It’s 3:00 AM, and I’m 5 miles south of the south entrance to the Grand Canyon.

Canyon. I’ll leave my campsite in about half an hour and return to the park.

I plan to be at the Kaibab Trailhead by 4:30.

With some luck, I’ll be resting at Skeleton Point, about halfway to the bottom of the canyon, when the sun rises.

By mid-morning, I hope to be in Phantom Ranch, at the bottom, where I’ll walk beside the Colorado River before climbing back out along the Bright Angel trail.

And with a little more luck, I’ll be standing back at the top by the end of the day, watching the sunset over the canyon.

5,000 feet down.

5,000 feet up.

17 miles.

And rated extremely difficult.

Most people don’t do it this way, and The National Park Service strongly recommends that I don’t, either.

But as soon as I read about this Rim to River to Rim hike, I knew I had to do it.

Doing hard shit makes me a stronger person.

There’s a dude in my head that whispers, “You can’t.”

“You’re not capable.”

“That’s too hard.”

Fuck that dude.

When I got to the park yesterday, I went straight to the backcountry office to talk to a ranger.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” she said.

“I am.”

“Okay, then let’s go over your plans.”

She spent a half hour with me. We went over everything from where to get water to how much it costs if I get heat exhaustion, twist an ankle, break a leg, or sustain any other injury that requires a helicopter to get me out.

We talked about the people who have died doing this and the many more who have lived.

She’d done it herself and said it was the hike of a lifetime.

I think I’m ready.

I think I can do it.

And I’m about to find out.

Follow along, if you’d like. I’m sitting in the parking lot now, waiting for my ride to the other side of the park, where it all begins. This link is for my GPS tracking - if you click it, you can see where I’m at now and at any point along the way: https://share.garmin.com/AF7PK

I’m looking forward to tonight’s sunset.

I suspect it will be especially fantastic.