North Rim Memories

Usually in this column I like to talk about the beauty, diversity and wonder of great places to hike with the hope that you will go there. This one is about a place you can’t go till at least next spring, unfortunately.

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The North Rim of the Grand Canyon, like so many beautiful areas in Arizona, is going through a horrible fire. As I write more than 12,000 acres have burned and it is only about eight-percent contained. The fire’s destroyed 70 structures, including the iconic Grand Canyon Lodge. The North Rim will have to be rebuilt and regrown. Hopefully that will include aspens and milkweed in heavy plantings.

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But it will take years. I’ve been to the North Rim a half-dozen times and I have many great memories. I feel bad for the folks who have never seen it. The Grand Canyon is one of the wonders of the world and I’ve always loved the North Rim more than the South Rim — a little more remote, not as many people, and not as commercialized. Love the South Rim; love the North Rim even more.

One of the best hikes I’ve ever done was the Thunder River Trail, starting at North Rim. This was back in about 1990, a grueling, four-day, three-night hike. The hike leader, Mike Turner of the Flagstaff Hiking Club, warned that you don’t dare do this hike with bad knees, and you carry a whistle in case you got separated from our little four-person hiking party.

It’s called Thunder River because when you get to your destination at the bottom, the Little Colorado is coming so fast into the Colorado River that it sounds like thunder. It did, so much so that we could hardly hear the voices of our fellow hikers. It was wonderful. Just before the final descent on the Thunder River Trail you pass through Surprise Valley, a wide, open area you don’t want to be in when it’s too hot. The joke among hikers was that it’s called Surprise Valley because if you live through it, it’s a surprise.

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More recently I recall 2017, when I stayed at the Jacob Lake Campground with my grandson Nick and we hiked part of the Arizona Trail. This is what I wrote back then:

The Jacob Lake Campground remains a good, inexpensive place to stay because it’s only 45 miles from North Rim and the last location to get food before heading to the Canyon. It’s two miles north of Forest Road 205, where you can pick up Arizona Trail 101, also part of the Kaibab Plateau Trail, just off the road.

This hike is rated easy to moderate, depending on how far you want to go. It’s 12 miles to Highway 67, 17 miles to Forest Road 241, 30 miles to the East Rim viewpoint, and 37 miles to Grand Canyon National Park. Of course, the Arizona Trail from the Mexico border to the Utah border is about 800 miles for those who want the full hike.

We did 10 miles, five miles in and five miles out. This section is mostly Ponderosa pine with many small ups and downs — go up 300 feet, then down 300 feet, repeat often. It’s still not as strenuous as a lot of Arizona’s mountain hikes.

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This trail follows an old Forest Service road and often comes to junctions where you have to turn onto another FS road to continue the hike, with no signs to tell which way the Arizona Trail goes. You have to pay constant attention which way you’re turning, it’s easy to get lost on this trail if you don’t.

We spotted several deer and one wild turkey among other wildlife on our trek.

Every North-Rim fan is watching for when we can return and see how it’s changed, but we’re also wondering how we can help.

On its website the Grand Canyon Conservancy states that it is committed to supporting the North Rim through this crisis and into recovery. The group is providing immediate and long-term assistance through the Grand Canyon Disaster Relief Fund. Your gift will help North Rim residents who’ve been displaced, meet critical needs that emerge as the situation evolves, and support the long-term restoration and healing of this iconic landscape.

I also want to thank the firefighters and anyone who is working to protect and restore the North Rim.