2006 Grand Canyon Adventure :: Day 4
Yesterday I made it to the top of the North Rim!!! The scenery was spectacular and the hike was pretty difficult both mentally and physically. The North Rim is much higher than the South Rim and actually in a different vegetation zone. It is a beautiful alpine environment with lodge pole pines and aspen trees. It was also very cold and all of the facilities were shut down for the winter.

When I reached the top of the trail, I had to hike another mile to the campground. I do not think I have ever been more physically exhausted in my life. For me the difficult part of the hike was that there were at least three times when I thought I was close to the end, only to realize each time that I had much further to go. When I finally reached the campground I was completely alone and I picked a spot to set up the tent. While doing so, a van pulled up and dropped off two hikers that were also camping. There names are Jim and Jack, and they are from
Denton, Texas and they are doing a rim to rim hike with their starting point at the North Rim. When I asked them where Denton was they said, "that's funny, we were just about to ask you where Maryland is." Jim works for WalMart Trucking and Jack is retired. Their hobby is hiking the GC together.

I had heard that I could possibly get cell phone reception if I stood on the front porch of the North Rim Lodge which was located another mile and a half further along the rim. I hiked there with Jim and Jack and when we arrived, even though the lodge had been shut down, they happened to notice that a door had been left unlocked. We went in and walked around and took some photos. Unfortunately, the only thing we found, in the bar, was a bottle of lime juice.

I did get cell reception on the patio and while I made a call Jack and Jim hiked back to the campground. I was so excited to be there, and to be watching the sun set over the North Rim of the canyon, that I never thought about the fact that I did not have a flashlight with me. This was the worst situation I could have been in. It got dark very suddenly, and there was no moon, making it pitch black within minutes. It also became very cold. We had followed a trail to the lodge and I knew trying to hike through the woods along the edge of the canyon would be a disaster. I found the road leading to the lodge and followed it knowing that eventually I would have to pass the campground area. I was becoming pretty concerned and then I heard something big moving in the woods next to me. I assume it was a deer or an elk but really do not know except that it was crashing through the woods about 20 to 30 feet from where I was on the road. At that point I became even more concerned, if that was possible. I did have a knife with me and I walked as rapidly as I could with it open. There was one car that passed me, perhaps a maintenance worker, and I tried to flag them down but they kept on going. I then remembered the open knife in my hand and understood. I finally found the campground area but could not see my tent or Jack and Jim's tent. I was not sure that I was even in the right campground. I started calling their names and too my great relief they answered from nearby. Getting back to my tent had taken over an hour. I boiled some water and made one of the freeze dried meals and went to bed. I am not sure that I really slept last night because I was so cold. I shivered all night and slept for what seemed to be only minutes at a time. At 5 am I packed everything up and at the first sign of light headed for the trailhead. I believe I half ran the first mile trying to get out of the shade of the
forest and into the canyon.

As soon as I came out of the forested section at the rim and started the descent, the most beautifully warm day started to unfold. The sun has never felt so good as it has today. For some reason I felt very energized and was so happy to be going back to the bottom of the canyon. I was completely alone almost the entire way and stopped several times just to sit and enjoy the view and the sun. It's funny that sometimes it takes something extreme to really amplify your senses. Today, everything looked, smelled, sounded and tasted so good! That is, perhaps, except me. I realized that after four days I needed a bath. I found a stream flowing from a side canyon and walked upstream to an area that was very remote. The water was freezing but the sun was very warm and the bath felt great. I imagined that I was being baptized by nature into the inner sanctity of the canyon.

I am now back at Cottonwood at the same campsite that I left two days ago. Jim and Jack have arrived and said they could not believe that I had left the North Rim so early. The sky is again filled with stars. There are so many stars that can be seen from the floor of the canyon that they almost look like clouds of twinkling lights. If you look up for only a minute you are guaranteed to see a shooting star. I guess that the complete lack of artificial light and pollution are what makes the sky so clear.

Day 5