GCNP: North Rim - Burn Recon

 I still had a few hours of daylight remaining after finishing my ride. I packed up and made my way towards the Grand Canyon's North Rim which only a few days prior re-opened to the public. The current Gov't shutdown meant they weren't collecting fees at the entrance station, but I had my pass anyway. The station was still manned and a few rangers were milling about nearby.

Beautiful display as I made my way back to SR67.

Autumn does seem like the perfect time to be up here.

As soon as I cleared the entrance station and rounded a corner, a huge meadow opened up and I could see a car had stopped up ahead appearing to be looking at some wildlife. From my vantage point it looked like the regular free range cattle, but as I got closer...Bison!! I had been up here many times, knew they were here, but had never seen one. Today was my lucky day as the herd was huge!!

Grazing on the fading grass.

Even some little ones!!

I almost missed the bulk of the herd near the tree line.

This was the first real evidence of the Dragon Bravo Fire from the main road.

While the Arizona Trail was still closed inside the park, I wanted to snap some pics where it crosses SR67. No burn here.

Or here, which was nice to see.

Road was closed at the turnoff to Point Imperial & Cape Royal.

I opted to visit Point Imperial first, one other car was there. Perfect.

I just love the views from the North Rim, you can see beyond the Canyon to the east.

Colorado River cutting through the Earth's Crust.

PeakFinder app.

 I didn't spend too much time at Point Imperial since time was ticking towards sunset. Next stop was Cape Royal and it's a good 20 miles away or at least it seemed to be. My end goal was to try to have enough daylight to do a hike I learned about at breakfast. I ran into a buddy there, Forrest, who told me and another biker who was touring the Western Wildlands Route, and a couple from Lithuania, about a 2 mile hike to Cape Final. That's two miles each way. I was hopeful I had enough daylight to get it done.

I arrived at Cape Royal to an empty parking lot. So strange for a major National Park, but understandable given the circumstances and the late hour. Another car did pull in shortly after I arrived. I parked on the far side of the lot and saw an opening for a trail. I just assumed it led to Cape Royal.

Hmmm, what is this??

I followed a short path around a few trees and it opened up complete with two rows of seating. Talk about a few for your vows!!

Not too shabby.

I had only been to Cape Royal once before and didn't recall seeing this last time. I guess there's another trail?

Looking out from the wedding site.

Humphreys Peak on the horizon, 12633'.

I went back to the parking lot and drove over to the other side, it's a big lot!! There I found the Cape Royal sign. This is what I remember hiking.

Angel's Window.

You can see the Colorado River at the bottom of the window. Look close at the top of the arch, you can walk out there too.

Late day shadows help create depth of field.

Zoomed in area of the image above, a muddy Colorado River winds along.

Wider view of the Colorado River.

On top of Angel's Window.

I finished up at Cape Royal and made my short drive to the Cape Final trailhead. There was only one other car when I arrived at 5p. Sunset was at 6:10p. I knew I could get out to the end before sunset, but I wanted to keep a brisk pace going. I was smart enough to pack a light, just in case.

Of course the trail right out of the parking area went uphill at a solid grade. Heart rate elevated, I wondered how long I could keep this pace. Thankfully, the trail mellowed.

I saw the couple in the other car coming towards me after 0.8 mi. It was the couple from breakfast from Lithuania. They said the views were worth it, so I kept up the pace.

The edge comes into view, but not the end of the trail.

The trail narrowed near the end.

Made it!! And the Sun is still shining.

I scrambled up some boulders for the final view.

Golden Hour kicking in.

Watch your step, lots of cacti around the end area.

Moon rise over the Canyon.

Sliver of Colorado River.

There's one camp site you can reserve. It's a winner, right next to the end.

On my way back, I made a couple of quick stops at some other overlooks as sunset neared.

It was cool enough for the sweatshirt!!

What an amazing time of day to be here.

Sunset settles in.

I kept a good pace going back and made it to the car without turning on my light. It was 6:40p and not a minute later a park Ranger pulled in asking if I was packing up. He was sweeping through the North Rim, I'm guessing no overnight usage is currently allowed?? Kinda funny to be the last one in the area. My sights were now set on getting back to the Jacob Lake Inn for another meal before the restaurant closed at 8p. I arrived at 7:40!! The grill was closed, but the green chili chicken soup was fantastic.

Temperatures were getting chilly!!

So glad I was able to get that hike in and see a different viewpoint along the North Rim. Highly recommended.

Route:

I spent one more night camping out before making the drive home. The next morning it was 32º when I broke camp. It was 91º when I got home.

Scenic overlook on the way off the Kaibab Plateau.

Vermilion Cliffs by a historical marker.

One of the early trails of the region.

Kaibab Plateau, far left is the Grand Canyon. Point Imperial is up there on the higher section as is Cape Final.

I wanted to check out Lee's Ferry, but not for $30. So I just took this photo and turned around.

Instead, I saw 3 California Condors at the Navajo Bridge. Two here hanging out.

The third one was tucked up on the bridge supports.

Colorado River isn't muddy here. Classic greenish hue.

Looking upstream.

Downstream.

I guess it's a place to put locks too, both sides had a bunch.

Humphreys Peak covered in fall foliage. Get it while you can.