Back in the early spring of 2020, before all of this madness began, I had registered for a 6 hour mountain biking race. The race would be taking place on the Kaibab plateau, just a few miles from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. It was the perfect setting for a summer mountain bike race, what with the 8500 feet of elevation, and the endless cool pines. I envisioned turning it into a mini vacation and doing some hiking and sight-seeing sandwiched around the race. It would also be great camping weather.
Before pitching the idea to Bianca, I made a few changes. I knew that I would want some creature comforts such as a shower, a bed, and maybe a grease soaked restaurant meal after such a long race. I'd probably want a few beers as well. I'd always wanted to stay at Jacob Lake Inn in Jacob Lake, AZ, which is basically the gateway onto the Plateau and into the National Park. The Inn has a hotel, motel, and rustic cabins. I booked us a cabin for 2 nights and presented it to Bianca as a fait accompli. I knew she'd be game, and she was.
In the meantime, the race was cancelled due to a horrible, devastating wildfire that threatened the Inn and destroyed a lot of the local trails. Thankfully the Inn survived, but without a race to race in, we had a lot more options. We decided that we'd spend the time hiking. We'd hike some of the trails on the rim, and we'd do a long day-hike to Ribbon Falls, a remote destination which Bianca had never been to. It would be an approximately 20 mile round trip, with an approximate 6K feet climb back out of the Canyon. Bianca thought it was a great plan!
As the big day approached I got more and more excited. I hadn't been to the North Rim, save for a few hours last year at the start of my October Rim to Rim, in a few years, when we'd spent a few days mountain biking with our good friends, the Touchstones. It felt great to know that we'd shortly be there again.
Thursday soon rolled around, and the clock struck 4! We were on the road, Flagstaff bound. We began the nightmarish drive up I-17 only to be greeted with a monsoon. The monsoon was much appreciated, as we've had a dry summer, but I didn't relish driving in the dark, dealing with a monsoon on the highway. Soon enough, the monsoon was in our rear-view mirror. We were none the worse for wear. We pulled into the Country Inn and Suites in Flagstaff, too exhausted to care that the breakfast buffet area was roped off. Dammit!!! Thanks Covid!!
On our way out the next morning, we grabbed a very pedestrian "sack breakfast" for the road. After a quick pit stop at Mickey D's to grab some mud and breakfast sandwiches, we were finally headed out of town. Cameron came and went. Marble Canyon was a quick stop for fuel. Next stop, the National Park!
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| Boom! Hallelujah! We pulled in about 11:00 or so. |
We pulled into the National Park and were greeted by a masked up, seemingly unfriendly Ranger, who kept an arms length away and didn't even really check our pass. Weird. Usually Rangers at the Canyon are super friendly. Oh well.
We'd hope to get a glance of the Bison herd that spends summers in the area. They frequent the giant meadows that frame State Route 67, which is the highway leading into the National Park, from Jacob Lake.
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| Oh yeah! We were fortunate enough to get a glimpse of these wild, wooly buggers. |
We'd planned on doing some hiking on the Transept trail and enjoying a picnic lunch at an awesome spot where I had lunch with my sons in 2005!! We'd then check out Bright Angel Point, and then relocate to Cape Royal and check out Angel's window, and some of the natural features and landmarks of the canyon. We'd then head to Pt. Imperial and Cape Final if we had the time. We didn't want to get in too many miles as we knew we had a big day the next day.
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| The saltiness of the pringle, plus the durability of the tube, make it a frequent item on my lunch menu when I'm on these trips. Not to mention, they're delicious. |
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| Love this shot and love this chickie!! |
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| The North Rim Lodge, as viewed from the Transept Trail end. The lodge is much bigger than it looks. |
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| Very close to Angel's window. You can see the river, just to the right of center near the top, many miles and thousands of feet away. |
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| Angel's Window. A pretty cool natural feature of the Canyon. This is one of the features available to the masses. It's a short 10 minute walk from your car. |
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| Vishnu Temple, another natural feature of the Canyon. There are some folks that have summited this feature. It is reputed to be quite the trek. |
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| Wotan's Throne |
After our hikes and some sightseeing, it was getting later in the day. I was developing a strong thirst, and we'd nearly burned through lunch. It was time to head back to Jacob Lake and check in to our cabin. The drive back was thankfully uneventful.
Our cabin was a wonderful oasis in the middle of the forest. We had a shower, full bathroom and a queen size bed. There was a small closet, but no cooking area or kitchenette. The porch was nice. Thoughtfully, there was even a handrail that surely must have initially seen service in a bathroom in a long term care facility. We joked about it, but the next day, Bianca would be grateful for it's presence.
We went easy on the suds. We were at high elevation, over 8K feet, and thus already battling dehydration. Furthermore we had a huge day the next day, with the potential for high temps. We had a beer and enjoyed a delicious dinner in the Jacob Lake Inn restaurant. Shortly thereafter, the cabin was calling. We turned in and were asleep shortly thereafter.
