The labyrinth called Canyon de Chelly (pronounced d’SHAY) comprises several canyons that include Canyon de Chelly, Monument Canyon and Canyon del Muerto. At the mouth of the canyons near the tribal town of Chinle, in northeastern Arizona, the rock walls are only 30 feet high. Deeper in, the bright red sandstone bluffs rise dramatically to stand more than a thousand feet above the sandy floor. Sheer cliffs overshadow streams, cottonwood trees, and small, culturally significant ancestral farms below. The Canyon de Chelly National Monument was established in 1931 to preserve this record of human history, embracing more than 84,000 acres within the Navajo Reservation. Canyon de Chelly is administered by the National Park Service, but is home to Diné — the Navajo people. My brother Dave and I visited this beautiful canyon with its rich history and culture on Thursday, April 30, 2015 from 8:00AM to 1:00PM. Our plan was to explore both the North and South Rim Drives, stopping at each overlook along the way.

Artifacts and written accounts place humans in Canyon de Chelly for more than 4,500 years. These signs can be used to place activity in a timeline, a chronology that marks events on a calendar. But to the Navajo and many other American Indians, the passage of linear time isn’t important. Native histories and the past are explained through traditional beliefs, stories, and images.

The earliest people lived at seasonal campsites in rock shelters beginning about 2,500 BC, and for the next 2,300 years. Canyon de Chelly provided abundant food for these first settlers. They ate deer, antelope, rabbit and more than 40 varieties of plants. About 2,200 years ago a fundamental change occurred in how people lived in Canyon de Chelly. Instead of relying on hunting and gathering, a group called the Basketmakers learned how to farm. They tucked small fields into corners of the canyon, or on the mesa top.

Beginning about 750 AD dispersed hamlets gave way to a new kind of settlement — the village. These Pueblo people raised turkeys for food and grew cotton, leading to new weaving techniques. Puebloan life ended in the canyon about 700 years ago because of extreme drought. They scattered south and west, developing a migratory lifestyle. These people became known as the Hopi. This pattern continued until the Navajo arrived in the 1700s.

The Navajo brought with them domesticated sheep and goats and a culture tempered by centuries of migration and adaptation. Like all those before them, the Navajo used the canyons and plateau to support a way of life. Canyon de Chelly was known throughout the region for its fine corn fields and peach orchards. Small settlements in clearings gave the landscape a tranquil quality.

Tranquility ended in the late 1700s as warfare erupted with other tribes and Spanish colonists. The Navajo took refuge in Canyon de Chelly’s serpentine canyons. They fortified trails with stone walls, sheltered in rock alcoves, and stockpiled food and water. Despite the precautions, Spanish, Ute, and U.S. military parties breeched the defenses, leaving death in their wake. Archaeological remnants of the canyon’s fortifications and pictographs graphically narrate the Navajo endurance.

To the Diné, this beautiful canyon home is known as Tsegi (SAY-ih), a physical and spiritual home. As you explore Tsegi, the smell of wood smoke and the distant sounds of sheep bells, barking dogs, and children playing will tell you that Diné still live here. Alfalfa, corn fields, and small orchards surround the traditional log hogans on the canyon floor. To Diné the canyon means more than a summer home or a place to raise sheep and corn. The Diné culture emerged from this land.

My brother and I witnessed that as we explored the variety of overlooks scattered about the mesas peering into the canyons. There were school buses full of excited native children here to learn about the precious culture. It was evident in the broad smiles on their faces, and the joy in their playful screams and shouts.

Your visit to Canyon de Chelly National Monument will take you on two drives known simply as the North Rim Drive and the South Rim Drive. Rangers and Diné at the Visitor Center can help you plan your visit. Start here for information, exhibits, and a bookstore. It is best to start your adventure on the North Rim early in the morning because of the proximity of the rising sun. That bright sun creates a stark contrast between the glowing canyon rims and the dark shadows of the floor far below.

The North Rim follows Canyon del Muerto to three overlooks, starting with Antelope House. Intriguing cliff dwellings are found along this 34 mile round trip. You are driving through the Navajo Reservation on your way to the viewpoints. Once you reach Antelope House Overlook it is a quarter mile walk to the cliff’s edge. When I caught my first glimpse into the canyon I understood why this area is so revered. The landscape is glorious. It is a diversity of color: from the shining red sandstone of the cliff walls, to the azure desert sky, and the verdant fields on the canyon floor. The ruins found at Antelope House date to the 1300s.

The next stop on your venture out the North Rim Drive is the twin overlooks known as Mummy Cave and Massacre Cave. The Mummy Cave ruin is one of the largest ancestral Puebloan villages in the canyon. In 1,280 AD people who migrated from Mesa Verde built the tower complex that rests on the central ledge. We encountered a group of college-aged archaeology students on a field trip here, equally as excited as the Navajo school children. Massacre Cave refers to the Navajo killed here in the winter of 1805 by a Spanish military expedition. More than a hundred were killed on the ledge above the canyon floor.

The South Rim Drive offers panoramic views of Canyon de Chelly, Defiance Plateau, and the Chuska Mountains. Watch for changes in vegetation and geology as the elevation rises from the Visitor Center at the mouth of the canyon, to Spider Rock, the end point of the drive. Perhaps you have seen iconic images from Canyon de Chelly as you tour landscape photography websites. Likely those images are of Spider Rock.

Spider Rock is an 800-foot sandstone spire that rises from the canyon floor at the junction of Canyon de Chelly and Monument Canyon. From the overlook you can see the volcanic core of Black Rock Butte and the Chuska Mountains on the horizon. Traditional stories of the Diné elders tell of the “Spider Woman” who wove her web of the universe and taught Diné to create beauty in their own life and spread the “Beauty Way” teaching of balance within the mind, body, and soul.

Dave and I spent an hour just at the Spider Rock Overlook. We had lunch there. I can’t speak for him, but my jaw dropped at the sheer beauty of the place. A dear friend, and Arizona native, described to me how she was so moved that she wept at the exquisite scene, the history, and the culture. It is a sight that everyone should behold at least once in their life. Hopefully the photo at the top of this post will entice you to try some day. Click it for a larger image.

The next stop along the South Rim Drive is Face Rock, followed by Sliding House, then White House Overlook. One of the features of the latter is the White House Trail. This 2.5 mile round trip hike is the only place where you may enter the canyon without a permit or an authorized Navajo guide. Allow two hours. Ancestral Puebloans built and occupied the site that is now the White House ruins about one thousand years ago. It is named for a long white plaster wall in the upper dwelling.

Private vendors offer hiking, backcountry camping, horseback and 4-wheel-drive tours into the canyon with an authorized guide. Prices vary with the type, length, and difficulty of the trip. Information may be obtained at the Visitor Center.

As we continued west along the South Rim Drive we were treated to native horses grazing on the sage and other desert scrub that lines the road. Picturesque puffy white clouds were popping up over the Chinle Valley adding to the aesthetic at each succeeding overlook. We were fortunate to have one of those crystal clear desert sky days where you can see for miles without the distraction of haze or blowing dirt. The surrounding mesas with names like Ventana and Carson were clearly in evidence.

The Junction Overlook is named for the confluence of Canyon del Muerto and Canyon de Chelly. You have perhaps the best view of Chinle Valley here. Junction Overlook, as well as several of the others, has wheelchair accessible viewing. The final two stops on the South Rim Drive are the Tsegi and Tunnel Overlooks. You can see how the depth of the canyon has diminished, to no more than 30 feet, as you return to the Visitor Center.

In summary, Canyon de Chelly is really more of a sightseeing destination than it is one for hiking. You can take the White House Trail, or hire a Diné guide, but most of the enjoyment here comes from the overlooks perched on the cliff tops. Keep in mind that despite this being a National Monument, you are on Navajo Reservation. Please respect the Navajo property rights. Don’t drive off road, or hike without permission. Also ask permission before photographing or painting Diné people.

We spent about five hours within the National Monument and got a good overview of what Canyon de Chelly is all about. Yes, it’s about absolutely stunning scenery, but it is also about history and culture. People have lived in these canyons for nearly 5,000 years — longer than anyone has lived uninterrupted elsewhere on the Colorado Plateau. When you go, see if you can feel the aura of the earliest settlers, the Basketmakers, the Puebloans, Hopi and Diné.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.

Located on the very southern tip of the Kaibab Plateau, and the prime vista location for the North Rim of Grand Canyon, Bright Angel Point offers a bird’s-eye view of the meeting of Roaring Springs Canyon and Transept Canyon at the Bright Angel Fault. It is 4/10 mile from Grand Canyon Lodge to the point on a paved trail that offers several overlooks along the way. High altitude (8,148′) and an elevation change of 200 feet warrant extra caution for those with heart or respiratory conditions, so take your time. The trail is high above the canyons, and very narrow at points, so if you have extreme acrophobia, you may want to be wary on this one. Watch too for lightning storms, as this area is very exposed. We hiked to Bright Angel Point on Wednesday, October 15, 2014 beginning at 5:30PM and ending about 6:30PM after finishing our hike on the North Kaibab Trail. Our plan was to catch the sunset.

My brother and I still had some energy left after hiking down into the canyon on the North Kaibab Trail, and no visit to the North Rim of Grand Canyon is complete without seeing Bright Angel Point, so off we went. It’s about a mile and a half from the North Kaibab Trailhead to Grand Canyon Lodge at the terminus of the North Rim.

This is touristy Grand Canyon. There is a parking lot large enough to accommodate at least a hundred cars. The Grand Canyon Lodge is one of those quaint, environmentally sensitive structures on the North Rim that complement rather than conflict with their setting. Consisting of a main lodge and a dozen cabins, lodging here is reasonably priced, as long as you don’t come during peak season. You can experience fine dining, mule rides into the canyon, hiking, and of course, the allure of Bright Angel Point.

That allure is what brought us on this beautiful October evening. As we hit the trail toward the point, we noticed immediately the difference in plants out here. Whereas we walked among fir and aspen and scrub oak on North Kaibab, here on the point trail the ravages of time limit the vegetation to gnarly juniper and pinyon pine. But the ones that are here have been here… for a long time. There is one particularly hearty juniper that is 600 years old.

Down in the canyon, multicolored rock layers record the rise and fall of oceans and continents. That’s the fascinating thing about the walls of Grand Canyon. The layers of red and white and orange tell tales of the formation of this grand hole in the ground, written over two billion years. The North Rim is a good thousand feet higher than the South Rim, a result of the tremendous geologic uplift that has occurred.

Though invisible at Bright Angel Point, the Colorado River is the erosive force responsible for the depth of Grand Canyon. Over the past 5 million years or so, it has carved a canyon a mile deep. The canyon overlook at Bright Angel Point is above Bright Angel Creek, one of the major tributaries of the river. The name Bright Angel originated on John Wesley Powell’s pioneering exploration of the Colorado River in 1869. Powell regretted having named a muddy creek upstream the “Dirty Devil.” Later, when he found a creek with sparkling clear water, he gave it the more reverent name, “Bright Angel,” after a character in Milton’s Paradise Lost.

The large tributary canyon to the east (on your left as you walk out to the point) is Roaring Springs Canyon, a major source for Bright Angel Creek. That’s the canyon you are hiking in on the North Kaibab Trail. The main origin of water for both of these drainages is Roaring Springs. Water from Roaring Springs is pumped to the North Rim for use at the lodge and campground, as well as to watering holes for hikers and mule trains along the canyon trails. During snow melt season, Roaring Springs is flowing so strong that it can be heard from Bright Angel Point, 4,000 feet above on the canyon rim.

Farther out toward the point, plants give way to bare rock. The rocks appear worn and in some places precarious. Chances of the rocks giving way beneath you on any particular day are exceedingly small, yet you can feel and see signs of erosion. One particular spot very near the point is especially dicey. They had to construct a narrow foot bridge to reach the point. The drop on each side is precipitous. Fortunately, for those like me who aren’t fond of heights and edges, there are handrails.

An example of Grand Canyon’s dynamic forces occurred on January 3, 1991, in The Transept, the large tributary canyon to your right as you walk out to the point. A massive section of Coconino Sandstone (the light-colored layer of rock near the top) succumbed to gravity and erosion, cascading into the canyon and trailing debris along thousands of feet of canyon wall. In 1992 similar landslides closed several major trails. So, y’know, erosion does happen. Watch your step. I’m just sayin’.

Bright Angel Point is large enough for about a dozen people. While we were on the point, there were no more than four at any one time. The overlook is surrounded by a waist-high chain link fence that will help you feel secure. Roaring Springs Canyon and Transept Canyon meet directly below the point within what is called the Bright Angel Fault. The fault is still active, occasionally startling visitors when it slips. If you look closely you may see Bright Angel Trail coming down from the South Rim.

On the way back, there are a couple more caged-in observation points with excellent views of the depth of Transept Canyon and of the stunning architecture of Grand Canyon Lodge. The present-day lodge is the second incarnation, as an unfortunate 1932 fire destroyed the original building only a few years after its completion. Architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood designed a rustic lodge and cabins rather than a single hotel unit that seem natural among the surroundings. When you get back to the lodge, you can continue on the Transept Trail for more canyon views and a pathway to the North Rim campground.

To summarize, whether you came to North Rim of Grand Canyon to hobnob, or to get out on the trails, you owe it to yourself to at least check out Bright Angel Point. You may not even have to break a sweat. While not as popular (or crowded) as the South Rim, the North is forested, not barren, so it makes for an extremely pleasant experience.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.

The North Rim of the Grand Canyon doesn’t get nearly the traffic as its more touristy neighbor to the south. For one thing, it is a lot more remote. The North Kaibab Trail is the most difficult of the three trails that dissect the canyon, but it also holds the most varied ecosystem. Somewhat surprisingly, it is forested. With fir and aspen and scrub oak, along with ferns and assorted wildflowers, the North Rim enjoys the color of the seasons. The trail descends through redwall limestone, then the Supai Formation, consisting of mostly bright red slate. You can go all the way to the Colorado River, or even beyond to the other rim. But if you’re looking for a delightful day hike, drop down off the North Rim about 2,000 feet or so, then return. My brother and I hiked the North Kaibab Trail on Wednesday, October 15, 2014 beginning at 11:00AM and ending about 3:45PM. Our plan was to descend the North Kaibab Trail approximately 2,000 feet or three hours, whichever came first… then return the same way.

My brother (the other Internet Brother) and I started our day at the local BLM office in Kanab, Utah. We got ourselves in the lottery for The Wave, hoping to gain two of the ten daily permits given to hike this iconic wilderness. Unfortunately, it was not our lucky day, so off to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon we went.

We headed south on Hwy 89A into Arizona, past the Pink Cliffs, and on to Jacob Lake where we got on Hwy 67, a national scenic byway. The Kaibab Plateau-North Rim Parkway traverses beautiful land even before it reaches the spectacular North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Kaibab is a Paiute Indian word meaning “mountain lying down.” The Kaibab Plateau is part of a 65-million-year-old folding of the Earth’s crust that pushed the level land upward 3,000 feet – indeed a mountain lying down.

When you think of Arizona, you usually think of dry, dusty desert. You think of brown… not the beautiful green of the ponderosa and lodgepole pines that fill this northwestern corner of the state. Unfortunately though, the long-term drought that has plagued the American West has also affected this scenic plateau. Major forest fires in the North Kaibab Ranger District have devastated mile upon mile of the stunning pine forest along the parkway. It’s in stark contrast to the still healthy portions of the forest. It is truly sad that such beauty has been wiped away.

The Grand Canyon National Park entry station is approximately 15 miles north of the tourist area of the North Rim, including Bright Angel Point, the Grand Canyon Lodge and campground, and our destination, the North Kaibab trailhead. Soon after we passed through the gate, we encountered a surprise bison herd in the large meadows alongside the parkway. Brought to the North Kaibab area in the early 1900s, the herd migrated south into Grand Canyon National Park in the 1990s. Surprised me.

We arrived at the trailhead about 11:00, a lot later than we usually start hiking, but we killed two hours of our morning at The Wave Lottery. This meant we would be hiking down in the canyon during the warmest part of the day. Better make sure we have plenty of water and sunscreen. By this time, the trailhead parking lot was completely full, so we joined the dozens of other vehicles that were parked along the side of the road.

Within the first 10 minutes on the trail, we met the first mule train coming up out of the canyon. Continuing down the trail where the mules had been, we hoped there wouldn’t be many more because of the piles that were left behind. The last rider in line even apologized as he passed for what we would be encountering. It was our good fortune that we saw no other mules the rest of the day.

The North Kaibab Trail actually descends Roaring Springs Canyon, not “The Grand Canyon.” Several miles down, at the Colorado River, it meets the Grand, but it’s really just a matter of semantics. It is still wonderful… but also not what I expected. I’ve been to the South Rim before, many decades ago when I was still a teen. The views there are spectacular, but it’s barren. The North Rim is forested, like the Kaibab Plateau. It is filled with fir and aspen, with scrub oak and other deciduous trees that were displaying their full Autumn regalia on this mid-October day. Another delightful surprise.

We learned as we continued descending into the canyon of the many layers of rock that form the canyon walls. Along the rim is what they call redwall limestone. Mostly white, it is also laced with seams of yellow, orange, and red. About 45 minutes down, we reached Coconino Overlook, a large limestone outcrop that enables views deep into Roaring Springs Canyon, as well as far distant to the San Francisco Peaks scores of miles away.

As you descend below the limestone layer, you enter the Supai Formation, a thicker layer of mostly very bright red slate. The photo at the top of this post was taken of my brother while we were hiking this Supai layer. Deposited millions of years ago when the plateau was covered by a great sea, they say there are many amphibian fossils in this layer, so keep your eyes peeled. The trail itself is dusty and sandy, unlike the more rocky, solid base of the limestone layer.

The next landmark is Supai Tunnel, a kind of way-station for the mule trains and weary hikers. Believe it or not, there is a water fountain here, pumped up from Roaring Springs, a major feature of the North Kaibab Trail that also serves as the water source for the North Rim. Amazingly enough, there is also a pit toilet. This rest area is 1.7 miles below the trailhead. This is a nice place to pause for a snack and refill your water supply, if needed.

The tunnel itself is about 25 feet long, carved through the red slate. A remnant of the original trail, it keeps you from having to drop off a 20 foot ledge. Once you get on the down side of the tunnel, you catch the first glimpse of a bridge across Bright Angel Creek nearly two miles below. My brother and I took inventory of how long we had been hiking (about 90 minutes) and how far down we had gone (1,500 feet). That bridge looked like a reasonable goal for the turnaround point.

It took a little over a half hour to get there. It was easy, fast going as the trail between the tunnel and the bridge is a series of long switchbacks down a major ledge in the Supai layer. Everything is really red here… the rocks of the canyon walls and the dirt of the trail tread. We saw unusual vegetation like Kaibab agave, a very tall yellow-green plant with bulbous yellow flowers. The plant was used for food and fiber by local Native American peoples such as the Havasupai, and to make blankets by the Navajo.

The bridge across Bright Angel Creek provides a nice platform for looking down canyon toward the Roaring Springs area. From this point, the North Kaibab Trail climbs up above the canyon floor and follows a ridge another mile, and another 800 feet down, to the springs. For us, is was a nice place to rest, drink some water, and eat a snack to prepare for the long, 2,200 foot climb back up. We resolved to take it slow, but steady. It was just past 1:00 in the afternoon.

For the next 90 minutes we climbed back through the Supai layer 1,400 feet to the ledge at the tunnel. There were fewer and fewer people coming down now, both for the distance from the trailhead, and for the lateness of the day. You certainly don’t want to get too far down in the canyon with only day hiking provisions and nothing to sleep in. It will get cold overnight in October, and dark by 6:30.

The sun was at its peak now. We were down to shorts and t-shirts as it felt to be about 80°. I was making sure to drink lots of water to stay hydrated in the dry high desert air. When we reached the tunnel and the water fountain, I checked the water level in my pack and topped off just to be safe.

We joined a cadre of hikers hanging out there taking inventory of who was where. There were several questions asked and answered about who we had seen where and when, including the unmistakable character we had first met at Observation Point in Zion a couple days earlier. While we energized with food, it was also refreshing to hear the care and concern by other hikers for those still out on the trail.

We had roughly 800 feet and 1.7 miles to go back to the rim. The sun was beginning to set behind the tall canyon walls of the limestone rim. The shade provided by the rim, and by the forest we were now re-entering was a nice relief from the afternoon heat. Our plan of slow, but steady was working really well. We were making the climb at almost the same pace we descended. I had estimated at least a three and a half hour ascent, but we were doing a lot better than that.

We paused one last time at Coconino Overlook for another snack. While looking around I saw a critter that is common to this area. Known as the Kaibab squirrel, it has an all black body and a white tail. It’s no wonder it seemed unusual to me. The Kaibab Plateau is the only place in the world where it is found. Another surprise. We saw another one later in the evening out near Grand Canyon Lodge.

In the late afternoon sun, the scrub oak was really beginning to glow. The final half hour through the colorful fall foliage was delightful. It was a treat I hadn’t expected within the walls of the Grand Canyon, so this had been a day full of surprises.

I had done really well on the climb, but finally started to tire about the last ten minutes. The timing of the completion was ideal. If we had another mile, I would have been very fatigued. Otherwise, I felt great. We even had our own cheer squad at the trailhead, offering a “good job” as we popped back onto the North Rim. It had only taken us two hours, forty five minutes to get back up from the bridge over the creek. Not bad. Not bad at all. Our plan now was to go explore the lodge area and Bright Angel Point.

To summarize this day hike of the North Kaibab Trail, it is entirely different from the South Rim of Grand Canyon. I think it’s prettier. Sure, you don’t have the same massive vistas that you do on the south side, but you also don’t have the lovely forest over there either. If you want to go farther, you can, all the way 14 miles to the Colorado River. But if you’re searching for a nice five hour day hike within the Grand Canyon, then just go as far as your comfort zone. Maybe it’s only to Supai Tunnel, or maybe you go even farther than we did by continuing to Roaring Springs.

The drive through Kaibab National Forest, past the large meadows that flank the scenic byway, and into the national park is also quite memorable. There are other roads that delve deep into the canyon country within the Kaibab with miles and miles of trails. We already have those marked on our to do list for future adventures. Do this some time. You’ll enjoy it. We sure did.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.