Green after recent monsoon rains, Toroweap Valley spreads west, toward the Uinkaret Mountains. Rabbitbrush and sunflowers splash the remote expanse, more than 50 miles from the nearest pavement, with yellows and golds. In the distance, beneath a promontory of the Toroweap Cliffs, Toroweap Ranger Station’s metal roof flares with the reflection of the midday September sun.

During previous drives to camp at Grand Canyon National Park’s Toroweap Overlook, where the rim plunges 3,000 feet straight down to the Colorado River, I’d never seen the valley so green or appreciated its desolate beauty. Then again, I’d never walked this road before. 

A couple of miles back, I left my buddy Tom Gamache cursing as he unloaded his prized 1972 Chevy Blazer, now balanced precariously on its driver’s side. To recap: We came over a blind rise and into a sloping “S” curve, the rough dirt road’s counterpart to one of the Colorado River’s rapids. Take a bad line or enter a rapid at the wrong speed, and you’ll flip. The same is true at this spot on the 65-mile route to the rim.

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