I awoke before my alarm and peeked out of my tent. I saw Bedazzled’s tent right in front of mine. You know, sleeping on the rim of the Grand Canyon is probably a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I had the luck to have someone camp right in front of me…even though the rim is hundreds of miles long.
Just joking, there were only two semi-flat spots and the one closer to the rim was better for Bedazzled’s tent….or so she said. Joking not joking. But really, she asked me if I wanted the spot, but I thought she should have it.
Back to what I was saying, I peaked out of my tent and over Bedazzled’s tent and saw the horizon starting to brighten with color. I know I said this part of the North Rim isn’t a sunrise spot, but it looked like we were going to at least get some good color in the sky. I lifted my head up periodically to check the sun’s progress and at five minutes to six o’clock I knocked on Bedazzled’s tent. I crawled inside and we both sat wrapped in her sleeping bag watching as the sun broke the horizon and shone light into the canyon. It was quite a view. If you ever have a chance, get a permit for backcountry camping at the Grand Canyon and try to get it for an area that allows at-large camping. You can choose your campsite and make sure you have a spot all to yourself. Another great thing is that there isn’t an 11 o’clock check-out either.
We took our time packing up and then easily found our way back to the trail and headed the 5 miles back to the trailhead.
We hung around the General Store for a bit and then registered for another night at the hiker/biker campsite. After a few hours relaxing in the sun, we decided to hike the 5 mile Uncle Jim Loop. To be honest, it wasn’t our favorite hike as we spent most of the time in the forest. When you did get a view of the canyon, it wasn’t anything different from the view at the lodge. A little disappointed, we headed back to our camp.
As luck would have it, we made it back just in time for a nice sunset and our spirits lifted.
After sunset, Bedazzled sewed my shoe which had ripped halfway across the top of the toe box! Just my luck to have it happen before our one day rim-to-rim attempt. Let’s hope Bedazzled’s sewing job holds.