HDT Day 43: Another Zero Day in Kanab

Daily Miles: 0, Total Miles: 583.0

After a day of rain in Kanab on Sunday, my plan was to get up to the North Rim today, get access to the Nankoweap TH and quickly drop into the canyon. Snow is still forecast for the North Rim through Thursday, but just rain at the bottom and at least warmer.

So Lori drove me up to the North Rim yesterday afternoon. I didn’t expect to see 6-8 inches of snow already accumulated with more to come. The forest service road out to Nankoweap was snow-covered. Plan B, a trail at the end of Imperial Point that may get me to Nankoweap was not accessible because NPS closed the road due to snow/ice.

We headed to the Backcountry Office at the North Rim and had a chat with a ranger to develop Plan C. Wait until Friday for the system to move out and try the House Rock Valley access to Nankoweap TH. This approach is south-facing and will melt off faster. He then hooked me up with the permit ranger on the South Rim to work up a revised reservation schedule for the rest of the GC. Kudos to the very helpful rangers!

As the more popular backcountry areas no longer had permits, this will mean longer days and bigger mileages. I also cut out the rest stop at the South Rim.

Nothing to do but go back to Kanab, maybe get an apartment and part-time job! But first, a late lunch and huge cookies from the Jacob Lake Cafe, well remembered from my 2012 AZT hike.