Skip to main content

The Grand Canyon: North Rim

The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is markedly different to the South Rim.  The altitude of 2,500 meters and a better supply of water means the canyon rim is covered with large firs, spruces and aspens which is a contrast to the generally more arid south rim.  The topography also differs in subtle ways, on the north rim the slope down to the Colorado is longer and more gradual than the south however there is still plenty of massive drop-offs.  Regardless, the canyon offers the visitor an extensive mosaic of intricate colours, layers and patterns regardless of which rim you visit. 


The North Rim has far less visitors than the South and it also closes down during winter (due to snow and the problems it poses to the long access road).  As luck (or good planning) would have it we stayed on the Rim the very last night that it was open for the season.  It was still surprisingly warm but with a fraction of the people on the south side and with the rim just 1 minute from our cabin door we perhaps found the North Rim a more satisfying experience.

 We walked (Eric hobbled) out for the evening to enjoy the spectacular late afternoon/early evening views of the canyon.  As with the South Rim it's a great place to take photos or just find a rock to sit on and enjoy the views of sunset.  The path out to view the Canyon from the Lodge follows a spectacular narrow spur before ending in a tiny lookout with a fantastic 270 degree view.  

 Eric even got out of bed early enough to enjoy the dawn views.

Before leaving we walked about 1km down the North Kaibab Trail (where Eric climbed up yesterday) to enjoy the magnificent views back down the trail.

The North Rim requires a bit more time and effort to visit than the south but it's a very worthwhile trip if you're visiting the Canyon.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Inca Trail day 4

This was the day we would arrive at Macchu Picchu so we awoke with a keen sense of anticipation.   To celebrate the last day on the trail, somehow the chef had whipped up an enormous cake which was served after breakfast.  After a discussion with Marco about the likely weather over the next two days we agreed that it would be best to tour Macchu Picchu as soon as we arrived in mid afternoon rather than wait until tomorrow. Marco assured us that this would mean less crowds and better weather (he was right). We could see the backside of the mountain above Macchu Picchu in front of us as we started out.  Unlike the last two days, today was mainly downhill.  We would have to descend about 1,000 meters and judging by the first part of the morning walk, most of this would be on steep and slippery rocky steps. After alternating descents and traversing along steep hillsides through cloud forest and bamboo groves we reached the ruins of Intipata. Intipata was a very...
2 comments
Read more

Vatnajökull National Park

Vatnajökull National Park is a must visit destination for any tourist to Iceland.  It's also one of the most inaccessable.  The main reason for this inaccessability is that much of the National Park is taken up by the enormous Vatnajökull glacier.  So you can't just drive in and walk around.  To see the interior of the park (the glacier) you need to make special arrangements - like taking a tour in a Superjeep. We booked a Superjeep tour for our first day at the park which was cancelled due to the inclement weather... However the next day we were definitely ready to see as much as we could and fortunately the tour was back on. Our tour guide was Hungarian but very well informed and we learned a lot about Icelandic culture as well as glaciers and volcanoes. The Jeep we were in had been made by the driver (and some friends) and consisted of part of a Chrysler with another van's back end bolted on and modified engine and gears.  It had 54 inch wheels w...
Post a Comment
Read more

Iceland's wild east coast

The east coast of Iceland attracts a fraction of the tourists and has a fraction of the population of the western side.  It really is the place for a remote getaway.  The hosts of our farmstay near Egilsstadir moved from Reykjavik to get away from the system and the hectic Reykjavik scene 😊.  Their farm certainly epitomised the word remote.  Samuel loved the farm, especially playing with the two very friendly and intelligent farm dogs. As with much of Iceland, one of the best ways to spend the time is just driving with plenty of stops for photography - in fact it's hard to make much progress in some scenic areas as the urge to park the car and whip out the camera every few kilometers is overwhelming.  This was especially the case on the one long day we spent driving from Egilsstadir to Hofn.  We started our journey on yet another overcast morning and almost immediately headed down a rough back road off the ring road in search of a waterfall.  We...
Post a Comment
Read more