As there was no point in our staying in the area, we decided to move on immediately to the Grand Canyon, a day earlier than planned. Before leaving, we tried, unsuccessfully, to contact the nearest office of the National car rental company, in Flagstaff, to arrange for snow chains for the car, as we had been advised to do by their office in Lubbock. The National group customer services department was also unhelpful and couldn’t contact the Flagstaff office either. Snow was forecast for the mountains and there was a news report that police in California had turned back motorists on a mountain road there, if they did not have snow chains fitted to their cars. We decided, therefore, to take a large detour via Flagstaff
After descending from the Hopi Second Mesa and passing the Third Mesa, we travelled back into the Navajo reservation, along miles of straight and flat road through land that seemed completely barren. There were indications of an underground oil pipeline beside the road, and of extraction of natural gas. Otherwise there were no signs of livelihood. The Black Mountains (which did look black and showed probable signs of opencast coal mining) marked the edge of the Navajo reservation and the landscape became more undulating with increasing amounts of vegetation. As we drove on to Flagstaff, clouds began to build.
As we suspected that it might be, our detour was a waste of time. The car rental office at Flagstaff Airport informed us that they never supply chains, nor did they recommend using them. Nevertheless, we went to the local Walmart store and, along with many other people, bought chains. In a timely manner, as we set off north to the Grand Canyon, snow started to fall and the temperature rapidly dropped below freezing. It was an attractive drive initially, through wooded countryside. After about an hour, the sky cleared and the landscape changed to a dreary flat plateau. Late in the afternoon, the flat land suddenly split open to reveal the vast Grand Canyon. Despite all of the pictures we have seen of it, nothing prepared us for the awe-inspiring sight and the huge size of the canyon (actually many intersecting canyons), over 250 miles long (river course), up to 18 miles across and about a mile deep. We drove straight to the rim to watch and take photos of the sunset, before checking in to the motel.
We walked through trees in a cold (about –5 deg C.), dark, but beautifully clear and starry night to the cafe for dinner.
Sunday, 29th November
It snowed overnight – about 2 inches outside our motel room. It was quite wet snow, but the temperature had then dropped significantly and the snow froze hard on the cars and the road. After arranging our own breakfast in our room, we drove to the Park HQ for a rendezvous for a guided walk, then drove slowly in convoy for about 5 miles, behind a Park Ranger’s vehicle, to the starting point for the walk. Driving conditions were somewhat difficult but not too much of a problem. We passed immediately beside a large buck elk on the roadside, close by the Park HQ, but couldn’t stop as we were in the convoy. It was still snowing lightly and became increasingly foggy as we walked, in snow about 4 inches deep, between Ponderosa pines, pinon and juniper, to the edge of the canyon. At the canyon rim, the fog precluded any view. However, the Ranger gave an interesting talk (as the snow continued to fall!) about Indian people who had lived in the canyon area in the hundreds of years before settlement by Americans of European extraction. In the oral history of the various Pueblo Indian groups today, their ancestors emerged from a world below ours, through a particular point in the Grand Canyon.
After the guided walk, we drove about 30 miles in difficult conditions of an icy road, light snow and thick fog, for a light lunch, then (after some difficulty in finding our car again!) to a small museum for a further talk and a brief guided walk around some Pueblo ruins. As we reached the museum, the snow and fog started to clear. On the return drive, it was apparent that the sun had been out for some time closer to Grand Canyon Village and the ice had already started to melt, so driving conditions were much improved.
The same point (Shoshone) in the snow and fog and 3 hours later
We returned to the trail we had walked earlier in the day. Some of the lying snow had already cleared and we had a lovely walk through the woods, in beautifully clear weather, with no-one else around. This time, we were able to get a good view into the canyon, with the tops of the massive rock formations still dusted with snow. The ranger had earlier explained that, although it was snowing on the rim, there probably wasn't any precipitation reaching the canyon floor, as it would evaporate
on its way down into the lower valleys.
After checking into a new lodge, and a drink in the bar, we went to a moderately interesting evening talk by a Park Ranger on water management in the Park. (This was one of a series of nightly talks, on various topics). With enthusiasm and dramatic emphasis, she explained the extraordinary work needed to get water up to the rim, with minimum damage to the environment, from a spring which gushes out about halfway down the opposite side of the canyon.
Monday 30th November
We feel quite proud of ourselves tonight, having managed a 14 mile walk into and out of the canyon today, over 3000ft elevation change each way. We got up at 6.00am and went for a rather dismal breakfast in another lodge where we could also buy filled rolls for lunch. Along with about 30 others, we boarded a shuttle bus at 8.00am to go to the Kaibab trailhead. After walking down the fairly steep trail to the planned stopping point (3 miles trail length and 2000ft drop) in much shorter time than expected, we carried on for another 1.5 miles (1000ft further down into the canyon) to another plateau, still 1500ft short of canyon floor. On the way, we were stopped by Park Rangers for about 30 minutes while a helicopter lifted in materials for repairs to the trail. We also met some pleasant hikers from various countries and saw what we and others concluded was a condor, (though of a variety which is significantly smaller than its South American cousin).
There were many signs warning against trying to go to the canyon floor and back in one day, especially in summer. Though today’s cool weather would have been more suitable for such a hike, the shortness of the day and our limited capabilities precluded our going down any further. Some of our walking companions proceeded to the canyon floor to stay overnight in the Phantom Ranch Lodge by the Colorado River, while a couple returned directly to the rim.
Phantom Ranch, at the bottom of the canyon
We decided to take the Tonto Trail, an unmaintained trail which winds in and out of valleys around the heads of the side canyons with little elevation change, to join the Bright Angel Trail about 4.5 miles away. It was a pleasant, easy walk, mostly through dry desert conditions overlooked by magnificant 2000-3000ft cliffs in a multitude of colours, with a few wooded and reedy oases, where the trail crossed small streams at the heads of the side canyons.
Apart from many different birds, wildlife was not much in evidence, though we did pass close by a buck elk.
At Indian Garden, a lovely oasis with bright yellow cottonwood trees and green aspens is maintained by the spring which was referred to in last night’s Park Ranger presentation. We saw a canyon squirrel, which had a different movement from UK squirrels - more winding and slithering walking, less jumping and running. Bright Angel Trail, rising 3000ft in about 5 miles, was not as steep as Kaibab, but it was tiring, and we managed about 1.5mph, arriving at the top of the rim, adjacent to our motel, shortly before sunset. As the Park Service pointed out, hiking normally involves climbing first, then descending later, whereas in the canyon, the climbing comes after several hours of walking, when energy levels are somewhat depleted.
It was an excellent walk and we were reminded of old western movies which so well evoked the atmosphere of canyons – the steep, dry, rocky walls, the quiet, and the slight sense of unpredictability, and even menace.
After a drink in the bar and a shower, we attended another Park Ranger presentation, this time a good talk on rock art. The Park Rangers are all so enthusiastic and are obviously encouraged to cultivate their own special interests. We have been impressed generally by the National Parks Service and its work to maintain and protect the various National Parks, Forests and Monuments. The Service tries to strike a fine balance between making the parks' facilities, the land and the wildlife accessible to people while at the same time minimising the visual impact of the necessary infrastructure and not overprotecting people. We noted that apart from at a few key lookout points, there are no railings by most of the rim. The occasional fatality (there was one the evening we arrived) is put in perspective against the millions of visitors who enjoy the Grand Canyon safely each year. Our only criticism of the National Park service is that some park fees are quite high,(possibly to ensure the quality of the Service) making visits to these parks beyond the budget of many relatively poor families.
Tuesday 1st December
It was another early morning start to drive to Yavapai Point for a Grand Canyon 'must'- watching the sunrise. The sky began to lighten then the first patch of colour appeared on the highest cliffs on the north rim. Gradually rays of sun lit up individual peaks in the canyon, casting huge shadows onto the more western slopes. It was like watching a yellow highlighter as the sun's rays moved down the slopes of the prominent peaks, bringing the contours of the lower slopes out of the dark shadows.
The sunrise at Grand Canyon was much more impressive than the sunsets we saw and it was certainly worth braving the freezing cold to watch.
It was time to move on, so after breakfast, we packed up and checked out of the lodge, then went to the laundry to do huge load of washing. On the way out of the Park, we stopped at Desert View, where Carolyn went up a 1940s sensitively-designed stone tower, giving 360 degree views over the Colorado River, the desert to east and the Canyon to the west.
On route 64, we stopped to look at the Little Colorado River gorge. Once we had made our way past the mostly empty stalls for Indian craftsellers, there were impressive views of the deep narrow canyon, but a seemingly dry river bed at the bottom. Crossing route 89 across desert fringed by rocky cliffs, we took a detour along Highway 89A to the bridge over the Colorado River. It was green & moderately swift flowing, but really quite placid. By all accounts, the river lost has most of its former character and majesty with the installation of the dams, power plants etc, along much of its course. We continued past the Vermillion Cliffs, which flank the road in incredible shades of reds. After crossing over a high pass, we entered Page, a town that started life as a construction town for the highly controversial Glen Canyon Dam and then became a resort for the recreational facilies offered by the huge lake which formed over about 20 years, flooding hundreds of miles of canyons and historical and archeological sites. Here we stayed for the night.
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