The North Kaibab trail…and the race against time…

Main blog - There and back again.... almost....

about the trail…..

The trail is a hiker dream come true. With an elevation gain of about 5000 ft from the Cottonwood Campground it is the most difficult of all the 3 trails. The trail passes through every ecosystem that can be found between Canada and Mexico. Trail head is crowned by a thick growth of Aspen, Fir and wildflowers. However as you descend into the valley the vegetation grows sparse and is mostly desert vegetation. But once you enter the valley you get the feeling of walking in a grassland or marshy land with grass taller than you. You also hike through a wide variety of terrains. The trail chugs along the mountain face all the while and you can see the different rock formations and layers up close as you climb up. With every change in layer the soil below you feet changes too. And walking on the trail gives you a surreal feeling of walking through billions of years of evolution.
had Forrest Gump hiked the Grand Canyons, he would have this to say...:)
We have been through every kind of rock there is…Red rock, Black rock, White rock, Green Rock, Purple rock, Yellow Rock. Rock that was as fine as sand and Rock that crumpled if you'd touch it..Smooth Rock and sharp rock..even Rock that shone if you held it in the sun.

our trek....
Carrying 30 pounds across 7 miles from Bright Angle campground had taken its toll on Hobbes and at first he was reluctant to do the North Rim. But urged him to at least give it a try. However it was not my persuasion that finally convinced him.
We met 2 hiker returning from the the North Rim. It had taken them about 3-3.5 hours to get down. Which surprised me a bit, 3.5 hours for a 7 miles descent seems pretty long time. Even with backpacks. I would later find out why it was so.
Anyways we asked them if there were a trash cans on the North Rim. They said yes. The idea of dumping an extra 10-12 pounds that we were hauling across the canyon seemed too good to resist for Hobbes. So we decided to give it a go but track our progress at each landmark point, and give-up the quest if we felt we were behind schedule. We were climbing light all we took were necessities and the extra items we wanted to get rid off. As a small incentive to Hobbes I offered to carry the daypack. We reached the Pump House (1.4 miles) and Roaring Springs (another 0.7 miles) on time. Till this point the trail was relatively easy and we were on time. But as the steepness increased I could see Hobbes struggling and after giving it a few more tires he finally told me he could go no more. I tried to egg him some more, but didn't push much as we still had the tomorrows climb to think off.

race against time..……..
For me it was decision time, whether to go solo or call it a day. It was 2:30 PM and we had another 4 hours of day-light. The rim was another 5 miles away but couldn't find the trail guide to check on the remaining climb. From yesterdays read I knew it was roughly 4000ft. Till that point I was feeling in pretty good shape. After much deliberation, knowing my climbing speed, and making some rough calculations with the available data. I told him I would give it a go. But to be safe I would continue on my climb only till 5:00 PM. That way even with conservative estimates I should be back by 8:00. I told him if I was not back by 8:00 to come looking for me. I wish I had the trail guide to make better judgment.
I would soon find out why it took the 2 men, 3.5 hours hours to descend a 7 mile stretch. After the Pump House residence the trail becomes very steep and is virtually going up all the while while very little flat section. Most of the trail is narrow, rocky and steep. Some of the section are literally half tunnels hewn on the cliff face. Barely 2-3 feet wide they have vertical drop of atlas a 1000 ft. Overall the difficulty of the trail does not make it conducive for a speedier descent. Looking at the terrain made me realize that it would be risky to do these sections in dark and I had to be back at the PumpHouse at around 6:00. The switch back time was now 4:15.

so close but yet so far...
An hour of climbing and still had no sight of the Supai Tunnel. With no landmarks to measure against hope was soon starting to dwindle. For about an hour no one had crossed me and I couldn't see anyone coming up either. Just then the sight of someone climbing down relieved me… yeah!!… Information!!!…I was elated when Steve told me that the tunnel was just around the bend…I reached Supai tunnel at 3:45. 2200 ft, 3 miles in about 80 minutes.. NICE!!…. (at that point I just knew the distance and not the elevation gain).
To Go or Not To Go, was the million dollar question. I had no knowledge of how difficult the terrain was. No idea of the elevation gain. And a 10 pounder bag to haul up the cliff. Also I was a bit tired after the 3 mile burst… But the RIM was just 1.5 miles away…arrrgghh!!!!…
Barely resisting the temptation to throw caution to the wind and much to the dismay of all the adrenaline rushing in me I decide against going the full distance. So close yet so far. Had Hobbes been there with me I would have gone that extra 1.5 mile in an heart beat..… but I guess I will have to live with that until next time.Took a short break to enjoy the breath taking view of the valley

on my was back….
decided to take a leisure stroll on my way back stopping ever so often to enjoy the breath taking view the valley had to offer. By the time I reached the Pump House residence it was already dark, Steve had just reached there, we exchanged some pleasantries. He was glad to hear campsite was just another mile away and that half the campsite was vacant. He could camp there without a permit. Also met a group doing the Rim-To-Rim-And-Back-In-A-Day-RUN . They had started from the North Rim at 4:00 AM and were on their last climb. They expected to get back up at around 9 - 10. That seemed to be pretty impressive. 44 miles and about 10,000 ft of climbing in about 18 hours.. WOW!!!!!. Took some water for tonights dinner and switched on my head lights. As tired as I was the thought that the trek was almost over made me happy.
Back at the campsite Hobbes had already pitched the tent. When we split he had forgotten to take his glasses and warm clothes, so poor guy had to pitch the tent before sunset and had to sitting inside it to avoid the cold. I felt bad for him cause he would have enjoyed a short trek around the campsite...Sorry Hobbes..
My legs were really tired from the exertion so I decided to put my pad outside keep my feet elevated. A niggling pain in my right upper back was worrying me. As hard as today was, they hardest part of the trek was yet to come, a climb UP the South Rim. Approx. 6000 ft of climb with a 30 pound backpack. Only the thought of a long night rest quelled some of the fears.

Sleeping on my pad and staring out in the vast emptiness of the star lit sky; one image from the hike painted itself into my memory..
"Sitting down on the edge of a path…. Chiseled on the face of the cliff in the form of a half tunnel….maybe 2 or 3 feet wide……with a 1000 feet or more of vertical drop :)…. feet dangling over the edge…soaking in the beauty of the cascading Roaring Spring falls and the dusky lit Grand Canyons…"