By: Logan Hill
Intern
lhill@cherryroad.com

Alexandria native and resident, 60-year-old, Brian Donahue, along with his 66-year-old sister, Peg Hall, embarked on the Grand Canyon ‘Rim to Rim’ hike in May.

Although there are many ways to hike from rim-to-rim in the Grand Canyon, a “rim-to-rim” hike generally means hiking from the south to north rim, or the north to south rim.

Donahue began the hike at the south rim ending at the North Kaibab Lodge on the North Rim. The lodge was lost to wildfire on July 12.

Donahue said it took the pair 12 hours to complete the hike. He said they started at 4:30 a.m. to beat the heat as much as possible. At the height of the day, the bottom of the canyon reached 95 degrees. Donahue said the dry heat is so hot sweat evaporates off your skin often deceiving the hiker. He said it is important to drink a lot of water to stay hydrated throughout the journey. He said on top of the extreme heat, elevation levels can make the hike lightheaded from elevation sickness. Throughout the hike, Donahue gained over 11,000 feet of elevation.

On top of the heat and elevation, Donahue said he was carrying about 15 to 20 pounds of necessary supplies including water, carbs, electrolytes, sunscreen, and basic first aid supplies. He said it was extremely important to constantly drink water and incorporate electrolytes to keep safe.

Donahue said the trails were extremely high and very narrow. He said, “A lot of people casually run it; it’s something that you would not take so casually.” He said the hike was beautiful, “A picture just doesn’t do anything justice.”

According to Donahue, he had multiple reasons for going on this hike, including his sister asking him to do it and training for an upcoming race he plans to run called the Trans-Rockies. The Trans-Rockies is a race that is run over six days and includes 120 miles of running. He also stated, “You do it for the experience.” This is just a small part of Donahue’s journey as he stated, “I’ve been running for quite a while since I gave up smoking for Lint with the goal to run the Indi Mini. I’ve now run about 20 marathons and tons of minis.”