The Grand Canyon Hiker Dude Show

S3E98 - Ep98: Jackie and the Crazies — My Last Conversation at the North Rim Lodge

Published: January 28, 2026

Duration: 52:13

Recorded at the North Rim's Grand Canyon Lodge on opening day 2025, this conversation follows a South Kaibab to North Kaibab Rim-to-Rim with Jackie Kunkel and her group, “the Crazies.” The discussion covers preparation, pacing, group decision-making, and the impact of witnessing a serious medical emergency on the trail. The lodge burned down less than two months later, and Brian also speaks to the gravity of it being his final time inside it.
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Our new hiking packs are here! Our signature Rim2Rim Pack is back, along with the new Canyon Elite 25, which takes the same features that made...