Day 21: Jacob Lake to Grand Canyon North Rim

May 19, 2010

It was 40F inside my tent overnight. I was barely warm enough. Fortunately I camped in an open area so the sun hit the tent at 6:30 AM. I got up at 7:15 when it felt noticeably warmer. I hadn't paid for my site ($20) and the camp host came by in the morning. But he decided I shouldn't pay since I arrived by bicycle. I was on the road 9:15 Arizona time (Arizona doesn't observe daylight savings time).

1934 fire lookout. I climbed the stairs but the cab was locked.

The road south is mostly uphill for 10 miles, climbing 900 feet to the summit. The second half of that climb is in a burned forest.

Ponderosa pine forest south of Jacob Lake.

Miles of recently burned forest. Cleared near the road to prevent trees from falling on the road.

The road's high point on the Kaibab plateau. My highest point in Arizona, but no snow here.

There was no snow at the summit, and I couldn't tell the major types of trees there because they were all burned. But shortly after the summit the burned area ends and I was in a mixed forest of spruce, fir, and aspen. This kind of forest is extremely rare in the arid southwestern U.S.

Now the forest is mostly spruce, fir, and aspens that haven't started budding.

The road descends to 8500 feet elevation and stays mostly level through a series of alpine meadows. That opens up the view a bit. There were several small lakes formed by sinkholes. The snow was still melting. I stopped at the Kaibab Lodge at 1:30PM for lunch, but they had quit serving at 1 PM. Not many tourists in the area yet.

The Grand Canyon North Rim just opened 3 days earlier on May 15. I was surprised to learn that the lodge and campground always fill up on opening day and stay full all summer.

Significant snow melt going on, but not for very much longer.

Most of the lakes were much smaller than this.

At the entrance station the ranger told me how to find the hiker/biker campground. He said it has the best view in the park. He wasn't kidding! I arrived to a completely empty hiker/biker camp, allowing me to take the site with by far the best view. I could sit in my tent and look into the Grand Canyon. You can't do that from any other campsite.

$6 per night for the park's only campsite with a view of the Grand Canyon.

I arrived at 3:30 PM but had chores to do. Buy groceries. Take a shower ($1.50). Laundry at the laundromat. Write the journal. Rest and enjoy the view. But no phone calls-my AT&T phone shows "No service" despite two bars of signal from the south rim. The north rim has nice facilities: flush toilets, showers, laundromat, and a store with wireless Internet, all within walking distance of the hiker/biker area. A bit of civilization in the wilderness.

Today was sunny all day with a high of 65F. A bit warmer and much sunnier than yesterday. Not bad for such high elevation. The north rim is 8100 feet elevation. Visibility was excellent. I sat and watched the sunset view for a long time despite the wind and rapidly dropping temperature.

Sunset view at my campsite. Far away is 12,633 ft. Humphrey's peak, the highest point in Arizona.

Tomorrow I will spend the day at the north rim. The weather forecast is excellent, warmer than today.

Distance: 46.1 mi. (74 km)

Climbing: 2529 ft. (766 m)

Average Speed: 9.6 mph (15.4 km/h)

Maximum Speed: 36.5 mph (58 km/h)

Today's ride: 46 miles (74 km)
Total: 999 miles (1,608 km)

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