HIKE OF THE MONTH

hike of the month In the Kanab Creek Wilderness, Venture to the Brink of the Grand Canyon's North Rim

You don't need a camping permit, and you can stay up to 14 days on this national forest hike to the brink of the Grand Canyon's sublime North Rim. A family sedan can handle the dirt road that leads to the Soof the Kanab Creek Wilderness. The trail, which should be attempted only by strong hikers, leads down 1,700 feet to a plateau that skirts Grand Canyon National Park, traversing cliff country as starkly beautiful as the Canyon itself.

I followed the well-packed trail as it curved beneath Sowats Point, then traversed a lateral ledge for a quarter-mile above a very difficult 800-foot dropoff, before twisting down a switchback to sandstone flats where the hiking is easy. The trail is popular with overnight hikers. According to the Forest Service check-in box, several hikers trekked ahead of me somewhere, swallowed by country so big I never saw anyone.

The trail takes you toward the 900-foot sheer walls of a narrow promontory called The Gooseneck. There, the trail sulks beneath the cliffs for half a mile, staying well back from Jumpup Canyon before arriving at a fork at the chasm.

This fork offers day-hikers like me a good spot to turn around. But first I took time to enjoy the view, looking over cliffs where floods have done a sculptor's work, cutting Jumpup Canyon all the way to the Colorado River. The precipice bars any possibility of following the dry canyon to the craggy drainage at the river bottom.

However, a turn north at the Jumpup Canyon fork leads to the Jumpup Canyon Trailhead. A left turn, west across the dry canyon, takes you high along the shoulder of Jumpup Canyon on a pack trail that looks down on the Grand Canyon and Kanab Creek.

Several arms of Jumpup Canyon offer opportunities to explore. You can walk for a while in Kwagunt Hollow, the first deep cut after coming down the Sowats switchback from Sowats Point. Sowats Canyon, the next cut, held water in shaded places during my hike in May. The climb back to the car is steep, so allow more time. Since I was day-hiking, I returned to Sowats Point and camped along

March to May and September-November are the best times for a Sowats-Jumpup hike. Summer temps can surpass 115° F., and high winds and violent storms sometimes lash the Kanab Creek Wilderness plateaus. The sandstone flats heat up like flatirons during the hottest months, and water holes usually dry up except in the spring. Winter snows close the North Kaibab National Forest roads leading to Sowats Point. The wise hiker will get a weather forecast.

WHEN YOU GO

To reach Forest Service Trailhead No. 8 from Jacob Lake, drive a quarter-mile south on State Route 67, then turn west off the highway onto Forest Service Road 461 to FR 462, and on to the junction with FR 22. Drive about 11 miles south on FR 22 to FR 425, then proceed six miles to FR 233, which leads to the Sowats Point Trailhead and a parking area. Take along a North Kaibab Ranger District map; Sowats Spring and Jumpup Point quadrangle maps; and water, plenty of it, year-round. During or after bad weather, conditions in the Kaibab Creek Wilderness may be hazardous, and some roads may become impassable. Contact the Kaibab National Forest's North Kaibab Ranger District, (520) 643-7395, for the latest trail, road, and weather conditions.