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| Hiking | 30.00 Miles |
3,630 AEG |
| | Hiking | 30.00 Miles | | | |
| 3,630 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Ok, this is one trip I have looked at on my topo map and always thought to myself, I do not think I will ever do this hike, it seems way to tame and easy. In comparison to the rest of the canyon, yes, it is easy. But I found in reality, it is not as smilple as one would think. There are several factors that make it so. First of all, the milage (15 miles) reaches that point of, well endless. Next is, there is no water, at all. So what you want to drink you will carry yourself (6.5 liters=14 pounds). There is nothing to see but endless emptiness (which on its own really is beautiful), and finally if something happens you out there, you are on your own, they do not call it Cape Solitude for nothing. But, this was a journey for exactly that, sweet, pure, and utter solitude. Two days and not even a sole on the horizon...I was in heaven 
So, what is so alluring about this trip? The final destination. After six hours of hiking and since leaving my truck on the side of the road (there really is no true trailhead), the first half mile were the only canyon views, other than that I had the sense the canyon was close by, but like a spector it was unseen. But once I reached my the Cape, there is was in more glory and beauty then I had seen from my six years of GC exploring!!! This is a birds eye view of the confulence of the Little Colorado and the Colorado Rivers. It gives you a sense of, if you have ventured deep into the canyon, just where you have hiked. It is the South Rim and the North Rim like you have never seen before...reach out, you just might be close enough to touch it. For the Cape being so small and not much area to roam and explore, I spend the rest of the day and part of my second day just going back and forth seeing things I had not seen before. I sat for hours just staring and drinking in the beauty like a parched hiker in the desert drinking from a cool oasis. The best part, it was a full moon. You know, those full moons where your tent is so lit up you think there is stadium lighting all around. I kept getting up during the night and walking outside just to see the canyon from high up bathed in such a magnificent light.
It was bitter sweet to leave on day two. The bitter part was knowing I had 15 miles to reverse back to my truck, the sweet part, three liters of water as opposed to 6.5 
By the way, if anyone finds my favorite had that I dropped...
If you ever get the bug to see the canyon from a unique angle, this is the hike to do. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
This actually turned out to be one of the best summer trips I have taken into the canyon. I did this on day two after my trip to Utah Flats, so it was a very relaxing way to spend the day. One of the most important things I learned about this trip is that you would be really hard pressed to make it all the way through in winter without getting wet. As mentioned in all of the other posts, the pools do get really deep and even in August one of them was almost six feet deep. This paticular pool has a great way to climb to a 20 foot jump back into the pool for a excitment!!!
. What else does one feel with the knowledge that they are about to under take such an arduous adventure like hiking nonstop for 45 miles in one day in the Grand Canyon? I had been doing alot of training since March in prep for this trip and my legs were feeling strong, and I actually rolled into Phantom Ranch at 6:40 a.m. My oringal plan was to stop and rest for a while, but the morning temps were perfect and there was really no need to break. So on I went continuing the good time making it to Cottonwood Campground at 9:00 a.m. I stopped for a 30 minute break to eat, refill my water and do some all important feet resting. 9:30 a.m. and I am on my way towards the North Rim still pinching myself that I am living a long time dream and loving every minute of it. 
But I get ahead of myself here. So I reach the North Rim with a pretty impressive time of 12:30 p.m. and since it was becoming pretty hot and I was feeling the effects, I decided to have an extended rest and did not head back down until 1:15 p.m. *Side note*....I love the new water filling stations and the water was ice cold, delicious, and just what the doc ordered. Koodos park admin 
](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall")
