My plan to reach the North Rim today/night has failed. It can be seen as having little importance if I get there today or tomorrow - but the fact of the matter is that the park doesn't officially open till tomorrow and for this reason the closed road is backed up with cars and rv's all wanting to be the first in. I prefer being off the road when this mob moves in.
Lucky for me, I was able to squeeze under the gates of road leading to the park entrance. I had the whole highway to myself, with only the occasional delivery truck, dropping off the last goods before the season start. The terrain changes as the elevation gains, reaching around 7000 ft. Up here the open tundra like landscape is still snow covered.
I figured that passing the gate into the park would be just as easy - this turned out to be wrong. Two hikes were walking the opposite direction on the road, having just crossed from the south rim. According to them there shouldn't be any problem getting in, but when I got to the entrance I was meet with a huge gate and chain. Thought I'd wait for a ranger to show, but this was wishful thinking. Sun set and a temperature plunged. Set up camp at the entrance, tied my tarp to the gate and soon feel asleep. Was woken some time around midnight by a ranger returning. The park would open at 5 am. It was around -5C. Garlic fingers from simple cooking.
No comments:
Post a Comment