Hike of the Month

ike of the Month Take On the North Rim's Widforss Trail for Scenery to Boggle the Mind

It is my training as a mountaineer to move through wild country with determination and good speed. Take a whiff of the flowers, my mentors taught me, but don't tarry too long or you'll never make the summit.

After barely 20 minutes on the Widforss Trail on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, I'm finding it all but impossible to stick with this "don't dawdle" doctrine.

The reason: the Widforss Trail, like several of the other paths along the Rim of the most famous gash on the face of the Earth, is graced with one eye-catching, mind-boggling, spirit-lifting vista after another.

To hurry along this route would be tantamount to uncorking a bottle of Chateau Lafite Rothschild and slurping it down like a cold cola on a hot day. This is a place to amble, to sip the sights, and savor them.

And that's exactly what the three of us photographer David Elms, my wife, Donna, and I do on this sunny day in mid-July.

A Grand Canyon National Park visitors guide advises hikers to allow four to five hours for the gentle gradients of the 10-mile round-trip route, which begins at Harvey Meadow about two miles northwest of the North Rim Campground. But once we get a taste of the Canyon views along the first two and a half miles of the trail, we realize that we're going to be stopping a lot, gawking plenty, and paying little attention to the passage of time.

At one of our many "let'sstop-here-a-minute" points, we peer into the depths of a sheer-walled canyon called The Transept over a wildflower foreground of blue lupine, red paintbrush, scarlet penstemon, and yellow daisies.

The next overlook treats us to a view of 8,052-foot Oza Butte, which in turn draws the eye across countless side canyons, towers, temples, and plateaus to the deck of the faraway South Rim.

At about the time we're feeling almost overdosed on Canyon grandeur, the trail leaves the Rim and angles into the cool glades and grassy meadows of a high-country forest.

Owing to the North Rim's elevation of about 8,000 feet, the forest grows thick with tall dark-green firs and whitetrunked aspens in addition to the ponderosa pines common to lower elevations.The trail, named for early 20th-century painter Gunnar Widforss, who produced Grand Canyon watercolors known for their precise geologic detail, has a reputation for abundant wildlife. As if to verify the point, three spike-buck mule deer bound across a clearing, giving us yet another reason to pause on our meandering way to trail's end at Widforss Point on the Canyon Rim.

David, who wisely anticipated our tendency to take this hike at a naturalist's poky stroll rather than a mountaineer's forced march, has obtained a camping permit from the National Park Service. We've packed our rucksacks with sleeping bags and food for an overnight stay, and we plan to camp at Widforss Point.

We reach our destination affording yet another calendarquality view into the heart of the Grand Canyon in midafternoon and engage in spirited canyon-babble with some day hikers. When they must begin their five-mile return walk in late afternoon, it is an effort to conceal our pleasure at having the place to ourselves.

As the sun works its end-ofthe-day magic in spectacular shades of pink and magenta over far horizons of like-hued ancient stone, I perch on a rock, surrounded by fragrant cliffrose, and vow to dawdle again soon.

WHEN YOU GO

To reach the North Rim of the Grand Canyon from Flagstaff, travel north 111 miles on U.S. Route 89 to its intersection with U.S. 89A. Drive west 55 miles on U.S. 89A to Jacob Lake and then south 45 miles on State 67 to Grand Canyon Lodge and the North Rim Campground.

For the Widforss Trail, drive one mile north from the campground, turn left onto a dirt road, and drive one mile to the marked trailhead.

Because of heavy snowfalls, the North Rim is closed from mid-October or November to mid-May. Advance reservations for camping at the North Rim Campground may be obtained by calling toll-free 1 (800) 365-CAMP. Cabin and motel accommodations are available at Grand Canyon Lodge. For reservations, call (801) 586-7686. Expect summer weather to be generally clear with occasional afternoon thunderstorms and high temperatures of about 75° F. Overnight lows in summer average 43° F.