5: Crossing the Grand Canyon

Crossing the Grand Canyon on foot is something many visitors of the spectacular Canyon wonder about as they gaze across its great expanse to the distant rim. It is an activity that has taken place for more than 100 years. Today, for ultrarunners, traveling to the Grand Canyon to run across it is similar to a pilgrimage. Each year thousands of people cross the famous canyon and many, or most of them, return the same day, experiencing what has been called for decades as a “double crossing,” and in more recent years, a "rim-to-rim-to-rim."



Single crossings of the Grand Canyon using the rough trails on both sides of the Colorado River started about 1910 and these traverses were mostly accomplished by hunters seeking game on the North Rim. Double crossings (in one day) started in the mid-1970s. Formal races, for both single and double crossings, while banned today, are part of ultrarunning history. These races were organized each year starting about 1979 and continued through 1987. Their history needs to be told.



For those who engage in this activity or hope to, it is important to understand the history that made all this possible on what is called the corridor trails. This important history includes the development of the trails, the establishment of Phantom Ranch, the building of bridges to cross the Colorado River, and the creation of water and communication systems.