Day 12: Grand Canyon Rim to Rim Trip: North Kaibab Trail at Roaring Creek
Friday, October 21.
I got up at 3:30 am this morning to get ready to meet the group at 4:45 am at the backcountry office. I left my truck & camper and loaded my backpack into the 12 passenger van that took us to the North rim. It was a bumpy ride and but we made it to the North Kaibab trailhead (8,250 feet) and began out backpacking trip into the canyon at about 10:15 am. The trail was gorgeous and at high elevation there were still a lot of amazing fall colors. We passed through the Kaibab formation (limestone deposited about 270 million years ago) and then stopped at the Coconino Overlook. Here we could look down the canyon. What a view.. we could see the South rim across the way… our final destination we would see in 5 short days.
We passed through the Supai tunnel CCC blasted this tunnel through the rock formation in 1930. Next we came to the Bridge in the Redwall. The planks on the bridge looked brand new… I guess they had been recently replaced. We walked on for quite a while and then came to a section called the Needle. There used to be a tunnel to pass through called the “Eye of the Needle” but sometime ago it broke free of the rock wall. As we continued to walk this amazing trail we saw the waters flowing from Roaring Springs. Since 1970 and the completion of the transcanyon pipeline Roaring Springs has provided all of the water needs for the South Rim. The water flows under its own pressure from its origin on the North Kaibab trail halfway up the Bright Angel trail where it is then pumped the rest of the way to the south rim. At the roaring springs rest house we snacked and took a well deserved break. From here all the way to Cottonwood Campground we heard the soothing sounds of rushing water and wind blowing through the canyon. We arrived at Cottonwood Campground (4,080 feet) in the late afternoon and set up camp and had a nice hot dinner. We turned in early (8 pm) to get ready for our 2nd day of descent. We had walked 6.8 miles and descended 4,170 feet… an amazing and memorable hike.
