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!