Hike: North rim Grand Canyon to Utah Border - 78 miles

8/4/2008

Highlights: Buffalo in the camp at night

Lessons Learned: Allow sufficient time

Companions: Aaron Miner, Todd Miner(last 2 days)

AZ Trail Passages travelled: 39, 40, 41,42, 43

This trek covered 78.6  miles by Aaron and Mike from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, through the National park and then into the Kaibab National Forest.  This trek allows a view of Marble Canyon, the Vermillion cliffs and a broad view into distant, canyon country of Utah.  Along the way we were able to see heards of Deer and Elk and mingle with buffalo.

Monday August 4, 2008

Aaron and I left early Monday morning because we had a long way to go.  It was necessary to drive all the way to Utah and then come back and plant water and supplies at a few designated spots where we could replenish our backpacks.

When we got near the grand canyon we drove past the Vermillion cliffs.   The cliffs are red and purple and extend for about 20 miles.

Small portion of the Vermillion cliffs

From the vermillion cliffs, which are  near the Utah boarder, we headed south.  Since much of the trek did not have water we stored bottles of water at previously selected sites.  We carefully recorded the latitude and longitude of each cache of water.  Finally, we arrived at the Grand Canyon Lodge, took a quick look around, and then  found the cabin which we have previously reserved.

Grand Canyon from the North Rim looking to the South Rim

North Rim cabin

INSERT INTERIOR PICTURE OF CABIN HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Cabins were sparse and there was only room for two beds and nothing else.  They were warm and that was important.  We got a good nights sleep.

Tuesday August 5, 2008

After a nice breakfast at the lodge, we started hiking.  This first part of the trail followed a primitive utility corridor going North.  The Elevation was about  _______ feet and gradually went up to  ________.  The path was easy to follow.   We continually saw airplanes flying over us delivering water and supplies to fire fighters who were battling flames in another area of the Park.

By _________ oclock on our first day out we were able to find our first cache of water.  

Frequently we encountered hills which lead down and then turned up.  Going down was easy but then we had to come up.

From the top of a small hill, looking down into a ravine.

First night camping and not sure where we were.

Our goal for the first day was to travel 11.8 miles to the park boundary.  Near the end we were following an unused dirt road and we experienced a good deal of confusion.  The GPS told us a bearing and a distance to the boundary.  The dirt road went into another direction and we could see no trail for getting to the park boundary.  We were both quite frustrated as it appeared we might be lost.  If we followed  the GPS we would have to go over a hill and would encounter heavy brush and limbs.  One half mile short of our goal we decided to stop and camp for the night.  Maybe with clearer heads we could figure it out the next day.

Wednesday August 6, 2008

The next morning we were able to find the boundary of the forest and continued our hike 

National Park Boundary- Not a big thing

The official guidebook for the hike describes a pond at a given latitude and longitude as "... this appears to be a reliable source of water".  See pond below.

A reliable source of water!

The trail was clear, the trees were brilliant green and we were enjoying the views.

The sign to Chrystal springs was clear and there was a pond nearby but since we had plenty of water we did not bother to mix the pond water with our own.

We were now following the Kaibab Plateau Trail (#101) continuing north.  From time to time were able to see north all the way to Utah.

Fallen animal

In the late afternoon we were deluged by a sudden shower and quickly sought refuge in small group of trees.  We quickly set up the rain fly and were provided with a brief respite from the rain.  The wind started to blow and it became cold quickly.  The rain let up for a few minutes but the sky looked dark and threatening so we decided to pitch our tent for the night.  It was about 4pm and so this would cut short our traveling distance for the day.  We would have to make that up somehow because we had a reservation at the Jacob Lake Inn for the next night.  We would meet Todd and Barbara there where Todd would join us for the balance of the trip.

Escape from the rain in a small, dense forest

Thursday August 7, 2008

The trail continued up and down over many small hills.   We came across a large sinkhole and would have liked to go inside, but we knew we had a long hike for this day.

Interesting label on this tree.   It is designated as a "Wildlife Tree".  What about the rest?

Around noon it became obvious that there was no way we would make up for the time we lost yesterday by quiting early.  Our only alternative was to leave the trail and find the highway which was the North entrance into the Grand Canyon park.  We struggled through brush and eventually found the highway.  It was necessary to teach Aaron how to get a ride so I gave him some clues.  First he had to look forelorn,  hungary and tired and yet clean cut and professional!  "Take off your hat and smile.  Hold your thumb out. Make sure your backpack shows clearly".  We got a ride on the  seventh car which contained two ladies and two kids. They said they felt sorry for us.  Exactly how we planned it!  They volunteered to take us all the way to the Jacob Lake Inn, but I insisted we only needed a ride for 5 miles which is the distance we should have travelled yesterday afternoon.


When we got out of the car we found ourselves in the middle of a burned out forest. A fire in 19XXX____ burned ____ acres.  Hikers on the AZ trail were not allowed to hike through the burned out area for fear of another fire to be started.   So we had to hike around the burned out area.

SHOW ALTERNATIVE HIKING MAP

Aaron in the burned out area

Aaron recalls the end of the third day:

"We had traveled about 45 miles in 3 days(includes the deduction for hitchhing 5 miles).  It was 6pm and starting to get dark.  Mike was burned out.  We had another 1/2 mile to go.  As he was walking along I offered him my energy drink which he accepted.  Mike looked awake for 10 seconds and then spaced out again.  He continued slumping over his walking pole.    He would walk 10 ft and then stop and rest.  We came to an intersection next to a horse corral.  Mike dreamed about jumping on the horse and riding the rest of the way.  He didnt.  We turned right, went 100 yards up the street and then we saw the Jacob Lake Inn.  We had reached out first goal after hiking 12 hours that day."

Horses in Mike's dream

We arrived at the Jacob Lake Inn about 7:30pm and Barbara and Todd did not get there until 8pm.  We ate a fine dinner and then went to sleep.

Friday August 8, 2008

Jacob Lake Inn in the daytime

Awake and ready for breakfast.  Todd joins us for the remaining trek.

Rested up and filled with food we were now ready to continue the remaining 28 miles.  Highway 89 and Jacob Lake Inn mark the end of the Kaibab National Forest and the beginning of  BLM property.   This will be a major change of the ecosystem where we transition from Ponderosa pines into sagebrush, Juniper trees and prickly pear cactus. 

We started off into Orderville canyon.  SHOW PIC OF MAP

During this portion of the trek we saw little evidence of water there was a lot of activity in the ground.

This is the only water tank  between Jacob Lake and the Utah border. The name of the tank is Government Resevoir which is aptly named as their is no water in it.  Fortunately we have enough water at this point.

Dominguez - Escalante Expedition Site Fathers Francisco Dominguez and Silvestre Escalante, Spanish priests, may have been the first Europeans to see the Arizona Strip on their expedition in 1776. On foot, they traveled from Santa Fe, New Mexico through western Colorado, to Spanish Fork, Utah and then down through northern Arizona back to Santa Fe. Others crossed the Strip along the Old Spanish Trail during the 1830's and 1840's. Opened as a trade route between Santa Fe and Los Angeles, the Spanish Trail became a major link connecting New Mexico and southern California from 1829 to 1848.  The Navajo Trail is an old Indian and sheepherding trail. In 1871, John D. Lee traversed the Buckskin Mountain (Kaibab Plateau) by way of a "well-used" horse path; he is believed to be the first Anglo to use what is now called the Navajo Trail. The trail traverses the scenic pinyon and juniper forests of House Rock Valley and the oak and pine of the Kaibab Plateau. It overlooks the Paria Plateau and its unique wind and water sculpted red rock formations.

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Be evening we found our water cache which was 17 miles from our morning starting point.  Mike started to cook the dinner and Aaron and Todd set up the tent.

This is our first campground with Todd.  He and Aaron slept in the tent.  Because the weather was so clear I decided to leave my tent with Barbara back at the Jacob Lake Inn.  I slept on the ground cloth next to the tent.  This would prove to provide a scarry and probably dangerous experience as the author will illustrate shortly.

This was our meal.  Water and powered gruel of some sort which went through a freeze dryed process and flavored with rice and beef!  Plenty of calories so we ready for a sound sleep.

In the middle of the night Todd was awakened by the noise of a large animal.  He described it as a very gutteral breathing, slowly inhaling and exhaling in a very low pitch.  A bit frightened he did not go outside his tent fearing that this action would challenge the animal.  In the mean time I am outside and unprotected with this wild beast.

Saturday August 9, 2008
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The next morning we found large footprints of animals that came through our campsite.  They were about the side of a human hand and must have been quite heavy because the depth of the footprint was not somethng we could reproduce without a lot of weight.  When we arrived home we checked the footprint and though it most looked like a buffalo.


We subsequently found the following article in the Park news.

Depending on who you talk to, the 2,000-pound (plus!) beasts that roam the Kaibab forest on the North Rim are either buffalo or cattalo. The first is a generic term for the American bison, while the second is the name coined by ranchers "Buffalo" Jones and "Uncle Jimmy" Owens, who set up shop on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in the early 1900s. Their goal was to cross buffalo with cattle to create an animal that produced the hide of a buffalo, the meat of a cow, and had the stamina to withstand harsh winters. In 1906, 13 years before Grand Canyon National Park was established, and with the blessing of Teddy Roosevelt, a stock herd of buffalo arrived on the Kaibab Plateau. Shipped to Lund, Utah via train, Jones and Owens then led the herd some 175 miles to the ranch, mostly at night to avoid the heat.

Despite overcoming many setbacks, the venture ultimately failed, and Jones and Owens abandoned the experiment. Investors hauled off the cows, and Owens ended up with the buffalo. The herd, then living in House Rock Valley, wandered aimlessly until 1926 when the State of Arizona bought them from Owen, officially making the buffalo wards of the state.

We still had a few hours left before we would drop down into the valley.  The trail was dry and made up of rolling hills.

From the top of Buckskin mountain we could see House Rock Valley,  the Vermillion cliffs and into Utah.

The last mile was a steep inclin taking us to the end of the Arizona Trail and the Utah state line.  Todd was in continuous contact with Barbara who was anxiously waiting.

End of the trail

Vermillion Clifts

Exhausted but contented.

We got back in the car,drove past the Vermillion clifts on the House Rock Road.

Since Todd had not been to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon we drove back.

Yikes!! Don't fall backwards

Comfortable North Rim Lodge overlooking the Canyon

Because of heavy snows the North rim closes from November through April each year but Inn looked like an ideal place to stay during the winter with its giant fireplace and soft chairs.  We could sit here for hours, days or even weeks and view out to the canyon.

We drove back to Phoenix Saturday night arriving at 2AM Sunday.Less