We decided after a long, “pro & con” discussion, that we would go to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, rather than to the South Rim. This decision was based primarily on the fact that we were arriving on a weekend (craaaazzzy busy) and the North Rim sees 1/10th of the annual visitors as the South-side (peace and solitude with breathtaking views –vs– Disneyland, overweight tourism with breathtaking views). Plus at nearly 1,000 feet higher in elevation, the North side would have colder temperatures.
Because of these colder temperatures, the North Rim closes over winter due to heavy snowfall. We actually arrived on the very first day the North Rim was opening. On the way a local store owner told us we were could find free camping along the ridge of the Grand Canyon just outside of the park. We were excited to say the least!
Then we hit the National Park. We took the Bright Angel Trail which lead to the North Rim’s famous overlook. Wow. I’ve heard the Canyon is one of the few geological features on earth that can be seen from space… and after seeing the vastness of that place, the way the earth just falls away and seems to drop forever, an endless fracture in the surface of our planet… I believe it. Standing there, on the edge of infinity and insignificance, Manni and I marveled at the beauty of the world and the wild incomprehension it inspires. The wind whipped violently around us, sending my hair into a frenetic dance called “soon I will house a family of birds”. Several other female observers had their hair repeat the dance in various different tunes of the same song. Manni, with his short hair, delighted in my lost-battle against the wind. From our view point, we could actually look across the canyon and down on to the tourists on the other side. It was absolutely spectacular.
We talked with the rangers at the visitor’s center and found out that our “secret” free camping spots came recommended by even the Park staff, so much for awesome “local’s only” knowledge. In addition to camping information and suggestions, the Ranger told us (after I questioned him about this “small little trail line that doesn’t exist on any other maps”) about a terrifying (and deadly) un-maintained alternate trail that leads very experienced hikers along a cliff ledge and down in to the valley of the Grand Canyon. *Don’t worry- this route did not sound appealing to us- or at least not in its entirety; It seemed the first few miles or so, were like walking any normal trail through the woods and the perilous cliff-ridge descent did not happen until much later on the trail*… But, the Ranger added, this first part of the trail, which sees very few people, leads to a vista point where he sends all the resident artists because it is one of the most spectacular and totally secluded view points in the entire canyon. Perfect! The moon had been so bright those past few days, we decided we would wake early in the morning and hike it with the moon and our head lamps to the vista point- were we would watch the glorious sunrise together!!!
With several hours of sunlight left, we thought it would be a good idea to do one more trail before heading out of the park to find a camping spot for the night. We decided on another drive-by-tourist route which lead us to another view point and small hike along the ridge. Here, to our pleasant surprise… we found hundreds and hundreds of Desert Sage plants!! We craftily and very secretively planned to “forage” for a few leaves to keep for flavoring our pasta dinner later. “We’re ROBBING them!” exclaimed Manni, “but maybe we shouldn’t take too much, because if everybody took some, there wouldn’t be any left…” I agreed, and I know, I know, in this touristic place, I let my guide instincts and long-time LNT (leave no trace) practices slip just a little bit. We took a couple pinches worth of the sweet-smelling herb to save for cooking later….. karma is actually what happened later. We continued on our Grand Canyon ridge hike, where the views were equally spectacular as the view point before… it seemed everywhere, you could walk just a few steps and see an entirely new view and perspective of the dramatic canyon walls. Once again, amazing… and windy, very windy. We finished the hike with all the wonderful things around us and then, well, we hit a rough spot (which lasted most the night).
First, a joking bet about the trail name turned in to a quarrel about the trail name, and then became a fight about one of us being right and the other, wrong. Immediately both of us knew it was a stupid thing to fight over, and retrospectively it sounds even more ridiculous. Let it be noted, that since April 5th, 2011- we have been together 24/7 with the exception of a 2 hour hair cut appointment I’d had… sooo living in a box the size of a twin bed with a 2 foot clearance for head space begins to wear on you, be assured of that. But finally, we made up, and decided not to let it interfere with this beautiful (and windy) day. Anyway, it was time to find a camp spot.
Now remember, we had a local store owner, and a PARK RANGER recommend this to us, but it was also the first day the park opened since the winter. The path to our campsite, and glory it seems, was a dirt road, winding up through the trees (now violently swaying in the wind) to what we hoped was a beautiful view of the sunset-covered canyon walls. The road was 11 miles… of absolute war zone. A maze littered with huge fallen trees, snapped-off limbs, snow patches and impassable mud… but pass we did. Again and again we found a way, sometimes barely-a-way ways, around these obstacles. And with each hurdle, we both set our stubborn minds on the singularly consuming thought, “well, we’ve come this far… and the ranger told us about it!?... so it must improve.” Ummm, wrong. No improvement, BUT continue we did. And really, we actually weren’t pushing Ol’ Bessie (our car) too much physically speaking, it was just that we had to maneuver so carefully around the fallen trees that our mental “stupid idea” alarms were going off internally. Sometimes one of us had to get out and gage the inches left of side clearance between the standing tree and the fallen tree in order to pass the narrow gape between them. Now, all of these trees strewn about the graveyard road were not newly fallen. Someone had taken time to (poorly) clear branches and cut through the large trunks to allow vehicle passage; although the further we traveled the closer it seemed to suit only the width clearance required of a SmartCar. Trees usually fall after a winter, where, under the oppressive weight of heavy snow, a tree may snap, and then wait to crash to the ground until spring melts the snow-supports away. Needless to say, this knowledge didn’t reconcile the fact that the wind was reaching damaging levels, and the trees were swaying about, wildly drunk, and peering longingly over the road at their fellow fallen comrades with tree envy. And then it happened at 10.6 miles. We couldn’t pass anymore, we were trapped, without the ability to maneuver around the final fallen tree-monolith and the seeming impossibility of backing down. We were forced to either camp in the tree-guillotine or attempt a 23-point turn. Manni turned in only 18-points, impressive.
We came within less than ½ of a mile from the ridge-line campgrounds and trailhead for our planned hike the next day, and turning around, after getting past problem after problem was pretty heartbreaking. We also had a new problem. The sun was setting, and neither of us wanted to navigate the treacherous road in the dark, so we needed a campground fast. This road had many trails and roads branching off of it, and I remembered seeing one such road that might work for camping. We followed the road as far as we could and finally found a “campground” our campground was really just a junction of 3 roads which made a large triangular clearing. We must have parked and re-parked about 15 times while discussing which tree posed the most threat to us should it fall in the Canyon’s hurricane winds. We finally settled on the spot which was equidistant from all opposing tree forces and possible directions of fall (paranoid? Yeah, probably… but it was reeeaaallly windy). I was bummed that things didn’t work out, but to be honest, at the start of the tree graveyard, I had pretty low expectations- so I just passed it off as an adventure and was happy to be in the safety of our little treeless nook; Manni on the other hand, who is usually pretty Zen about everything, was obviously feeling pretty disappointed since he’d had such high-hopes- I’m also sure that he wasn’t feeling very relieved or “safe” about our camp spot, still believing that the trees were out to get us. I tried to lift our collective spirits by mentioning… but wait! We have our Desert Sage!! …and an onion, and a zucchini!!!”
Yes, not one, but two FRESH vegetables!! This was indeed a night to celebrate! -When you have been living off of canned beans and dehydrated food-stuffs, a fresh ingredient is enough to make any problem go away.
So we sauté our vegetables with the sage infused olive oil, simmering everything on low to really bring out the sweet aromas and flavors of our dish; for a moment, the violently swaying trees cease to be quite so menacing and retire to a mere back round rustling of leaves and bush. I sneak a small taste, licking the spoon in secret selfishness. WOW. That packs a punch, what is that taste, sour? No, Bitter.
“It tastes kind of bitter Manni… ?” He takes the smallest of hesitant samples. “Hmmm. Let’s just add some sugar, to counteract that bitter taste.” –We douse our masterpiece in sugar, after all it’s always been a universal grandmas’ and Mary Poppin’s secret ingredient that in even the most savory of dishes, a spoonful of sugar makes everything better. We taste it again, and are hit with a sweet tangy flavor that is not entirely unpleasant and then WHAM… the bitter hits back stronger than ever. We even wash and strain our vegetables, and then painstakingly pick out all of the (finely chopped) sage leaves. Maybe we can save the veggies and start over???
After draining the liquid, we have to find out once and for all if this is a lost cause… So I volunteer to take a zucchini chunk and taste it. Absolutely inedible- the sauce had actually diluted the taste, now we were left with the 10x potently infused-veggies, we were left with a complete disaster. That bite inspired a gag reflex like I have never known. Tears were streaming down my face, no amount of water or spitting would help. The bitterness was burned into the very flesh of my mouth. “Manni, we can’t eat this. We can’t. Something is wrong. We could use it as bear repellant, I’m not kidding…. It’s still there, the after taste is more bitter than the first taste. Ahhhh!”
He tastes it, and immediately starts sputtering and gasping for air like a broken down car engine, violent coughing isn’t enough to save us though. Our dinner… is ruined, and what’s more, my plan to raise our spirits with a gourmet “pick-me-up” has backfired beyond words. Now we are scared, tired, hungry, grumpy, alone and very disappointed with the evening’s turn of events. We eat our pasta with a bit of tomato paste mixed with water, and close the night with the sad, exasperated, but slightly humored exclamation: we can’t do ANYTHING right!!!
The next morning we “got the hell out of there” –Manni, and after coffee the world was right again. We did a 10 mile hike along the ridge, saw beautiful views, and left the Grand Canyon. We stopped at a burger restaurant on the way out, the only restaurant for hundreds of miles, and had a soul-healing meal… with vegetables AND meat! People recognized Manni from the hike by his giant I’m-a-Canadian-Logger hat, and we met a couple who taught English and science in Germany (small world)…..
On to Utah (again!)
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