by azbackpackr » Dec 14 2011 8:18 am
Ok, Paul's in, so I'm starting a waiting list. Seriously, I won't be in the US at the optimum time for getting June or July permit, which would be Feb 1 and Mar 1. I don't know how well faxing works from Costa Rica. I may have to name a permit holder on this one. I can chance it and try for the permit in mid-May, but might not have full choice of dates by then.
I am thinking at least 3 nights. First night at the trailhead, since it'll be a long, long drive to get there! First day of hiking we'd haul extra water to the rim of the plateau so that we can walk back and access it. That is so that we can spend two nights on the Plateau, where there is plenty of cool shade under the Ponderosa Pines, at 7600 feet, but there is no water. We should plan on camping near Dutton Point, but I'd like to walk around and see the views on the other side, too. It's relatively flat once you get onto the Plateau, and there is a trail, at least to Dutton Point.
Dutton Point was Major John Wesley Powell's favorite viewpoint in the Canyon. Artist Thomas Moran did a sketch there.
There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
Steal your face right off your head!