I showed up to the North Bass TH after navigating snowy forest roads for the last couple of hours and the first thing to welcome me was a massive buffalo. When he put his horns up against the car I knew I needed to do something. Luckily my horn scared him off. I was in for an adventure.
Rim to rim to rim via the Bass trails, alternative for more than just the fact there is no bridge. About 20 min after departing I showed up at Teddy's cabin, where Charlie and I had spent Thanksgiving in 2018 during our first backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon. Fun to see, but I knew it wasn't on the route. Less than a mile later, I started heading down a drainage rather than continuing on the trail. One of the things Charlie had advised, was if I felt like I was off route, to reassess, which I became thankful for time and time again. My errors definitely ate up a good chunk of time, but they became less once the sun came out. I'd ascended the North Bass trail on that backpacking trip, but I forgot everything, except the easy to follow parts of the trail, which there are a few, however, over half of it is in creek beds where there is essentially no trail and simply blended into the off trail travel in my head. I had to reassess my goals for the day continually.
Eventually I climbed out of Shinumo and got my first view of the Colorado River. I was actually pretty excited as it had heated up and it sounded refreshing. When I got to the river, I questioned the location I was thinking about crossing and went back and forth on whether I should move up or down river. I looked at the eddy lines and decided I just needed to go for it. The first swim across was super easy and I quickly caught the eddy on the other side which relieved my anxieties and gave me confidence. That said, the questioning and slow transitions definitely took time.
Eventually I was moving again. Going up South Bass went relatively smoothly. As I neared the rim I saw a herd of wild boars, a first for me in the GC. They were very skiddish and quickly scattered. They must release something because the trail smelled foul where they had been. Descending, I started heading towards Royal Arch, but noticed my mistake pretty quickly. The second swim was a bit more exciting. I had a wide beach to get to, but the current off the tail of the rapid definitely had more of an effect on my route across. I was happy to have flippers for power and the confidence of the first swim.
In general, I felt like I had a better path ascending up Shinumo than I had chosen while descending, and was happy to pass some more of the ruins leftover from Bass Camp on. As I neared the climb out of Shinumo, some backpackers shouted hello. I had seen them earlier coming down South Bass. Turns out they were backpacking the same route, and were very encouraging as I moved on my way to get as many miles done while it was still light.
Once the dark settled in fear overcame me. What if my light didn't last? Or my phone died and I had no map? None of which happened. I think my fears were rooted in knowing I still needed to ascend through the Redwall, which is the cliffiest layer in the GC. There's a lot of areas in the GC you can't afford a misstep and this is definitely one of them. Soon enough, I found the cairned route. Ascending the steep trail and continuing to put one foot in front of the other relieved the stress I was feeling, however, I knew the black abyss to either side was pure cliff.
In upper White Creek, my memories of ascending North Bass the first time came flooding back. It is a bit claustrophobic in this area and the overgrowth is out to get you. Eventually, I got to the trail up to Muav Saddle and eventually the rim. What I had set out to do as a run primarily became a hike due to the nature of the route. I was happy to complete this adventure solo and it gave me lots of time to think about things that matter to me. That said, if I was ever to return, I would want to be with someone. There is something truly special about sharing experiences.
I believe my time is a new Woman's Unsupported FKT, but honestly records are kind of silly to me. They are inspired by the people before you, yet have a way of discounting other people's efforts, both before and after, if they're not at the top. Big shout out to the first all women's team that includes my friend Lexi Miller to do this, which inspires other women like me to tackle scary goals. It's tough and requires true grit!
To top off this adventure, I thought I would get a kickstart on my long drive back to CO by at least driving out the forest roads a ways. In the process, the 5 gallon jug of water I had stacked on top of other bins to make room for my bed had tipped over and drenched my two sleeping bags. I deferred to the shiver sleep where I would pull over and sleep for as long as I could before cold awoke me, drive 20-30 min and warm up, and then repeat. I did this about 4x, successfully sleeping every time, before my eyes could focus enough to make the long drive home.