers