27.01 mi / 2:05:04 time / 12.8 mph avg. / 37.0 mph max. / 1251 ft. climbing / 11 mi hiking
Staying at North Rim Campground

I knew the Grand Canyon North Rim officially opened today, but I didn’t really know what time. I figured I’d shoot for about the same time that the gate to AZ 67 opened, at 8am, even though that was 40 miles north of me. They must have someone there manning the entrance station in case there are any vehicles travelling at the speed of light, right? However, figuring out exactly when 8am was was a bit of a chore, since I hadn’t really converted to Arizona time yet (they ignore Daylight Saving here) and generally haven’t paid much attention to time at all lately.

Well, I got there about 8:15, and there had already been a steady stream of cars flowing by, so I guess they let people in pretty early. Luckily the line wasn’t too long when I got there, but it was already quite a bit longer when I left. The road inside the park got even better, as the trees closed in right next to the road. Twelve miles of that, and I made it to the campground, where the line for registration was amazingly slow and painful. Yes, I know it’s opening day and a bunch of people are being trained, but how hard is it really to register a campsite? I had made a reservation a long time ago, which was good, because the campground was full, but then I found out that they do in fact have hiker/biker sites here. A hiker who had just registered said they were the best in the campground, so I switched over to that area instead. Yep, my tent is about 20 yards from the edge of the canyon. Sure, a side canyon, but still pretty sweet.

Then I rode back out a mile south to the lodge and visitor center to see what was going on there. The lodge actually hides the main view of the canyon, until you enter the lobby and step down into a room with enormous picture windows. And there it is, the Grand Canyon. I was impressed, but not blown away. One downside of the North Rim is that you’re so far away from the river a mile below that you can’t even see a hint of it. And all the various canyon sections are so vast that it’s difficult to get an idea of what you’re even looking at, and what the true scale is. Even the short trail down to Bright Angel viewpoint (the main viewpoint in the area) didn’t add the perspective I was looking for.

So it was time to head back a couple miles on the road I came in on to get to the Widforss trailhead. This was a 10-mile round-trip hike over relatively level ground that traced the edge of the canyon rim and provided a lot of good views. Better, it was a hike through a pine and aspen forest, on dirt! (and pinecones!) It was nice to be walking on something that wasn’t slickrock or sand. And on top of that, it was quiet. I saw five other parties besides me, all coming back when I was on the way out, so I had the whole trail to myself on the way back. One of the parties was a couple that I had seen on a couple hikes in Zion, so it’s funny how often paths cross out here. And then at the end of the trail, there was a couple camping out there. The unnamed fellow and I spent a lot of time gazing at the canyon and chatting, and we did some serious bonding over our mutual love for Little Debbie products (despite the fact that I haven’t had a single one on this trip, eek!)

When I got back, I cruised the campground and finally found Dennis & Pat. We hung out catching up on our last couple days for a bit, and then they invited me to join them later for a drive down to the lodge for a drink at the saloon and a presentation from a ranger about a backcountry trail. I was a stinking mess, having not showered since a week ago in Bryce, so before joining them in their truck, I got myself a $1.50 5-7 minute super-high-pressure campground shower. That helped a lot, and made the North Rim Amber I drank down at the saloon much more enjoyable. We left the presentation once the ranger started randomly talking about fossils and stuff, but the parts about the backcountry trail and the general geology of the canyon were really interesting, especially since it’s totally not something I would have sat in on on my own, so I’m really happy that Dennis & Pat asked me along.

By the time we left the lodge it was rather dark, so my ride back to my campsite from theirs was quite the adventure, even with my bike light. Some more hikers had arrived in the hiker/biker area, so I nearly crashed into some of their tents on the way in, then I shot past my own tent ending up right beside someone else’s, and then I found what I was pretty sure was my tent, but I still held my breath as I opened the zipper. Phew, no one inside, so I crawled in and then only had the ferocious wind coming out of the canyon to deal with for the rest of the night.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 15th, 2009 at 5:42 pm and is filed under 2009 Bike Tour, bike. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.