What better way can there be to see the Grand Canyon than to take a hike across the canyon from one side to the other! And taking 5 days to complete the 23.5 mile trip allows for plenty of time to explore hidden side canyon, waterfalls, and Indian ruins. The Museum of Northern Arizona offers this trip each year, usually in the fall when the temperatures are perfect for hiking. It is one of my favorite trips to lead.
This year, our group of 8 departed Flagstaff on October 4 under the typical cloudless skies so common in northern Arizona. We camped one night on the North Rim, then descended the North Kaibab Trail bright and early on October 5. It’s 7 miles down to Cottonwood Camp where I worked as a backcountry ranger during the 1976 summer season. We stopped at Bruce Aiken’s home along the way and the only rain on the whole trip happened when we were dry and cozy sitting under his front porch! This was a great omen and it looked like the trip would turn out perfect! Night time temperatures were an agreeable 55 degrees and the next day we visited Ribbon Falls and Phantom Creek on our way to Phantom Ranch. A highlight was taking a warm dip in the falls at Phantom Creek. We had completed 14 miles of trail in two days and no one had a blister!
Phantom Ranch is an oasis of green trees, a clear running stream and cold beer! Built in 1922 as a dude ranch, Phantom today welcomes hikers, mule riders, and river runners with old west hospitality. Our group stayed here in the “greater Phantom metropolitan area” for nearly 48 hours, taking in ranger talks, side hikes to spectacular views of the Colorado River, and looking for scorpions with a black light at night! It was awesome!
I worked as a ranger here during the mid-70’s and it is such a joy to return “home” to the confines of what we called “inner space”. I feel so blessed to have lived for three years at the bottom of the canyon. And amazingly, I still get to return many times to this special place leading groups of hikers. A highlight for me was the opportunity to help the ranger at Phantom dig up rocks in the group camp site to make it more comfortable to sleep. I know it sounds crazy but there are few things I find more rewarding than working hard like this in the outdoors. I had to laugh at myself as the sweat poured off my face. I thought, “Here I am digging up rocks in the bottom of the Grand Canyon and liking it! Maybe this was how the canyon formed?“ Find out if this is actually true with the release of my new book next March, “Carving Grand Canyon”.
Our group eventually made their way up to Indian Gardens, stopping at a spring along Pipe Creek and resting in the shade of The Great Unconformity. In camp, a Spotted Owl was seen roosting in a tree no more than 5 feet from where we camped! We also made our way out to Plateau Point to see the sunset on October 8 and saw the North Rim Lodge almost 6 miles away! It was awesome!
The next day we made the four and half miles out of the canyon. The recent floods had really altered some of the streambeds along the way. I used to have this special spot on the way out where fragrant hop trees grew in profusion in a shady little cove. These were all ripped out by the floods and replaced with gravel. Such is the reality of the Grand Canyon, it’s always changing and ever evolving. Certainly this is a valuable life lesson. Everyone made it out very strong and were delighted with their success in going Rim to Rim in the Grand Canyon. The trip was a delight for me because the group was so much fun and amenable. I’m sure that there are new friends I made who I will see again and again!
