October 5, 2016

October 5, 2016

The last time we were at the North Rim in 2008, we gave it the short shrift because of the remoteness of the location and the lack of available RV camping.  So before leaving, we spend the morning exploring.

Our drive takes us 23 miles through a very hilly pine forest studded with the now golden autumn leaves of Quaking Aspens.  We dead-end at Point Royal at the tip of a long peninsula of land jutting out into the canyon.  On the return we stop at three more lookouts.  Each one has a different view of the Canyon.

We also stop at the ruins of an Anasazi Pueblo.  These ancestral residents lived at the rim in summer and farmed a creek delta on the Colorado during winter.

We spend the rest of the day making the long drive back to Tucson. Our only stop was to take some photos of the Aspen colors.

October 4, 2016

October 4, 2016

Because of logistics we had planned to hike back out the North Rim today.  That is where our car is, and where we have lodging tonight.  After assessing our aches and pains we don’t know if we can do the uphill fourteen miles before darkness and frigid temperatures set in.  So we fall back to our original Rim-to-Rim plan and head up the South Rim via Bright Angel Trail.  There is a shuttle back to the North leaving at 1:30pm.  To make sure we catch it, we leave camp at 5:30 in the dim morning light.  Thankfully the trail rocks are whitish and have a ghostly aura.  We can find our way if we are careful.  When dawn breaks we pick up the pace and take shorter breaks than normal.  We make it to the top in a personal record of six hours.

At the rim we have our lunch while staring out into the canyon.  I never tire of the view from the South Rim.  It is truly majestic and awe-inspiring.

Halfway up the trail at Indian Garden, we got a cell signal and called the Trans Canyon shuttle for seats.  There are two available.  My lucky charm of a wife has still got it.  Despite the high cost and the 4.5-hour length of the shuttle ride, we are ecstatic.  We don’t think we could have walked another step.  We have a great conversation with two of our fellow passengers and the long drive seems to fly by.

October 3, 2016

October 3, 2016

With no TV and no Internet we were in bed early last night.  And up early this morning.  After a quick breakfast we are dressed and driving to the North Kaibab Trailhead.  We are a little nervous.  It is below freezing, and the 8240-foot elevation of the North Rim makes even small chores exhausting.

Because the North Rim is higher and gets more rain than the South, it has eroded much farther from the Colorado River.  Which means the trail is 50% longer.  It will be our longest hike.  I take a couple Aleve as a precaution hoping my hips will endure the downhill pummeling.

The first half of the trail is beautiful but does not come with the great expansive views we are used to on the South Rim.  On the other hand there is no crowd and we almost have the whole trail to ourselves.  We take it slow to avoid any slips that could cause us problems on this relatively remote section of the Grand Canyon. Parts of the trail are narrow and hug a cliff.  With the brisk wind, Aimee is nervous.

Cottonwood Campground at the seven-mile mark is halfway.  The final leg of the trail follows Bright Angel Creek another seven miles to the Colorado.  It is mostly flat eventually meandering its way through the Granite Gorge.  It seems to go on and on.  We are in no hurry so by all rights we should have slowed down and taken longer breaks.  Instead we push on and arrive at Phantom Ranch just before 2 pm.  We both have a cold beer in the Canteen.  Maybe that was why we hurried.

Fourteen miles of downhill is a killer and not surprisingly we are in bed right after our 5 pm dinner. Instead of the normal same-sex dorm, we have a four-person cabin all to ourselves.  We are living!

October 2, 2016

October 2, 2016

Aimee’s birthday is coming up soon.  She loves hiking the Grand Canyon so she has been calling to get a cancellation at Phantom Ranch.  Unsuccessfully!  I have wanted to do a new variation, hiking rim to rim instead of down and up the South Rim.  I am feeling a little pressured, as the North Rim will be closing for the winter in less than two weeks.

We learned a flash flood recently wiped out a section of the Bright Angel Trail so the mule rides (and their Phantom Ranch cabins) have been cancelled for two days.  Knowing the bureaucratic Park Service will need to have lots of meetings before repairs are completed, we get a cancellation at the North Rim Lodge and jump in the car.  We spend all day driving the eight hours to the complete other side of Arizona. 

Aimee called early this morning and got second place on the Phantom Ranch waiting list for tomorrow.  We cross our fingers.  I know they cancelled the Mule Rides again, so we should be good.  In the meantime we do a little exploration walking out to Bright Angel Point to soak up the beauty and the refreshingly cool, almost cold, weather.  The North Rim is a surprisingly compact tourist area.  With the tiny number of visitors it seems quaint and rustic in comparison to the South Rim.

After dinner we call the transportation desk and we snag a room at Phantom Ranch.  Yes!