And what a day it was for Leslie Paul and eight other hikers on Thursday, May 20 who traversed the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim 24-mile trail in about 14 hours. When they started their journey on the North Rim, the temperature was 36 degrees at an altitude of 8,240 feet; at the bottom, after a 14.5-mile descent, where the Colorado River flows through, the temperature was almost 100+ degrees at an altitude of 2,500 feet. The 9.5-mile hike back uphill to the South Rim, at an elevation of 6,880 feet, was their final stop. The National Parks Foundation refers to this hike's challenge level as “strenuous” and also as one of the most memorable lifetime experiences.
Paul was accompanied by hikers Chris and Ember Henning, Nate and Deanna Rogne, Pete and Emma Paul, and Shauna and Guy Gibson. Her husband Marty Paul and son Pete were the drivers of the 15-passenger van that dropped them off on one side of the canyon, then drove around to the opposite side to retrieve them.
There is said to be magic in hiking the Rim-to-Rim trail or Rim2Rim as referred to by some of its biggest fans. There is even a website, https://www.rimtorim.org/ that is dedicated to capturing stories from those who have hiked the Rim2Rim, and even the Rim2Rim2Rim, a 48-mile hike that Paul plans to do in a 24-hour period on June 3 with Shauna Gibson. According to the RimToRim.org website, “Less than one percent of all Grand Canyon visitors take on the Rim-to-Rim hike.” Some hikers love the challenge of the Rim-to-Rim trail; some simply desire to hike through the canyon for the expansive views of breathtaking scenery.
For Paul, who is now 69 years old, this hike was on her bucket list. She said, “It's been a bucket list for me for many years, and I been trying to do this hike down to Phantom Ranch and spend the night. But I was unsuccessful in drawing a permit for a campsite or one of the cabins.” Permits are issued based on a lottery-type system, where thousands of entries for the not too many accommodations are received, and only 20 percent of the entries received “win” a spot. So, the only way that Paul would be able to do this hike would be to do it in the course of one day. She pitched the idea to her hiking club friends in Arizona where she and her husband snowbird, and those folks all said no. Paul said, “I called my friend Shauna Gibson, who is an athlete and had run a marathon the year before. I knew I could count on her, and she said yes.” Paul also pitched the hike to her son, saying, “How much do you love your mother, and is it the kind of love where you would do anything for your mom? He said that, of course, he loved me, and what was I up to? I told him about the hike, and he was in.” A few others expressed an interest as the Rim-to-Rim hike was a bucket list item for them too. Soon, the band of nine hikers was formed.
“I've had an amazing life, with lots of experiences that I feel most fortunate for.” She has been married to her husband for 29 years, and prior to that, she was a Special Agent with the Secret Service for years serving a few presidents. Her husband and his son Tom did all the driving, plus moved the hikers' equipment and bags in and out of the van and hotel and had everything ready for them at the hotel at the end of the hike. Paul said, “They took care of everything for us, they were just amazing, and we couldn't have done the hike without them.”
Paul stressed the importance of training for a hike and put in 600 miles on her hiking boots to train for this one. The Rim to Rim-to-Rim hike may be the biggest physical challenge of her life, but the three greatest accomplishments have been getting married, having her son Pete, and hiking the Grand Canyon. She can't wait to go back.
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