Day 17 Grand Canyon Rim to Rim Trip: Goosenecks State Park
I'm alive and doing well after my rim to rim hike... I'm trying to get caught up on journaling and editing photos from my trip. Here are details from day 17.
Day 17 Grand Canyon Rim to Rim Trip
Wednesday, October 26.
I woke early and spent some time uploading the photos from my canyon trip onto my portable hard drive. I took my 2nd hot shower… what a luxury. I packed up and walked over to the backcountry office and had great timing since my guides Mandy & Kendrick were back to see about getting permits for an upcoming Rim to River trip for February of 23. My dear friend Rob was with them… he took care of returning the rental van that shuttled us to the North rim and it was an unexpected great surprise that I got to see him and hang out with him during this trip. We said our goodbyes and I headed to Mather campground to get some water before departing for Goosenecks State Park in Utah.
Originally I had planned to go to Capitol Reef National Park in Torrey, Utah but they had a big snowstorm (several weeks earlier than usual). My friend & colleague lives in the area sent me a message to alert me to the weather conditions & that more snow was expected. I promptly changed my plans and decided to explore Monument Valley early instead. This was a really good choice… the trip was only 4 hours and about 200 miles. After stopping at the canyon grocery store I hit the road at about 11 am and arrived at Goosenecks State Park at 4 pm. I’ve moved into Mountain Daylight time which is an hour ahead of the time at the canyon. The gate attendant told me I could camp anywhere so I set up right on the rim of the canyon where just steps outside my camper door I can look down into the canyon and see the goosenecks in the San Juan river. I had snacks and then dinner as the sun was setting on the canyon. I went over to meet two neighbor campers (motorcyclists sleeping in tents) and asked where they from… turns out they live about 15 miles north of me in Georgia. I looked into the orange glow of the sunset toward the Navajo Nation lands and noticed the crescent moon setting… an amazing and iconic sight. The stars came out in their full glory and the Milky Way was so beautiful. I turned in for the night.
