Lee's Ferry Campground - Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Lee's Ferry is a beautiful campground located in Marble Canyon. It has no hook-ups and reservations cannot be made. It has a modern bathroom and potable water. However it is hot in the summer at 3,100 feet elevation along the Colorado River.

The Widforss Trail - North Rim of the Grand Canyon

The Widforss Trail follows the North Rim for 2.5 miles then heads into the forest to emerge at Widforss Point after another 2.5 miles. The entire hike is 10 miles round trip.

The Fall

During my hike, one of my trekking poles started collapsing, and needed tightening. So on the way back I packed up both my poles and strapped them to my day pack. Rarely, I hike without my poles, because they make every hike easier, but this trail was relatively smooth dirt with little elevation gain.  So I thought I would be fine. I was wrong. It wasn't long before my hiking boot struck a gnarly, solitary tree root, and I abruptly lost my balance. Without warning, momentum flung my body downward, and my forehead and nose slammed into the dirt. At first, I thought I might be seriously hurt, it had certainly hurt, and I felt dazed. I checked my forehead and nose for blood. There was none.

I sat in the grass, and regained my composure. My thumb hurt a lot. But the worst pain came from my chest. My Nikon D7000 camera had hit my sternum when I fell on it. My first concern was my camera. I examined it, and found nothing broken. Then I shot a couple random photos, and that worked. But my chest hurt. Every deep breath caused pain. I stood up and realized the outcome could have been much worse. My camera could have been severely damaged. This is the second time I have fallen on my camera and received a rib injury. Nikon makes strong cameras. Apparently my ribs are strong too.

I had about 4 miles to get back to my car, and I started hiking again without poles. The more I walked the better I felt but the chest hurt. Five days later my sternum still hurts when I take a deep breath, but slowly it is healing. Later I fixed my hiking pole by tightening the screw, and now I will always take a little screwdriver with me on the trail.

North Kaibab Trail to the Redwall Bridge

The North Kaibab Trail is the least visited but most difficult of the three maintained trails. It's almost 1,000 feet higher at the trailhead than South Rim trail. I hiked about a half mile beyond the Redwall Bridge at 2,150 below the rim.

Cape Royal - North Rim of the Grand Canyon

On July 31st, I drove out to Cape Royal. It is the southernmost viewpoint on the North Rim, and it has the widest panorama of any Grand Canyon overlook. It has a nice picnic area too, and that is where I decided to cook dinner, and later photograph the canyon during sunset.

Cape Final - North Rim of the Grand Canyon

On July 31st, I hiked The Cape Final Trail. It is 2 miles one way, and is one of the best hikes on the North Rim. It had been raining all morning, but around 11:00am the sun began to slowly peek through the dark clouds, and immediately I got in my car and drove out to the trail. Due to its relatively remote location you won't find many people on this trail. The trail heads to the easternmost tip of Walhalla Plateau, offering magnificent views of the eastern Grand Canyon.

The end of the trail.

North Rim of the Grand Canyon

On July 30th, after a 2 hour drive from Lee's Ferry Campground, I arrived at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon for the first time in my life. No crowds, no traffic, easy to find parking, and only 10% of all Grand Canyon visitors come to the North Rim. The boreal forest on the rim is absolutely beautiful, and much different from the South Rim. The North Rim is 1,200 feet higher than the South Rim.

DeMotte Campground - Kaibab National Forest

On July 30th - August 1st, I camped at the DeMotte Campground located within 7 miles of the north entrance of Grand Canyon National Park. It was so nice to get away from the 105 degree heat of Wickenburg. Here the nights on the North Rim were a pleasant 45 degrees, and daytime highs just barely approached 80 degrees.

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