This was my fourth trip to the Grand Canyon, three of which have occurred this year. Everyone raves about how spectacular the North Rim is, but it’s kind of a pain to get to. The road you take to get to it is the only paved road in 2.9 million acres of wilderness.
I figured I better get up there to see it before I move back to Chicago.
This is going to sound absolutely awful, but I was less than impressed. I’m familiar enough with the Grand Canyon that it no longer produces that sense of awe you get when you see it for the first time. And I felt like the views from the South Rim are much better; it looks much more vast. Honestly, the view from the North Rim looked a little like the scenery in Sedona. It was more forested.
The view from where I hiked only showed a narrow portion of the canyon.
I probably should’ve driven to the other lookout spots, but I was exhausted after the hike and was just kind of over the whole thing and not in the mood to deal with traffic and crowds.
The other complaint I have was the trail. It was really sandy! I hiked almost 3 miles down into the canyon and back, and it sucked. Imagine climbing 3 miles of stairs made of sand! I was filthy when I finished.
And then, on top of that, you’re sharing this trail with the mules, which means there’s poop everywhere and it smells really bad. And this is the only trail that goes into the canyon on the North Rim, so there were no other options. The only good thing I can say about it was that it wasn’t too crowded. Bright Angel trail on the South Rim is really crowded AND there’s mule poop. I think the best trail to hike into the canyon is the South Kaibab trail- no mules and fewer people. It’s steeper, but worth it.
Okay, one more good thing I can say about the North Kaibab trail is that they have water available at the trailhead that actually comes from a spring at the bottom of the canyon. Very cool.
On the way to the North Rim, you drive through forests and meadows and it looks a lot like the opening scene in The Sound of Music. (At least, to me it did.) So I had to get out and reenact the scene. And then it made me think of the song Edelweiss, and I had to sing that as well (since I actually knew that one). Yes, I looked incredibly stupid, but it was so fun. That was probably the best part of the day.
I figured I better get up there to see it before I move back to Chicago.This is going to sound absolutely awful, but I was less than impressed. I’m familiar enough with the Grand Canyon that it no longer produces that sense of awe you get when you see it for the first time. And I felt like the views from the South Rim are much better; it looks much more vast. Honestly, the view from the North Rim looked a little like the scenery in Sedona. It was more forested.
The view from where I hiked only showed a narrow portion of the canyon.
I probably should’ve driven to the other lookout spots, but I was exhausted after the hike and was just kind of over the whole thing and not in the mood to deal with traffic and crowds.The other complaint I have was the trail. It was really sandy! I hiked almost 3 miles down into the canyon and back, and it sucked. Imagine climbing 3 miles of stairs made of sand! I was filthy when I finished.
And then, on top of that, you’re sharing this trail with the mules, which means there’s poop everywhere and it smells really bad. And this is the only trail that goes into the canyon on the North Rim, so there were no other options. The only good thing I can say about it was that it wasn’t too crowded. Bright Angel trail on the South Rim is really crowded AND there’s mule poop. I think the best trail to hike into the canyon is the South Kaibab trail- no mules and fewer people. It’s steeper, but worth it.Okay, one more good thing I can say about the North Kaibab trail is that they have water available at the trailhead that actually comes from a spring at the bottom of the canyon. Very cool.
On the way to the North Rim, you drive through forests and meadows and it looks a lot like the opening scene in The Sound of Music. (At least, to me it did.) So I had to get out and reenact the scene. And then it made me think of the song Edelweiss, and I had to sing that as well (since I actually knew that one). Yes, I looked incredibly stupid, but it was so fun. That was probably the best part of the day.
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