The drive from Lake Powell to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon was full of contrasts. We went from 3500 feet elevation, 110 degree heat, and a pale desert with little vegetation to 8200 feet, 55 degrees, lush Ponderosa pine, aspen and oak forests and flowery meadows, and of course, the huge multicolored layers of the immense Grand Canyon. It took us about 3 hours and 130 miles to reach North Rim Campground which is steps away from the canyon rim. After lunch we hiked parts of the Transept Trail to Bright Angel Point, an awesome overlook to the Grand Canyon. The rustic Grand Canyon Lodge is also perched here with numerous cabins. It looks like a very inviting place to stay at the rim. Looking down and across, one still has a hard time absorbing how immense it really is. The erosion of the canyon began only about 5-6 million years ago.
When we walked back to the campground on the Bridle Trail, we saw 5 male mule deer with a variety of antler sizes laying in the forest watching us go by. We also got a good view of the Kaibab squirrel, a unique squirrel that lives only at the North Rim. It also has an interesting coloration: a black body and a white tail. At a distance you might mistake it for a skunk. Everywhere one looked there was the little ground squirrel which looks like a bigger version of a chipmunk.
Since it was the 4th of July, the National Park Service put on a little parade through the campground with a police car, fire truck, Smokey the Bear and park volunteers who were squirting water at the bystanders. The campground kids got into the action and filled their water pistols and cups and tried to soak the parade folks. Liam and Ethan had fun running back and forth and doing ambush attacks.
In the evening we went to a ranger talk at the amphitheater were we learned about all the different layers of the Grand Canyon, from 1.8 billion years old at the bottom to 270 million years at top and what kind of fossils can be found in the various layers. So, the Grand Canyon rock layers are much too old to contain dinosaur fossils! Liam got to assist the ranger with his program.
After a leisurely pancake breakfast, we packed up lots of water and food and hiked 0.7 miles of the Bridle Trail to the the North Kaibab Trail trailhead. The North Kaibib Trail leads down into the Grand Canyon, all the way to the Colorado River 14 miles away, and meets the South Kaibab Trail that starts at the South Rim. We decided to hike down only 1.7 miles to the Supai Tunnel. On this stretch the elevation changes from 8250 feet to 6733 feet. The trail has lots of switchbacks and is extremely dusty since it is also used by mules carrying people on scenic rides down into the canyon and back up. We had 6 or 7 groups of mules pass us on the trail. The dust changed color depending on what rock layer of the canyon we happened to be traveling through, first light colored, then red. Our shoes and legs were covered in a thick layer of dust. Not only did the kicked up dust make it difficult to breathe at times, but the aromatic dung piles and urine puddles of the mules were often overpowering in the heat. The views were spectacular, especially since it was much less hazy than the day before. At the far side of the tunnel we just sat and enjoyed the view down. We could see more adventurous hikers continuing on the trail below. At our lunch stop a squirrel came incredibly close, sniffing William’s shoes and backpack and lingering around us. A bright blue stellar jay made lots of strange sounds. On the way up we saw an amazing bird with a bright yellow body, red head and black wing markings. The entire 4.86 mile round trip took us 4 ½ hours.
When we returned we just relaxed at the campground and later enjoyed some hot chili in the cooling evening air.
The Davids' Cross-Country Trip 