The Savage Traveler: Out West Adventure: Part 2--Grand Canyon north rim, Day 14

Sun. May 19: Originally, we hadn't planned on including the Grand Canyon in our travels. We had been to both rims in 1976 when we had our whirlwind camping trip Out West and again in the nineties with the kids, when we took the mule ride down to the point. But when it came right down to it, we decided we couldn't be this close to it and not visit. Taking only enough time to eat a quick cup of yogurt we got on the road early to drive the 43 miles to the north rim. We climbed another 300 feet or so, passing many acres of burned pines in the Kaibab National Forest. The main fire was apparently in 2006 and as a result the whole area is being filled in with colonies of aspen, which spread from the roots and each stand is genetically identical. They were just getting their early spring, yellow-green leaves and were all about 4 feet tall. We passed by large alpine meadows and saw many Kaibab Mule Deer, but none with their characteristic 30” antlers. And then we entered the park. The north rim is 1000ft higher than the busy, crowded south rim, and it’s amazing how different it is. While the south rim is desert country, the north is all pine and aspen forests. The north rim only opened four days before we arrived and wasn't fully staffed yet so the Ranger programs were very limited and the staff was all shiny and new. After walking a little way along the rim and out on Bright Angel Point we went to the Lodge to have the Breakfast Buffet as a sort of Brunch. We ate our fill and then filled our water bottles with water from the park’s Roaring Spring and drove to the North Kaibab Trail. This historic trail is the only way into the canyon from the north rim. It goes from Roaring Springs Canyon to Bright Angel Canyon, which opens into the Grand Canyon. We opted to hike 2 miles down to The Tunnel and just past enough to look down on Redwall Bridge and Eye of the Needle. The trail is sandy and full of mule “calling cards”, with lots of steps, some of them pretty deep. At the top there are lots of pinion and Ponderosa pines but as we got to our turnaround point, there were more desert plants and less shade. We had dropped 1000 feet in elevation and the temperature at The Tunnel was in the mid seventies with a few clouds. Then we had to climb out of that canyon. OOOOPPPPHHHH!! That was hard. By the end it was all I could do to slog 50-100 yards and then stop to huff and puff and take a drink and wait for my heart to stop pounding. But the whole time we were being passed by people who had hiked from the south rim, or from Cottonwood Campground or the Ranch Lodge down at the river. We even met two groups who had left at 2:30 in the morning from the South Rim who were hiking to the North Rim and then back to the South Rim all in one day. They were amazing!!!! I figured if they could do that 64 mile, 20 hour hike I could make it back to the top. Marv, of course, didn't find it nearly as rigorous as I did, but even he was pretty tired by the time we got back to the truck.

Campsite near the Grand Canyon north rim

On the trail

Roaring Springs Canyon

Roaring Springs Canyon opening to Bright Angel Canyon

Coconino overlook

The Tunnel

Climbing out, we have to get way up there!

We were both happy to drive the road out to Point Imperial to look over the easternmost part of the canyon. Then we drove out over the Walhalla Plateau to Vista Encantada, Roosevelt Point, Walhalla Overlook, and, finally, to Cape Royal. There we walked about a mile on the trail where one can see the Bright Angel Window, then walk out on the Window for an amazing view of the canyon and the only views from the North Rim of the Colorado River, ten miles below. We exchanged picture taking with a couple from Pennsylvania and found out the woman had grown-up in Mount Joy, where Chuck and Mary now live! We strolled with them out to the far point of the trail at Cape Royal, chatting about our travels and mutual experiences as retired teachers with the man. It was a very pleasant way to finish our time at the North Rim before driving back to the RV Park for a simple dinner and early bed.