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Photo by John Eastwood Dennis Foster skis past the Big Springs Field Station.
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North Rim skiing likely to last
By DENNIS FOSTER
Special to the Daily Sun
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Spring break is perhaps the best time to hike in the Grand Canyon -- temperatures are moderate and water is relatively abundant. And this year, with all the snow falling in northern Arizona, water is especially abundant. However, the snow does present a problem in accessing remote trailheads, and this is especially true on the North Rim of the canyon.
That was the weak link in my plan for this spring break -- access the canyon near Crazy Jug Point (off the north rim) and hike for eight days to Bright Angel Creek, where I can cross the river and hike out to the South Rim. Alas, even with a few weeks of warming temperatures, the snow on the Kaibab Plateau was more than enough to prevent me from reaching my trailhead. So, my hiking trip had to be replaced, on the fly, by an overnight cross-country skiing trip. All in all, not a bad substitute.
Because of the one-way nature of my hiking plans, I was able to convince a friend of mine, John Eastwood, into driving me up to the North Rim to drop me off. He convinced me to bring along some skis so that we could be prepared to cover the last few miles to the rim, if the snow stopped us.
Late on Friday we headed up to Jacob Lake, where we had a reservation at the Inn. Although, they close up at 8 o'clock, and we arrived at 10, someone was up to check us in. I have always found the personal level of service here to be exceptional and I look forward to stopping by whenever I am traveling to the north rim. We had a room in their new hotel unit, which is a great addition to their facility.
On Saturday morning, we met some other guests who were here to watch the annual condor release at Vermilion Cliffs. Four condors were scheduled to be released that morning. We made some inquiries about local road conditions, and it wasn't promising. As Jacob Lake is over 8,000 in elevation, we decided to head north, and catch Forest Road 22 at a lower elevation. This road would allow us to access Crazy Jug Point.
We had good conditions on FR 22 only as far as the Big Springs Field Station, where we were treated to the sight of a bald eagle gliding over the small pond. We ended up parking here and donning our skis. As we were still 16 miles from the trailhead, and since it was now afternoon, the hiking plan was scrubbed -- there just wasn't enough leeway in my schedule. We were now on Plan B -- an overnight cross-country ski trip. We lashed our gear to our plastic sleds and off we went.
It was a glorious afternoon with a brilliant blue sky to frame our view. It took me a while to get the right rhythm in pulling my sled. After a few miles, it was clear that we were the first ones to have visited this area since the last big snowstorm. We covered the better part of seven miles by the time we decided to stop. We found a bare spot among the trees and set up camp. A small fire kept us warm until turning in for the night to the sound of nearby coyotes yapping and howling. The next day we saw fresh tracks crossing the road about a mile from our camp.
Overnight about an inch of snow fell. For a couple of hours past dawn, the sun tried to peek out from behind the clouds. But, by the time we were almost packed up, the skies were gray and the snow was falling again. Our progress was slowed by snow sticking to our skis. John is the expert in this area, and he must have brought along a half dozen types of wax to aid our effort. Soon enough we were easily sliding along the road. And, I was easily falling over and learning how to stand up without taking off my skis.
Early in the afternoon we had returned to Big Springs, with the snow still falling. We had snow all the way back to Jacob Lake, where we ate a late lunch, and let the folks there know about the road conditions we encountered. It looks like there will be plenty of opportunities to ski on the Kaibab this spring season. The hiking, on the other hand, will have to wait.
If you go: Get a copy of the North Kaibab Ranger District map at a local outdoors store, bookstore, or Forest Service office. A useful book, if you can find a copy, is the Visitors Guide to the North Kaibab Ranger District. You can find out more about Jacob Lake Inn at www.jacoblake.com. News about condor releases can be found at the Bureau of Land Management web site (www.blm.gov).
cutlines
2008 03 15 06 - The new hotel unit at the Jacob Lake Inn. [Photo by Dennis Foster.]
2008 03 16 09 - Dennis Foster pauses as he haul supplies along Forest Road 22. [Photo by John Eastwood.]
2008 03 16 13 - Dennis Foster skis past the Big Springs Field Station. [Photo by John Eastwood.]
2008 03 16 15 - John Eastwood poses alongside the pond at Big Springs. [Photo by Dennis Foster.]
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