We recently spent 10 days adventuring on a houseboat on Lake Powell and road tripping through Southern Utah/Northern Arizona – two of my favorite places in the world. The goal of this trip was to experience something new on a daily basis. One such experience was hiking the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. I have been intending to backpack this area for years – just haven’t gotten to it yet.
It was STUNNING. Lots of red rock walls, colorful trees, switchbacks, cliffs, etc.
Instead of getting fancy and 4-wheeling to a remote trail, we kept things simple and hiked about 3.5 miles on the North Kaibab trail to the first bridge over Roaring Springs Canyon (minus the roaring springs).
It’s roughly 14 miles to the bottom if that gives perspective on the depth from the North Rim. The topography is completely different then the South Rim as well. In fact, here are some of the key differences between the North and South Rim:
- Fewer crowds at the North Rim (NR) – it’s a little harder to get to, but not by much. You can fly into Vegas or Salt Lake City and explore all kinds of cool stuff in between.
- Higher elevation by about 1,000 feet at the NR, so it’s about 10 degrees cooler – this also means the season to visit is shorter – It’s only open from mid-May through mid-October due to heavy snowfall during the winter months.
- Because temperatures are cooler, there are leafy trees like aspen, birch, maple and oak – this means the fall colors are spectacular – the second or third weeks of September are supposedly prime for leaf peeping.
- Views of the river from the NR are scarce. Apparently you can sneak a peek through Angel’s Window – though I am not exactly sure of the location of said window.
- There are fewer viewpoints at the NR – 3 instead of 24. The views on the NR are more about the width of the canyon rather than the depth.
- Lodging is not as plentiful at the NR, however, this was not an issue for us as we stayed in Kanab which is about 1.5 hours away.
#2 above was not obvious – though I am sure it was the time of day we were descending into the canyon. It was not before dawn or after 3:00, like the park service recommends.
It was HOT, dusty and HARD. Not to mention we got to experience periodic whiffs of donkey poo. (Side note: I don’t think I have the balls to ride a donkey down that canyon.)
We would have loved to have gone further down, but from previous experience, the hikes back up can be brutal for reasons mentioned above.
“Getting to the bottom – Optional; Getting to the top – Mandatory” – Grand Canyon warning signs
As we were turning around at the bridge, we met 2, 20-somethings who had hiked an additional 1.5 miles further than us. They were super cool – decked out with dreadlocks and pierced noses. We played leap frog with them all the way up – every time sharing an expletive of sorts. At one point, one of them said, “Last one out is a rotten egg!” Challenge accepted – no way in hell was I going to be the rotten egg….
All I can say is, my competitive spirit kicked in and at the very end of the hike, I slow jogged up to the top. Sean thought I lost my mind – I thought I was going to cough up a lung and was grateful my heart didn’t stop beating along the way.
The ‘kids’ arrived about 3 minutes later – needless to say, we all got a good laugh out of it!
One day, I will go back and hike Rim to Rim (North to South) – 21 miles – this seems doable. Not sure I could do the Rim to Rim to Rim to Rim tour of 42 miles in a day. This just seems like pure torture, though there were plenty of folks tackling that challenge!
“If you’re going through hell, keep going.” – Winston Churchill
Enough chatter, here are some of the highlights of the hike and one of the most beautiful places on earth!
…i choose this…
Pam
It’s so pretty. Before we were married, Susan and I did a hike down to a waterfall. I don’t remember how far it was but it felt like a very big deal at the time. Coming out was absurd. 120 degrees. There were bees everywhere.
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oh jeez, you must have been there in the summer. I don’t remember bees, but it makes me sad we didn’t see them. You and Susan have had some fun adventures together 🙂
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YEs, I’ve done almost all of my exploring of the southwest in the summer. It’s a dry heat…
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You go lady! 💪🏼 I’m done after a 6 kilometre (4 mile) walk 😂
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Ha! Yeah, I still like a good sufferfest! LOL
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Thanks for the north rim perspective! We’ll definitely catch it next time!
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Depending on how much you hike, there are less aggressive options! We were honestly too lazy to investigate. Lol. Thanks for the drive by!
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I’ve done Rim to River, then hopped on a raft for 5 days. I also did South Kaibab to Phantom and up Bright Angel (camped a night). Would love to do a North to South some day! The North looks really pretty!!!
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ohhh what a fun trip! I did a 4 day backpacking trip on the South Rim – it was a butt-kicker for sure, but it would have been a blast to add a rafting component to it!
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4 day backpacking sounds awesome!!!
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Lovely journey, thanks
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Thank you for taking the time to read and comment – much appreciated 🙂
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I remember someone telling me a long time ago that if I wanted to see “Maine” in the west, to go to the North Rim in the fall.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful hiking adventure. I’ve always wanted to go to the North Rim and you’ve definitely whetted my appetite. Great photos, too!
Susan Grace
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I had not heard that, but the correlation is probably spot on! I am sure the colors were even better a week or so prior, everything was starting to wind down when we were there – sure was an unexpected beauty though. You are not far from there, you should make the trip some day!
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I was 18 when I hiked down the million miles to the bottom of the Grand Canyon with a backpack and then some days later hiked back up. It damn near killed me both ways due to foot problems and heat.At this point in my life I’d be one of those people to you to see it on the back of a pooping mule!
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What a fun adventure minus the foot issues. UGH. The HEAT is unbearable!! I can understand why people would take the mule route, I am just terrified at the thought. The ledges look a little sketchy at times….gah!
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Beautiful photos and a great story! 😁 We recently ran into a couple who were planning the rim to rim hike. Not us! But we are planning a one night stop at the south rim, on our way to bust our buns in the Utah parks next year. That trip we had to reschedule due to COVID. I had a great grandpa who used to work at the camp at the bottom of the canyon, like 100 years ago. I’d love to see the bottom, just don’t have it in me to make it down there and back out again!
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Oh wow about your great grandpa…that is amazing….how lucky was he??? You could look at the donkeys – I am not super comfortable on horses – assuming it would be the same on donkeys, though I hear they are more sure-footed. I did a backpacking trip on the South Rim and camped along river – it was gorgeous…also did a motorized raft trip through the canyon. you may like that option! I was amazing.
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I think my mom did the donkey ride years ago… nope, don’t see that happening for me! It seems she felt like she was going over the edge, I need to ask her about that again. I think I have an old photo of my great grandpa, I need to find that and work that into a blog post in the future, It is kind of cool! 🙂
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Wow what an amazing pictures – adding to my list 🙂
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Oh YES you need to do this! go in the Spring or Fall though….I think the summer would be unbearable!!
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I wondered where you’d gone off to. Looks absolutely lovely. One day…
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Add it to your list sista – though I am sure it is already there!
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Great pictures. I think the part I’d like best is the smaller crowds. Did you have to travel by dirt road part way, to get there?
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definitely smaller crowds….Not a lot of places to congregate. We did not have to travel on any dirt roads. The drive in was through the Dixie National Forest…it was gorgeous.
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Such a great trip, so glad for you! Amazing landscape!!
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Thanks Christie! It was soo beautiful…wish we were able to go just a little further. I was actually expecting more water, but it was dry as a bone…perhaps it wasn’t that way a little further below.
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Lovely photos, we would have like to have done the North side but we completely underestimated the journey time and forgot how big America is!
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no kidding….Americas is soo vast, it’s hard to fit it all in. I think its another 3 hours from the South Rim. The South Rim is pretty spectacular though right??? Glad you got to experience part of it 🙂
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Great photos!! Stunning!
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Thank you!!!! It is a pretty stunning place – not sure I fully captured that with my iphone, but you get the jest of it 🙂
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You are welcome and yes, even on a phone, you really managed to capture wonderful images!!
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How beautiful! I can’t wait to do just this! 💚
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It is sooo amazing. The Grand Canyon is most definitely one of my favorite places on earth.
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💚💚💚
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My 29029 crowd is always yakking about R2R and R2R2R, so of course it’s now on my radar! The whole place needs a revisit from us; we were there with young kids and couldn’t do much of a long hike at all back then. Your photos of the leaves and trails are stunning and envy-inducing! Your whole trip looked amazing.
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I’ll do the R2R with ya, maybe back the other way if we break it into 2 days! It sure was pretty there, I had no idea what to expect.
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Splendid, indeed! I was wondering what the rotten egg was about ahahaha
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Those young whippersnappers! LOL
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What a gorgeous place! Your pictures are stunning! Maggie
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Oh yes, Maggie, it’s a special place. I had not ever been up until 3 years ago? I now have been back 4 times. LOVE, LOVE it.
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I am so jealous! This is one of my favourite regions in the world too but I have yet to make it to the North Rim. I love that you beat “the kids”.
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Some day you all will actually want to come to the states and visit the North Rim. Yeah, it was completely satisfying – LOL. They were so much fun to play with on the trail.
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I always love the Canyon, Pam and have backpacked in several times, including once form the North Rim. Great photos. Aren’t they fun to take? And I laughed at your race back to the top. I’ve done that a few times. Also way back when, I took the mules in. That was so long ago it was before I had started backpacking. 🙂 With you. I am no fan of mule poop and pee, so I tend to go down trails they don’t take! Fun post. Thanks. –Curt
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They are soo fun to take! I used to run a lot of marathons and whenever I got within 100 yards of the finish line, I’d start ‘picking’ off people and passing them up. It was so satisfying. lol. Was the mule ride terrifying??
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I confess I do take pleasure in passing up people half my age out on the trail. Grin. It really irritates them.
As for mules, you mainly have to remember that they have no desire of going off the edge and have a really good track record when it comes to avoiding a thousand foot fall. 🙂 –Curt
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You definitely had my attention with this fab scenery, but then lost me at donkey poo!!! Take care. Watch your step. And keep your camera close. Good stuff out there!
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haha! yeah, the donkey poo was not so stellar. huffing and puffing all that red dirt and that smell was a real treat at times!
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Wow – looks like an absolutely amazing hike! That Churchill quote is also very fitting for how it feels to slog through a challenging hike hahaha 🙂
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It was so beautiful!! We have had such a hot summer, I am totally out of shape so it kicked my a$$. Churchill is the MAN! lol
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Right? I’m reading Splendid and the Vile right now, all about Churchill and the London Blitz. You might enjoy that 🙂
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Not surprisingly, your photos are spectacular.
I know I like to banter about the expression ‘magical experience’ but the Grand Canyon really was one of them for me and I hope someday I get a chance to return.
As tempting as it is to keep going down, knowing the climb back up still awaits was enough for me to turn around after a short distance. Like you, there was no way in hell I would consider a donkey ride!!
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Thanks Lady! Every time I use the word magical, I do call myself a cheeseball, but sometimes I cant help it. I agree, the GC is a magical place. Every experience I have had there has been pretty amazing. If I can fit in a Rim to Rim hike next year, I will. Lots of things planned already, so we will see where things fall.
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We’re back into quasi-lockdown as our daily case numbers are much too high. I’m reluctant to make any plans further than a few days ahead. It was too emotional the first time.
Let’s hope that at least some level of normalcy will return in 2021, but for now, 2020 remains in the weird zone.
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UGH! So painful!!
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Beautiful photos. I cannot believe how pristine the canyon looks. I’ve only been there once at one of the visitor centers with about a hundred people around. It was not a spiritual experience, I can tell you that. But your experience seems divine.
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The North Rim is so much more laid back! The South Rim does get nutty if that is where you were. There were plenty of people on the trail, but all with good vibes. The further you can get away from people – something like 2 miles – the herds start to thin out and the experience changes.
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Enjoyed the story every bit as much as the beautiful images Pam! What a terrific hike! I remember those donkeys scared the crap out of me on those very narrow hiking trails and remember thinking no way in heck I’d get on one of them to make that rip! LOL about your competitors on the hike and your victory in the “race”!
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Thank you T!! I WILL also do the Rim to Rim someday, but NOT on a donkey. Lol
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Gorgeous photos! I love the north rim, much more than south rim for many of the same reasons you mentioned. I didn’t hike down from this side when I was there though, so it was cool to see those perspectives of the canyon.
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Thanks Diana! It is soooo beautiful. I knew it would be, but wasn’t expecting the trees and fall colors!
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Gorgeous, Pam!! Our honeymoon was to the Grand Canyon. We know there’s another trip out West sometime in our future. Just not sure when. 🙂
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Wonderful to see the North Rim highlighted like this! We visited both North and South on a road trip in Arizona and Utah way back in the 1990s and I loved the North so much more, even though our first day there was so cold that we arrived in a blizzard (in mid June!) We stayed in the lodge (well, in a wooden hut in the lodge car park). We didn’t hike any of the path down but did several of the walks along the rim including Angel’s Window. I’d love to go back one day, and even more so now I’ve seen your wonderful photos 🙂 I loved the ‘rotten egg’ story too!
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Nice memories!!! I cannot believe you encountered a blizzard!! I wonder if that was the same year, I was visiting Colorado (moved shortly thereafter) and we had a snow storm in July?! That’s too long ago for me to remember. All I brought were shorts on that trip and one pair of jeans. I bought Sweatshirt and wore that every day for a week. Thanks for the comment and the follow 🙂
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It was 1994. We’d flown into Las Vegas in scorching heat and drove up into Utah to stay a night near St George, I think. The next morning we went to a diner for breakfast and trucks were drawing up with snow on their roofs – we were astounded! Then we drove to the North Rim entrance where there was a board warning of the blizzard. Arriving at the lodge we could barely see the canyon through the snow but it was a very dramatic first view. I had mostly just t-shirts with me plus two cotton jumpers, and I had to wear both of those on top of a t-shirt and was still freezing! The next day it was such nice weather that we could sit out on the lodge’s terrace in just shorts and t-shirts 🙂
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That is a great story!! See? Vacation stories are always the best when things don’t go just right! BTW, there is nothing better than sitting in the sun in a t-shirt surrounded by snow 🙂
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Absolutely! By the way. I’m curious what theme you use for your site as it has such an attractive clean look?
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Oh thanks!!! It’s called Maxwell. I like it a lot too. It’s actually named after my friend who helped me name the blog! Makes me love it even more.
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Thank you, I’ll look into it. I do like mine (Wishful) but yours seems to have some features that would work well for me 🙂
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Go for it!! It’s really simple to use too 😀
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I checked it out. It does look good but I would have to invest in the pro version to get it how I would want it so I may hang on a bit before deciding for sure!
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