North Rim of the Grand Canyon

Lauren wrote:
OK, harold, you are a hiker; and a very good one. You are, by far, the exception. And I applaud you.

In due respect, age does have a lot to do with it; not entirely, but a lot.

In my 40's and 50's I ran 18 marathons, 4-50K (nationally ranked at age 47), a 50 mile trail run and a half marathon twice to the summit of Pikes Peak up the Barr Trail - and hiked it once with Barbara. When living in Estes Park when I retired we hiked all over Rocky Mtn NP; mostly above 10,000 feet. We both still swim and hike a lot but not looking for 10 milers at elevation.

I did not mean to digress like that but just because you are exceptionally capable does not mean that 99.5% of the people are. Of course it CAN be done but by a limited number of people...I did not say it could not be done.

Oh yeh, the old 3 hour thing....have heard that before. That is for those driving from Williams or taking the hokey train from there for the most part. Those are the people who want to say they have BEEN to the G C; not SEEN the G C.

And truly seeing it means sunrises and sunsets; not hiking a trail down to Phantom Ranch. Hey, that is fine but not the colors and shadows one gets from the Rim(s) at dawn and dusk.

Hey, I was scheduled - when working / living in Minneapolis - to run Rim to Rim to Rim. I was fit and could do it - down from the S R, up to the top of the N R, get a slap on the butt and turn around and return.... about 20 hours continuous running the trails.

Sorry, folks, he got me going. :-) Kudos to him but not the norm.

I will agree,its not the norm. A good percentage would probably not walk more than a couple of hundred yards to see anything, even those in good health. We volunteer at parks all over the US and have noticed the vast majority do not even get off of the pavement or sidewalk.