- [Announcer] Previously on "Epic Trails."

The Grand Canyon is literally an hour and a half away from me.

I called up my buddy, Dan, and proposed to him the idea that we could go backpacking a rim-to-rim-to-rim trip.

You've, you've never seen the Grand Canyon?

- No.

Not in person.

- Welcome to one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

- Wow.

(both laughing) I'm ready.

- Something's gonna happen today.

That's how deep the snow is.

- I don't think my right leg works like that.

- Here, gimme the bottom of your trekking pole, (Dan huffing) (Dan groaning) - You can do it.

Step up.

Step up.

There you go, there you go.

Get up.

There you go.

There you go, there you go.

Nice.

We didn't make our goal of getting outta the canyon before dark.

- We got... We're gonna do it.

- Dan's not doing good.

I think we need to call somebody.

This is the worst pain in my life, man.

- [911 Operator] There's no ambulance service out of the park.

The only way out of the park from that location would be air ambulance if it's necessary.

- Okay.

It's gonna be okay, man.

I'm Eric Hanson.

When I see a trail, I see more than a path from point A to point B.

(intriguing music) A good trail is the ultimate opportunity to explore, to discover new landscapes and to challenge myself.

When I don't have a pack on my back, I'm thinking about my next big adventure because my mission is simple.

My mission is to discover the world's most "Epic Trails."

Funding for Epic Trails is provided by Discover the World.

Collette offers small group explorations tours, destinations and local experiences designed especially for small groups.

Explorations by Collette guided travels since 1918.

The Alinker three wheeled walking bike.

Assisting people with an active mindset to regain mobility and access the outdoors.

Keeping users active and engaged in life.

More information at Alinker.com In4Adventure.com Inspiring, educating and encouraging outdoor adventure and by these additional sponsors.

(intriguing music) (intriguing music) Two days ago, we started our journey to the Grand Canyon to hike the rim-to-rim-to-rim backpacking trip.

It's a nearly 50-mile route, and we're trying to accomplish this during a historically-deep winter.

The North rim of the Grand Canyon is buried under nearly 10 feet of snow.

What is happening?

Aren't we in Arizona?

We knew going into this, it would be a very difficult mission.

I'm joined by my good friend, Dan Becker, an experienced backpacker who is visiting the Grand Canyon for the first time.

Dan!

- Holy cow, dude.

- Have you looked?

The hike from the South Rim across the Grand Canyon posed many challenges.

Massive ice flows that blocked our path.

(ice crumbling) - Woo!

(Dan grunting) - You can do it.

Step up.

Landslides where the trail gave out entirely.

(ground crumbling) And extremely deep snow.

The trail, difficult in the best conditions, took a huge physical toll on us.

(dramatic music) By the second day, with night descending upon us, Dan started to fall behind.

He was extremely fatigued and it became clear that something was wrong.

We're hustling as fast as we can.

The snow is deep.

We're snowshoeing now.

It's massively difficult.

(breathing heavily) Dan's back here with me.

We're struggling, but we're gonna do this.

With great difficulty, we were able to make it out of the canyon and set up camp where Dan was able to get some rest.

But during the night, he awoke with severe chest pain.

- Getting close to four o'clock in the morning and I don't think I've slept at all.

(dramatic music) I'm having severe chest pains all night long.

Very difficult time staying warm.

I don't think I'm hypothermic, but I think I have some type of altitude sickness.

I don't know what the temperature is.

It's... (dramatic music continues) (Dan groans) - [Eric] Dan was in extreme pain and his condition was getting worse.

I decided to call 911 knowing that my friend's life was at risk.

I definitely was very scared that my friend Dan was having a heart attack.

Yeah.

- Letting do you know that we do have a single ranger on location at the North Rim who is responding.

- Okay, excellent.

- He does want you to be aware that he has an approximate 25-minute ETA.

- Okay?

- [911 Operator] And that there's no ambulance service out of the park.

The only way out of the park from that location would be air ambulance if it's necessary.

- Okay.

Fortunately, the Rangers were able to respond quickly, arriving within 30 minutes of my call.

- [Park Ranger] Are you still having chest pain right now?

- Ugh.

Yeah, I just got another wave.

- Another wave?

- It just comes in waves.

Like, right now I'm okay, and then all of a sudden it's just like somebody just stabbed me in the chest.

- [Park Ranger] Got it.

We'll take a look at you, do some EKGs and go from there.

- It was the worst pain in my life.

I've had an appendectomy before, that was nothing compared to this.

(snow crunching) - Hey.

- There you go.

- I'm gonna get some aspirin ready.

(Dan gasping) - [Eric] So it's always a scary thing, knowing it can be serious to call Life Flight, but we determined, actually, that life flight wasn't necessarily what we needed to do because there was ground transportation that was possible.

(light music) (gentle music) Obviously, losing my hiking partner changes some things.

So Dan's gonna be getting care at the hospital.

But for myself, and the gentlemen, the film crew who are with me, we're gonna be continuing on and hiking back across the Grand Canyon.

We're gonna take a bit of a rest day today to be here at the North Rim to see the sights, to experience the magical landscape that this is and kind of give our body a rest.

And I think I need the emotional rest too at this point.

So I am looking forward to just kind of decompressing a little bit and just enjoying the Grand Canyon.

(gentle music) (soft music) The North Rim in the winter is an isolated and beautiful place.

With roads closed, the only access here is by hiking in from the South Rim.

Very few people ever get to see the Grand Canyon without anyone around.

It feels weird to be here without Dan.

He made it all the way across the canyon and didn't get this view.

The whole point of this demanding trip, what I was hoping for Dan to see, is for a day of solitude at the North Rim.

(soft music) So I have received an update from Dan.

We have been able to communicate a little bit through our satellite communicators.

And thankfully, Dan is doing well.

And also, thankfully, it was absolutely the right decision to have him evacuated from the Grand Canyon.

Dan, how you doing?

You alive?

- [Dan On Phone] Yo, I am alive.

- Geez.

- I am in, uh... Oh gosh, I can't remember the name of the city.

Where am I at?

- They moved you to Kanab.

- [Dan On Phone] Kanab.

Oh my gosh.

I keep wanting to call it kebab.

(both laughing) I'm in the ER.

- Okay.

- [Dan On Phone] They're running all kinds of tests on me.

So far, it's not my heart.

I thought I was having a heart attack.

- Yeah.

- [Dan On Phone] And they ran a bunch of blood work and essentially where it's at right now, and this isn't definitive, but they're saying that my muscles have been severely broken down and my body was essentially eating itself.

And that could be poisoning my kidneys somehow.

And also that there is some fluid in my lungs, which is potentially the start of pneumonia.

So- - Wow.

- [Dan On Phone] They may be keeping me overnight, but I'm not sure yet.

And that's just all I know.

- Yeah.

- Well Dan, it's so good to hear your voice and just to hear that you're doing okay.

It sounds like you might be looped up on a few painkillers there.

- A lot of painkillers.

I've had eight milligrams of morphine already so far.

- Ooh.

Ooh.

- [Dan On Phone] Super fun.

- You're floating in the clouds then, right now?

- [Dan On Phone] I am.

(laughing) I am floating in the clouds.

Whatever I say, edit it well.

(both laughing) Well, save me some steak and Phantom Ranch.

- You know, we're gonna have an extra one, so I'll put one in my backpack and carry it out for you.

- [Dan On Phone] Oh, that'd be great.

That'd be great.

And take lots of pictures and video.

- You got it dude.

- Have fun you guys.

- Cheers.

- [Dan On Phone] I'll be missing ya.

- Yeah, you too man.

Won't be the same without you.

- Alright.

- All right, we'll see you back in Flagstaff.

- [Dan On Phone] All right, we'll see you then.

- All right.

Later Dan.

- Yep.

Bye.

- Poisoning kidneys from extreme muscle fatigue and pneumonia.

Hot damn.

But I am deeply thankful that he is doing well.

He has become a mentor in a lot of ways and I've just really appreciated getting to have these amazing trips with him.

(upbeat music) I'm at the North Kaibab trailhead and I'm about to descend back into the Grand Canyon.

I'm on the North Rim side and it's time to return to the south side.

So we've got half the trip under our belt and it's been quite an adventure so far.

Today will be another very long day.

I will drop down below the winter wonderland and back into the warm embrace of the inner Canyon.

(upbeat music) I will hike seven miles to where we first spent the night at Cottonwood Camp and then continue another seven miles to Phantom Ranch.

But I miss having Dan to make bad jokes with.

It's just not the same without my friend.

- (sighs) I'm at a random... Where am I at?

I don't even know where I'm at.

I'm at a hospital in Utah.

I think it's called... Oh my goodness, I can't remember the name of the city I'm in, but they got me wired up all over the place.

It looks like they're probably gonna be keeping me overnight.

And so, kind of sucks actually 'cause I'm all by myself here and I can hardly walk.

Like, nothing works.

That was the most I've ever put my body through for sure.

- It is a huge relief knowing that Dan is getting the medical care he needs.

At this point, all I can do is trust that he'll be okay and try to enjoy the beautiful return hike through the canyon.

It's been a beautiful day.

It's crazy to think that we started with like snowshoeing through 6, 7, 8 feet of snow and now we're down in the desert and I'm in a T-shirt.

Oh.

Camp ground, 3/4 of a mile.

I like to see that.

(gentle music) (bright music) Phantom Ranch is this really iconic place in the Grand Canyon.

It's just this quirky place.

You've got mules that come up and down the canyon every day.

So you have these cowboys and these wranglers that are bringing mules and horses down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

And then of course you have the canteen, which is pretty much everybody's favorite spot down at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

Mostly because they serve beer and steak.

So I thought, after four days of backpacking the Grand Canyon, it'd be a fun treat and a fun surprise to get a steak dinner for all of the crew that's doing this trip.

- Hi.

- We got four for Hanson.

- Oh, - Except it's actually three, - So it is just three of ya?

- Yeah.

- I'm gonna put you at one.

You're gonna be at the far... Against the window down there.

- Awesome, thank you.

- Alright.

Come on in.

- Unfortunately, Dan obviously hasn't been able to join us for the steak dinner.

But regardless, it was still an amazing delight to have, you know, a break from the backpacker meals.

As good as they are, sometimes it's nice to not have a reconstituted meal and to just have a slab of meat.

- Do we cheers a steak?

Is that a thing we can do?

(patrons chattering) - I have to be the Dan Becker stand-in.

- Yeah, there we go.

Hey.

Cheers.

(giggling) - Cheers.

(patrons continue chattering) - Alright, we're day two in the hospital.

I'm feeling a ton better today.

So they did blood work and they diagnosed me with rhabdo.

The full word is... One second here 'cause it's very hard to pronounce.

Rhabdomyolysis.

(chuckles) It's when you overexert yourself to the point where your muscles begin to break down.

They release a toxic protein that then goes and destroys your kidneys and it's essentially like your body begins to eat itself.

But thankfully, everything's fine.

So that's where I'm at so far.

And so I'm looking forward to a quick recovery.

- Today was such a long day, and to finish it up at the canteen here with a steak dinner.

Ah.

(smooches) Chef's kiss.

Perfect way to end off the day.

I'm about to go pass out now.

(light music) (water rushing) (gentle music) Final morning here on the trail here.

Just woke up at the Bright Angel campground ready to tackle the Bright Angel trail on the way to the South Rim.

This has been kind of a beat down, a brutal and glorious and grand adventure.

I'm ready to get after it and tackle this beast.

Let's go.

(gentle music) I actually really love being in the Grand Canyon in the wintertime and mostly because the main corridor, the bottom of the canyon, is cool.

From a temperature perspective, it is a cooler temperature down here and it's much more pleasant.

I have been down here in July and August before and the temperatures can soar well over 110 degrees easily in the daytime.

So if you're trying to hike these kind of miles, it can be brutal and it can be lethal.

So I prefer being here in the winter.

Even though being here in the winter poses other challenges, the snow being the main one at the rims, it feels like a more inviting and pleasant time to be here.

It's cool coming on the Bright Angel trail 'cause we actually get to go along the Colorado River some more.

Whereas the other trail, we just cross over it and we never see it again.

I truly love this river.

It is the lifeblood of the southwest.

No one would live here without this river.

And to see the way that it's shaped this landscape and been the driving force of creating the Grand Canyon, it's amazing.

Every time I come and stand atop of it or I'm near it, it just feels like I'm standing near a magical... Like, it's lifeblood.

Maybe not the most eloquent thing, but I just love this river and feel like I got part of my soul tied to it.

(gentle music) Comes a time in every hiker's life when he's gotta take care of his feet.

The Grand Canyon is a brutal place and my feet have three blisters on this foot and another three on the other foot.

While I take care of my own less-urgent medical needs, Dan is being discharged from the Kanab Hospital where it appears he's been busy making friends.

- Getting him outta here.

Say goodbye.

- Thank you so much.

- Bye.

Good luck.

- That's quite the pack.

- Oh goodness.

- Yes, he's ready for anything.

(intriguing music) (bright music) - Making some good progress from the day.

We have kind of left the desert region of the Grand Canyon and are back on the South Rim where there's snow and ice once again.

So just put on the traction spikes and it's time to really do about the last two miles to the top.

I'm pretty worked, these stair steps are rough and I think I'm ready to be done.

This has been a long and difficult journey.

I never expected this trip to turn out the way it did.

I've been dealing with the emotional weight of the responsibility for everyone's wellbeing.

But sometimes, when you spend as much time in the outdoors as I do, things can inevitably go wrong.

Finishing this hike by myself wasn't what I envisioned, but as I emerge from the depths of the Grand Canyon, I'm thankful for the responsive rangers and that this trip ultimately had a happy ending.

Woo!

Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo!

Ah, sweet glory.

(sighs) Oh, 45 miles later, that was a hell of an adventure.

I'm definitely missing my buddy.

I wish he could have made it here with us, but I do feel confident and obviously relieved that Dan's okay.

It's one of those type-two fun experiences.

It wasn't fun in the moment, but we'll be telling stories and laughing about it later.

So that was an adventure.

Alright, thank you very much, Grand Canyon, for an epic adventure.

It's time to go home.

I'm tired.

I want some pizza.

I am sorry.

- You shut your mouth.

(Dan laughing) - I almost killed you.

- (laughing) Whatever.

- I convinced you to go on the trip that almost killed you.

- Yeah, that's all right.

You shut your mouth.

It was awesome.

I wouldn't have changed a thing.

It was good.

I made a rim to rim.

- You did do rim to rim.

- I did.

Yeah.

- So good job.

- Yeah.

(Eric laughing) - I didn't get to use the other side of my joke that I was really excited about.

- What was it?

- When we got to the North Rim, I was gonna be like, "Dan, I feel like we've hit a real high point in our relationship."

I hate to say it, but I really feel like we're at a low point of our trip.

(Dan scoffs) (Dan laughing) And I never got to!

- We were at the North Rim.

- Yeah, but you were dying.

- Yeah, that's totally... Yeah, that's true.

Yeah.

- So it didn't feel appropriate as you were throwing up out of your tent, to be like, "Hey, high point!"

- "We did it, buddy!"

- "I'm making a pun."

(both laughing) - Yeah, so... - Oh my gosh.

I'm glad you're here.

- Yeah, me too.

Yep.

- Should we get some pizza?

- Listen, I am starving.

- I'm starving too.

Alright, let's go.

(light music) During Dan and I's friendship backpacking has been the center point of our connection.

There is something special about going through physical challenges with a person that leads to a deep bond.

And this trip is no different.

Although the challenges were much more severe than anticipated, I guess that just means our already-tight bond will run a little deeper.

(bright music) (bright music fades) (soft music) (music concludes) Funding for Epic Trails is provided by Discover the World.

Collette offers small group explorations tours, destinations and local experiences designed especially for small groups.

Explorations by Collette guided travels since 1918.

The Alinker three wheeled walking bike.

Assisting people with an active mindset to regain mobility and access the outdoors.

Keeping users active and engaged in life.

More information at Alinker.com In4Adventure.com Inspiring, educating and encouraging outdoor adventure and by these additional sponsors.