Training to Hike Rim to Rim
In 2017, I visited the Grand Canyon for the first time. Upon witnessing its majesty, I knew that I had to hike across at least once in my lifetime. In 2022, I got serious about my bucket list and began training to make that hike, and in 2023 I did it!
For me, hiking across the Grand Canyon started as a personal goal, but as I trained for that journey I ended up healing my body image and relationship with food and weight significantly. Training for this hike was as much a physical journey as it was spiritual, which is fitting since the Grand Canyon is a spiritual place.
Below follows my personal journey and is not by any means a prescribed regimen. Please consult your qualified trainer, doctor, or nutritionist if you have questions about creating your own training for hiking rim to rim!
My Training
In 2022, I was injured and out of shape. For the previous 2 years, I mostly ran short distances (< 3 miles), did calisthenics training, and tried and failed to lift weights consistently. I was also obsessed with losing weight and chronically under-ate. Eventually, I injured myself through repetitive use. I literally could not walk a mile without significant pain in the arch of my foot. I visited a podiatrist who told me it was Plantar Fasciitis (PF). I was prescribed drugs to reduce the inflammation. I gladly took the drugs, but I knew that PF wasn’t the reason my foot hurt.
After some research into runner’s health, foot health, and reading personal experiences of others with similar pain, I determined I most likely had Posterior Tibial Tendonitis (PTT). I found a website by a qualified trainer with a recovery exercise routine. I did the routine infrequently until I tried running again in October 2022. My pain returned, and then for the next several months I spent the first 15 minutes of every morning developing foot and calf strength so I could train pain-free. I also became interested in foot-shaped shoes and “barefoot” shoes, which I will elaborate on in another post sometime.
I began lifting 2 x week in August 2022. I rotated between push/pull/legs until about December. I also signed up for a half-marathon that took place in April 2023 as a way to push myself to get more cardio training. My hike date was supposed to be in May 2023, so the dates lined up perfectly.
At the time, I lived within easy distance of the Smoky Mountain National Park, which has a ton of hiking opportunities. I actually hate training for races in general because dedicating 3-4 days to running is just not fun to me. I have a full time job, and there are so many other things I’d prefer to do than gear up and go for a run, especially after work in the dark. My favorite distances are below 8 miles. So as the distances ramped up in my running schedule, I actually preferred to ruck (hike with weight) in the mountains or on the treadmill (at max incline) instead of run. I’ll never forget the day I did a 20-mile loop in the SMNP. That was the day I realized that I could hike across the canyon.
My Nutrition
Race training on top of lifting 3 x wk provided a new type of challenge - energy and hydration management. After spending 6 years believing I needed a ridiculously low number of calories, and 2 years eating just whatever was emotionally expedient, I had a hard time figuring out what to eat and how much to fuel the amount of training I was doing. On top of that, I had to drink way more water than I’ve ever consumed daily. So my appetite was suppressed from drinking a ton of water, and I was tired all the time from training 1-2 times a day.
When I started this journey, I was adamant that I was not going to count calories. There was no app, no food weighing, no daily logging. I got a guesstimate from my gym’s scanner for how many calories I might need to put on muscle and did maybe 2 check-ins where I wrote down my calorie intake on a piece of paper to check how much I was consuming.
I instead followed the protocol of “intuitive eating” which is just eating when you’re hungry and stopping when you’re full. I was mostly beyond craving sweets and binging on those cravings. I also avoided the scale. Weigh-ins were agonizing; I once lost half a night of sleep worrying about a weigh-in. I had a long way to go to fix my relationship with weight.
When I finally did my hike, I was actually at the highest weight I’ve ever been (~170lb). On one hand, this was great because I could carry more gear or water on my hike. On the other hand, I felt sluggish in my day-to-day. However, when I finished the hike at my highest weight I realized I could do anything and the weight mostly didn’t matter to me.
My Training, Cont.
The winter of 2023-2024 was rough on the North Kaibob trail. That trail is the only way out through the North Rim, so my hopes of hiking in May 2023 were dashed. I could have gone and hiked just along the South Rim, but my goal was to hike Rim to Rim. I still ran my half marathon race in April 2023 and saw a huge improvement! This was the first time I had ran a half marathon the entire race, not stopping to walk at all. Pride swelled in my heart and carried me past the disappointment of having to wait all summer to hike the Grand Canyon. I waited very impatiently until the hot season was mostly over. In September 2023, I finally made my Rim to Rim hike!
If I were to do it again…
The first thing I’d do is carry less! I’m very grateful I was strong enough to carry all that water and gear across an entire frickin’ canyon, but I really did not use most of it.
For my training, I’d focus more on hiking and trail running over road race training. I don’t enjoy race training. I’d also focus on HIIT for cardio since it really gets my heart rate up.
For my nutrition, I’d gain a better understanding of my energy levels and how to meet them even when I’m not hungry. I think that this must be a skill that improves with practice.
My Training, Summarized
As a person who is not a runner, not really a hiker, and has a full time job and desire to put on muscle, how would I summarize my training?
Lifting 2-3 times a week. Trained Legs and Back so I could carry my backpack.
Treadmill work was invaluable. It allowed me the freedom to stop whenever I wanted and also not have to worry about wildlife or weather conditions while I focused on walking. Also it’s much easier to find a treadmill than a mountain (or canyon haha).
Full Incline (15%) weighted (or unweighted) walking - just put a few weights in my pack, got on the treadmill and walked for as long as I could. I didn’t usually walk for more than 2 hours at a time.
Backwards walking - SLOWLY. Turned around on my treadmill and walked backwards, at any incline. This was great for developing muscles that support my knees (very important for hiking down or up the canyon). I personally didn’t carry weight when doing this, but if you feel confident in your form there’s not a reason you couldn’t.
Cardio - Whether that’s running, hiking, or whatever got my whole body moving. I both hiked and ran in addition to HIIT. When picking hikes, I usually looked for anything that had 600+ft / mile of elevation gain and rucked with 50-80% (~20 lb) of my planned pack weight.
Made sure to take rest days, and do recovery moves!
Pay attention to my energy management and hydration.