We had the time so we made the drive. We had not been in several years and it is always worth the trip. We were also going to the North Rim vs the South Rim.
A VIEW FROM BRIGHT ANGEL POINT
The North Rim offers a serene and enthralling Grand Canyon experience. It is more remote and less developed than the South Rim, and so it attracts far fewer tourists. Many people think its viewpoints are the most spectacular, since they are located at a higher elevation. The North Rim forms the edge of the Kaibab Plateau, with elevation ranging from 8,000-8,800 feet above sea level. Access is via Hwy 67, through a majestic conifer forest and past scenic Jacob Lake. The drive is beautiful, even before you reach the national park. Your first stop should be at the visitor center where you can orient yourself and enjoy one of the most spectacular views in the world. The North Rim area does not officially open until mid May. We saw many pockets of snow and the grass was just starting to turn green. Many of the Aspen trees were still leafless.
The drive from Lake Powell is around 2.5 - 3 hours and we had two options.
We decided to take one going and the other coming back. Both were beautiful.
Before entering GCNP, we drove through Kaibab National Forest. At 1.6 million acres (650,000 ha) the Kaibab National Forest borders both the north and south rims of the Grand Canyon, in north-central Arizona.
June 8th, 2006, a lightning strike ignited the Warm Fire on the northeastern edge of the Kaibab Plateau. The Kaibab National Forest had recognized the need to manage fire and fuels at a landscape-scale and developed a Wildland Fire Use (WFU) program with the Warm Fire being the first large implementation of that plan. The fire ultimately burned outside the WFU plan and burned a total of 59,000 acres. The impact is still visible.
RECOVERY AFTER 11 YEARS
The burn area ends abruptly and the drive continues through beautiful forest and alpine meadows.
We also saw a few small herds of white tailed deer.
LOOKING A BIT LEAN BUT ENJOYING THE NEW SPRING GRASS
The North Rim entry fee is $30. We used our parks pass and we paid $0.
We drove to the visitor center and had a picnic lunch before walking along a rim trail.
ALWAYS BEAUTIFUL
After a nice lunch and walk, we got back into the car and backtracked to Cape Royal Road. This road takes you to several much less visited vistas that offer spectacular views.
Our first stop was Point Imperial.
THE HIGHEST POINT ON EITHER RIM
We took a short walk, let the views sink in and nearly had the place to ourselves. We also had a really good chat with two Fire Management guys. One of them gave us a very detailed explanation of the Wildland Fire Use program that was implemented in the Warm Fire of 2006. It is easy to understand the ecological advantages of using fire to allow land to be reborn but it would be very hard for me to watch it happen.
Our next stop was Roosevelt Point.
We found a short trail that allowed us to go just a bit below the rim. This is a rarity and was particularly rare in that we could take the girls. We did a bit of climbing and hiking and went as far as we thought was safe.
We left Roosevelt Point and started the drive back to Lake Powell. We stopped at Jacob's Lake for coffee. I will offer a travel hack. If you go to the North Rim and you want a t-shirt as proof, get it at the very quaint cafe/store at Jacob's Lake. They have a good selection of shirts and other souvenirs and their prices are much better.
Our drive back along the other route was equally enjoyable. We went from 8,800 feet to around 3,000 feet in a fairly short time. The outside temperatures went from 62 degrees to 86 degrees.
Our North Rim trip was definitely worth the drive.
We got home just before dark and we spent the evening chilling.
Another great day in this thing we call life.
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