Photo courtesy of Beth and Greg Martin.
Beth and Greg Martin and Emily and Wade Watkins hiked the Grand Canyon from rim to rim together.
Is the Grand Canyon all it’s cracked up to be?
It is, and more, according to two married couples from Vestavia who hiked the legendary national park in Arizona together in early October — hiking from the North Rim to the South Rim with a night spent in a cabin on the canyon floor.
“It far exceeded our expectations,” Beth Martin said, who made the rim-to-rim hike with her husband, Greg Martin, and friends, Wade and Emily Watkins. All four were making their first visit.
“When you see it, you realize why it’s one of the seven natural wonders of the world,” Greg Martin said. “Its scope and grandness are hard to fathom.”
It took the group 7 1/2 hours to hike the 15 miles into the canyon and 5 hours to hike the 9.6 miles out, according to Beth Martin.
Neither of the couples was into hiking before the trip, even though they all exercise regularly. The Martins saw it as a challenge and bucket list item, Beth Martin said.
People expecting to make the hike should try to get in good shape, the hikers said.
“We are already fairly active, but we started training about a month and a half out,” Wade Watkins said.
“I wouldn’t suggest just running,” Greg Martin said. “There needs to be an incline. I walked around the hills of Vestavia with a weight vest. We did Stairmasters. We were in pretty good shape.”
Hikers must pick the right shoes and gear, according to Greg Martin.
“If an hour in [on the hike], you get blisters the size of a quarter, you are in trouble,” he said.
Timing your visit with the season is important, too, according to Beth Martin, who said the couples went in October to avoid the “crazy hot” summer.
It is important to book early — as much as a full year — to secure campsites or other lodging.
The trip is also logistically challenging, the couples said, since it does you no good to leave a car parked at the North Rim and then hike to the South Rim. Instead, you hire a shuttle service in Las Vegas to drop you off and pick you up.
Overall, the canyon is a great place to get away.
“It was very tranquil,” Greg Martin said. “There were periods when it was very quiet.”
There are also no distractions, such cellphones, text messages or emails, according to Wade Watkins.
“You are there and experiencing a great place and good friends and are able to focus on that and soak it all in,” he said.
