Reverse Hike: Grand Canyon RtRtR Training

I’m hiking the Grand Canyon in May, therefore, to train for that, I started this hike at the summit. I hiked down Bald Ridge trail to Eagle Peak trail and headed back up Mitchell Canyon trail from the Mitchell Canyon staging area. Doing it in reverse is much harder than the traditional way of hiking it! I entered the park as soon as the gates were open and had the summit all to myself. When I finished (almost 5-1/2 hours later) the peak was packed with people. Probably one of the toughest hikes I’ve done.  It was a hot day and much of the uphill was exposed, so the shade from the trees near the peak was a relief. And, knowing that I was done and could drive down from the summit felt luxurious!