North Rim

The American Southwest is in the throes of a blazing hot summer.  It was 102 degrees in Las Vegas when I arrived about noon on Wednesday.  I was impressed enough to notify my Facebook audience of that fact -- but  it got worse. 

At one point yesterday, as I kept an eye on the thermometer on my rental car's dashboard, I saw it reach 119 degrees.  That's hot for us folks in the Northwest Corner, where a temperature of 85 degrees results in newspaper editorials.

Lucky, then, that my destination was the North Rim of the Grand Canyon -- some 8,000 feet in elevation, where the temperature never got much above 85.

As one can calculate from my musings last year, following a visit to the South Rim, this is my blog's ninth discussion of my varied experiences at the Grand Canyon.  Perhaps the subject has been exhausted.  On the other hand, this is only my second visit to the North Rim, my earlier visit having been back in August 2013. 

Supai Tunnel

The highlight of that earlier visit was a descent some 4.1 miles (as the hiker walks) and three thousand feet (as the rock drops) to Roaring Springs.  The temperatures were hotter this time, my toes were still a bit sore after being abused both in England and on a recent climb of Mt. Si, and -- although I hesitate to mention it -- I'm a bit older.  Whatever the cause, I decided to limit my descent to the Supai Tunnel -- a short tunnel (duh!) blasted out of rock that permits the trail to continue downward.  The hike was just 1.7 miles each way, with a descent of about 1,100 feet.  Although the distance hiked seems insignificant, it is perhaps the steepest part of the North Kaibab Trail, which leads from the North Rim to the Colorado River. 

It was a pleasant walk down, and a hot walk up.

As I've already mentioned to my Facebook audience, while on my way to the  tunnel, I met a woman hiking with two pre-teen granddaughters, all three of them carrying very small packs.  No sleeping bags or tents -- just insulation pads.  They were doing the rim-to-rim hike, and would be camping for four nights.  Two of those nights were to be in the campground adjacent to Phantom Ranch on the river, and they had made reservations to take all their meals at the ranch while there.  This foresight  allowed them to leave a lot of food out of their packs.  Even so, it's an ambitious hike, especially with such young kids.  The grandmother had completed an identical hike, on her own, last September.  

I felt chagrined, of course, to admit the failure of nerve that kept me from hiking farther than 1.7 miles down into the canyon.  Grandma and those young kids would be covering 24 miles, with temperatures only getting hotter as they descended.  Temperatures at the river were being reported as some 115 degrees. 

Wotan's Throne from Cape Royal

My own wussier visit, of course, offered its own consolations.  I drove out to Cape Royal, which I had missed seeing in 2013.  Cape Royal is a narrow, 15-mile promontory that protrudes from the north rim southward into the canyon.  The drive is interesting, and ends at a parking lot from which you hike another mile on a paved trail to the look-out.  Certain features of the canyon that you can identify in the distance  from the South Rim -- such as the happily named Wotan's Throne and Vishnu's Temple -- loom right in front of you from Cape Royal.  The short walk is well worth the effort.

And, of course, for those moments when you feel overcome by the heat and the exercise, sitting on the lodge's terrace overlooking the canyon -- a Grand Canyon IPA in hand -- watching not only nature's work of eons, but your fellow tourists, has restorative value.

North Kaibab Trail

I drove back to my flight in Vegas by way of Zion National Park -- a route that takes you from the eastern end of the park to the Visitor's Center at the southern end.  I was overwhelmed by the spectacular views from my driver's seat -- but I would suggest another time of year to tour Zion.  The temperature was 108 degrees (Zion's elevation is 4,000 feet, half that of the North Rim), the traffic was ungodly, and when I reached the Visitor's Center I discovered that there was no available parking.  I would have to drive out of the Park to the adjacent town of Springdale, find parking there, and wait for a shuttle to take me back into the park.

I preferred to save further exploration of the Park for a March or October visit.

The North Rim offers moderate temperatures in July, and beautiful surroundings forested in pine.  It does lack the variety of trails that can be found at the lower (and hotter) South Rim, but for the intrepid hiker, the hike to the river down the North Kaibab Trail offers all the hiking one can handle.

Next time, I'd love to be that intrepid hiker.  (But not in July.)