Driving into the Grand Canyon's north rim was breathtaking. We didn't see the open canyon, desert sandstone or sun-aged rock. We saw forests. Forests after forest fires. Forests flourishing. Forests needing TLC. Totally unexpected, we even saw open golden meadows for the deer.
The vast. Grandness. Creates a wonderment. Questioning of 'how' & 'why.' It's so big our eyes can hardly process a tiny portion of it all.
We obtained a
back country permit and hiked down into the mile deep canyon on the
North Kaibab Trail. The canyon sees over 5 million visitors every year, tho most in the spring, summer and early fall. Because of that, we were fortunate and saw very few hikers. We stayed at the backcountry camp of
Cottonwoods for 2 nights. Hiking from the north rim to Cottonwoods the first day, to the Colorado river and back to camp the next and out on the final day. The hike totaling 28 miles of awesomeness. Of cliffs. Of sheer rock faces dropping thousands of feet down. Of pristine, oasis-like waterfalls. Of rock formations dating back 1,200 million years.
The Bright Angel creek pumped fresh water through our campsite both days. We pumped water from the creek, through a filter for drinking and cooking. Waters' a valueable resource for hikers in the Canyon, did you know over 250 hikers have to be rescued from the Canyon every year.
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| Returning from the trail |
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