Yesterday wasn’t quite as relaxing as I’d hoped. My parents, having forgotten about Columbus Day, were late in sending my ration/bounce box. As a result, I had to spend my day running around trying to figure out how to forward it when it arrives after the North Rim closes. Fun times . . .not.
Because I ate an entire pizza last night and gorged myself at the breakfast buffet this morning, I felt a little bloated and gassy as we started along the Arizona trail. (I’d planned a route across the Arizona strip, over the Paria Plateau, and along the Paria to Buckskin Gulch, but because my maps and information on the route were in my box, we were stuck with the guidebook route. Despite the lack of dramatic terrain, our walk across the plateau was very pleasant. Golden Aspens and perfect weather made up for the monotonous forested hills and grassy valleys.
We stopped for lunch (Sharon and Lindy had some leftover pizza) in an abandoned fire tower. The stairway was accessible, but the crow’s nest at the top was locked. Crystal Spring a few miles further on was surprisingly full and clean.
Two miles from Crystal Spring we got our first taste of Grandeur since leaving the Grand Canyon this morning. The trail here skirts the Eastern edge of the Kaibob River, revealing the vast Arizona Strip, sliced in half by Marble Canyon. In the distance, rise the Vermillion Cliffs of the Paria Plateau, beyond them a hulking mountain, whose name we don’t know, towers over the entire scene.
We aren’t in a rush; we will easily be in Kanab by Sunday, but will need to stay until Monday, because both Lindy and Sharon have mail coming. Faced with the decision of stopping and enjoying the spectacular sunrise or continuing and romping in the thick forest, we made the easy choice. The sun has just stopped setting and as I write I am watching the stars come out while a great horned owl hoots in the distance. I wonder if we will hear the coyotes again?
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