summit snapshots...: Grand Canyon

It was hard to find the motivation to leave Bishop because we were having such fun climbing and the scenery and camping were great. So, with much hesitation, we packed up and hit the road, leaving in the evening with the hope that Kye would sleep for the trip. We drove through Death Valley and ended up near Las Vegas around 3am. Somehow, in our sleep-deprived state, we mistook the Red Rocks Visitor Center for the campground and puzzled over how the gate could be closed with campers inside. [The Red Rocks campground was further down the road, we discovered the next morning.]

We pulled into a large, vacant parking lot of a private resort and popped the top to sleep. We knew there was a good chance that we could get chased out of there but exhaustion overruled. Sure enough, at around 5 am, we awoke to a grumpy property owner. Thankfully, he didn't call the cops and was nice enough to point out safe, secluded camping nearby. After a couple more hours of snoozing, we ate a disappointing breakfast, got more groceries, drove the Vegas strip, and then hit the road for the Grand Canyon.

About halfway through the day, Kye had a pretty big meltdown which landed us in a gas station parking lot for a few hours. Much discussion was had about bailing on the Grand and returning to Bishop, or bailing on the trip altogether. Thankfully, when we hit the road again, Kye went to sleep.

While Kye was sleeping, we discussed our options. We chose the North Rim because it was a more quiet, secluded experience. The idea was to either head to the campgrounds at the North Rim main area, or, more ambitiously, to drive the 61-mile dirt road to Toroweap, a remote park service campground. The access road is washboardy and requires a high clearance vehicle to go over some difficult, rocky terrain, however reviews of the camping promise it to be a Grand Canyon experience unlike any other. The park service warns that 25% of people that go in to Toroweap get one or more flat tires, many people break down or get stuck, and there is no assistance if you have problems. They also warn that if you need a tow, it averages close to $2000! However, we had everything we needed for tire repairs, and felt we could be conservative in our driving to avoid such difficulties.

So, it was about 6pm when we reached the turn-off for Toroweap....hmmm, still no decision. We had no idea what the weather forecast was and worried about getting stuck out there, due to the fact that the road is prone to flash flooding. We could go the safe route or the adventurous route. After a little more debate, we decided to run into the nearest town to top-off on fuel and water and then go for it. Because it was dark, we drove pretty slow, especially the last 5 miles. Kye slept almost the entire time, and we made it safely to camp at about 11pm. It was pretty technical terrain for the last 5 miles, especially for such a long, heavy truck, but we had no issues. There was just one other person camping so we had our choice of campsites. It was hard picking a spot as they were all nice. Finally, we decided on one and set up the camper for the night.

Toroweap is an amazing place, I would say that it is hands-down the most amazing place Heather and I have ever vehicle-camped. Being so close to the canyon, the scenery is unreal and the quiet is indescribable. Three days here and we didn't want to leave. We will be going back and spending more time there sometime in the future.