death march

The drive out of Flagstaff was cloudy and cool. Unseasonably cool for Memorial Day weekend at the end of May. "Snow at the higher elevations, [of the San Francisco Mountains] up to a foot I hear" said the barista at the coffee shop. As we drove toward the canyon, Sam brought up the Death March, a hike he had dreamed of doing since moving to the southwestern desert 7 years ago. It involved hiking from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, to the North Rim, and back in 24 hours. 44 miles, 20,000 feet of elevation change, 24 hours. Sure, it has been done, but the question was could WE do it.