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| Backpack | 47.00 Miles |
11,200 AEG |
| | Backpack | 47.00 Miles | 2 Days | | |
| 11,200 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | I tried to recruit a few folks to do a rim job with me and a camp-out on the North Rim but got no takers. Sometime before driving up to the canyon I learned of this yurt-thing on the north rim. I got to the permit office and, lucky me, the yurt was still available for a walk-in permit. There's only one yurt and its only available for use in the winter. Originally my plan was to camp outdoors on the north rim but this sounded much better!
Headed down the South Kaibab and found the first section, the Chimney, to be icy and after that a few shaded sections were icy but that was it. On the North Kaibab, the snow and ice sections started showing up past the Roaring Springs trail junction but just small patches. I started encountering deep snow about one mile down from the top but travel was easy since other hikers wore a nice walking trench into the middle of the trail. I made it all the way through with just sneakers on and no traction aid! There was quite a bit of damage on the upper portion of North Kaibab. Lots of downed trees, some sections of trail were washed out and the Supai Tunnel was about half-way caved-in.
I arrived at the yurt just after sunset. Beforehand I didn't know much about it but was happy to find the yurt equipped with a wood stove, a shed stocked with cut firewood, and a compost toilet. Much better than my plan A! The temp was already plummeting so I got started right away on building a fire. My first time using a wood-burning stove but fortunately the park service supplied a detailed instruction list that made it easy. The yurt warmed up nicely to about 60 degrees but was a bit smokey inside. Probably something I did wrong. I ended up letting the fire burn out before bed as I was worried about CO levels and not waking up alive. It was a cold 17 degrees in the morning when I woke! I packed up, said goodbye to the yurt and set off for an uneventful hike back to the south rim. On the way back I found out that the water faucet at the caretaker's house stays on year-round. I wish I knew that before lugging extra water from Phantom Ranch. |
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Route Editor
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