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…

Daily Miles: 0, Total Miles: 583.0 Back in Kanab, a good rest and did my best to refuel, starting with a big sausage and eggs breakfast. I followed that up with Big Al’s for lunch, a cheeseburger and large caramel milkshake. Thought that might do it but got hungry in the evening and went to Vermillion 45, a French restaurant. I enjoyed a scrumptious scallops and risotto dish with as much bread and butter as I could eat. Kind of…

Daily Miles: 25.3, Total Miles: 583.0 There are only a couple of ways to get off the Vermillion Cliffs. Both involve the Sand Hill Crack and neither one is very easy. Steep and rocky, faint trail at best and an occasional cairn. I had to back up a few times and look hard for a safer way. I picked up a better trail at the bottom that took me to an old ranch house at Jacobs Pool and then a…

Daily Miles: 25.5, Total Miles: 557.7 Summit bid! The remaining climb up to Bush Head and the Paria Plateau was even steeper than yesterday. Just tried to find the path of least resistance and kept reminding myself about three points of contact. Hiking poles were extra baggage at this point. A few false summits but finally cleared the last sandstone cliff band and this old man did another happy dance! Now a much more gentle climb to get to the…

Daily Miles: 12.2, Total Miles: 532.2 Slower going down the Paria River today but taking pics around every corner – just gorgeous. A narrower canyon meant having to wade in the river more rather than cross from bank to bank. I found a few springs not on the map before turning away from the Paria River. I then headed up out of the canyon on the challenging Bush Head Route. A route means no trail but maybe a few cairns….

Daily Miles: 12.3, Total Miles: 501.9 I had about a 5% chance to get a Wave permit and was not successful – oh well, I tried. A few people I met have reinforced that it may not be worth trying to sneak in. BLM has stepped up patrols and permit checks and then there’s the $1,000 fine and possible jail time. I walked across the street from the Visitors Center and started hitching. After about an hour, Lori, who I…

Daily Miles: 19.7, Total Miles: 489.6 No rain last night! A fairly easy day walking for several miles down Park Wash before picking up a dirt road along the wash. This all dumped into Kitchen Corral Wash and road that took me all the way to Highway 89. I walked up the highway about a mile to a better hitching point where a car could actually pull over. I have no doubt drivers were wondering what I was doing in…

Daily Miles: 19.8, Total Miles: 469.9 Not a comfortable night with some of the heaviest rain I have had on all my hikes. My Zpacks solo plus tent has been OK in light rain and snow but this was beyond that. By morning, the bottom of my sleeping bag was soaked and even my feet were wet. I got away about 7:30am after giving it about an hour since the last rain. Showers started shortly thereafter but the sun was…