Rim to Rim

About a month ago my dad, Paul, and I hiked the Grand Canyon rim to rim in one day. The hike was 25 miles and we started on the north rim and hiked to the south. 3 or 4 weeks before the hike, dad asked me if I wanted to do it. Of course I did, but I didn't have much time to prepare. Luckily my dad bought me some hiking gear. We started the hike around 5:30 in the morning, maybe 6. And it was freezing.
Paul wore that hideous shirt when we first started, but took it off once it started warming up.
This lookout was the first stop of many.
There were quite a few bridges we had to cross.
Paul and I discovered this perfect spot for a photo.
The views in the canyon were amazing.

I love this picture Paul took of this weird plant thing.My dad rubbing down his legs with some cream stuff.
You cant really see it that well in this picture, but my legs were so gross. They got really dusty and dirty in a short period of time. Lets just say I got used to being dirty.
Paul read the Book of Mormon while we hiked.
I'm not sure if Paul is saving me or pushing me in...More hiking.
It was so hot when we got down in the canyon. We heard it was about 110, but I'm not sure if that is correct. And at this point my shoulders were tired of carrying my water and backpack. We also asked some other hikers coming the other way how much longer till the next stopping point, Phantom Ranch. They told us about 20 minutes. That kept my spirits up knowing we were almost there. But they were really, really, fast hikers because that was the longest 20 minutes of my life. Seriously it was like an hour. That became a joke of the day... oh just 20 more minutes.
We made it Phantom Ranch, the half way mark. This meant we had 10 more miles. We took a nice swim in the river to cool off. It felt so nice.
Paul helping out our friend Moses. Since Paul is an athletic trainer, he came prepared. He helped tape up people along the trail, including my dad's knees and my blister.
Here we are crossing over the Colorado River.
With the bridge and river in the background.
This might be my favorite picture. We totally faked this picture trying to look like we were sick and tired of hiking. Little did we know that in another hour we would be.
We got to a point in the hike called the devils corkscrew. It was pretty tough and the heat didn't help. This is when my dad started getting leg cramps so we had to slow the pace down a bit and take more breaks. My dad cooling off in the river.
We were able to stay in contact with my mom because we had some walkie talkies. I would say this was a brilliant, otherwise my mom would have been freaking out. This sign says "DO NOT attempt to hike from the canyon rim to the river and back in one day. Each year hikers suffer serious illness or death from exhaustion."
The last 3 miles out were the longest 3 miles, and probably the hardest 3 miles of the hike. Finally at midnight we made it out of the canyon. It was a long, hard day but I'm so proud of us.
You should have seen us all trying to walk the next day. My calf muscles were so sore, but I think my dad had the best walk of us all. He may or may not have used some hiking poles as a cane. But here we are, the legit hikers.
Me and the Canyon.
Here is the mule train going up some of the switchbacks.
The Bright Angel Trail was the one we took to get out.
Oh and my mom really was part of the trip, and here is photo evidence. She drove the car to pick us up on the South rim. So, who wants to hike the Grand Canyon?