Fall 2023 Trip - North Rim of the GC

It's that time of year. Time to discuss our yearly trip. Feel free to chime in if you want to join us.

The dates have been decided upon. This trip will take place between September 9th (Saturday) thru the 16th (Saturday)!

The Plan:
- To travel from the eastern side of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon (Lee's Ferry/Vermillion Cliff starting point) to as far west along the northern side of the canyon as we get (south of Fredonia).

The Daily Itinerary:

Friday, September 8th - Individual/Group travel to the Friday night campsite near Lee's Ferry. 260 miles for me.

Saturday - Cathedral Wash Canyon hike (3 hours) in the am, then a handful of pitstops along 89A to White Pocket for exploration and camp. ~58 miles of driving, ~15 are technical.

Sunday - White Pocket to Coyote Butte South. I have secured permits for 6 of us to gain access to hike inside of Coyote Butte South. Expect 5-7 hours of hiking/exploring if you want in. Camp at Coyote Butte South. Communal fire so we can all make tinfoil dinners with supplies I will bring. ~10 technical miles of driving.

Monday - Quick breakfast then to Jacobs Lake for gas (104 miles between gas stops). Then to North Rim Visitor Center for super short hike and to check out the building. Then to Point Sublime for camp that night. ~98 miles this day, mostly paved.

Tuesday - Slow breakfast, then to Kanabownits Fire Tower to check it out and Tipover Spring. Then to Locust Point for campsite directly on the edge of the canyon. Backup sites at North Timp in case Locust is full. Rainbow Rim Trail hike for those that want to partake. 25 miles this day, all offroad.

Wednesday - Leave Locust/Timp and head to Dry Park Fire Tower (if Kanabownits was a bust). Quick side trip out to Demotte Campground to refill on gas (150 miles between fill-ups) for those that want to top off their tank. 8 miles of well-graded dirt roads to gas station fyi. Smaller FR road to Crazy Jug for the night. Can hike/explore the edge of the canyon. ~50 miles this day, ~15 being technical.

Thursday - Breakfast at Crazy Jug and then 13.5 miles to Sowats Point. Lots of small FR roads to explore, but main attraction of the day is Jumpup Trail #8 which leads us down and into the canyon. No limit on attendees, but it's 8.4 miles and 2,000 ft elevation, so ~5 hours of hiking in the canyon. Super excited about this. Camp at Sowats Point.

Friday - Time to get to Jumpup Point Campsite. ~40 miles offroad, with ~10 miles being technical/tricky. Relax with each other and hike/explore the canyons edge around camp. Last night together, so another communal meal. Maybe Will can bust out his trip specialty.

Saturday - Slow morning and pack up camp. ~50 miles of good FR roads to Fredonia for gas (125 miles from last fill up), say our goodbyes, and then 6 hours of driving for me to get home.

As you can see, this is not a trip of massive mileage or long periods of seat time. This trip will not cover the entirety of the North Rim. West of Fredonia the area opens up with less attractions, the distances become large, and there are many trip reports/writeups of getting to camp later in the day after a whole days driving. Not my style and not what I wanted for this trip.

There are activities/things to do/check out for those who don't want to hike all over the place, and I'll share those when I finalize the GPS tracks in Gaia.

No hard feelings if after seeing the itinerary you no longer want to join in. I completely understand if this trip doesn't contain enough of the prominent North Rim attractions to warrant your time and resources.

What I aimed for with this trip:
- Taking it slow. I'm talking seriously slow. Stopping for group photos, to read info signs, to walk to picturesque views, to check out cool bits of terrain, etc.
- Feet time. I am heavily prioritizing out of vehicle activities this trip. Mainly hikes and localized exploration of interesting areas (White Pocket, the Rim itself, etc.).
- We will be spending A LOT of time looking at and being near the Grand Canyon.
- We will spend a lot of time stopping and taking pictures of our trucks. I want a bunch of good ones at the end of the trip.
- A Saturday to the following Saturday for the trip length.

Vehicle Requirements:
- None other than 4wd, this trip will be OEM friendly in all other regards. The area around White pocket and Coyote Butte South is very sandy, and I read a lot of reviews where people either got stuck themselves or saw vehicles that were stuck in the sand. No one specified vehicle type. If you are 100% OEM (tires and all) you may have slight difficulties, but there are many in the group who will have zero issues who can lend a hand.

Vehicle 'Would be nice to haves':
- Skids (nothing technical is planned, but we will be on roads that have rocks embedded into the surface)
- More aggressive tires (airing down is very comfortable)
- GMRS radio, preferably vehicle mounted (many of us also use HAM, but none of us do CB)
- Gaia/OnX/GPS based, downloadable map program

Rules of Engagement (these all come from our actual experiences/interactions, so don't laugh too hard):
- No day time drug/alcohol use will be tolerated. Do whatever you like at night, after we are done driving for the day, but we will not convoy with someone who is impaired in that way.
- The head and trail vehicles have already been selected for this trip. Their positions will not change under any circumstance, and everyone else can be in whatever order they want in between.
- You do not have to have a radio, or be competent at following the GPS tracks that I will share, but it is your responsibility to stay in the convoy and to keep eyes on a vehicle that you know has the GPS track if that is the case.
- If you break from the group to get gas/food on your own, it is your responsibility to get back to the group. All of us will be self-sufficient for the entirety of the trip, only stopping for gas at the predetermined stops.
- No generators/loud things at camp. We like it quiet.

How our typical group dynamic works:
- 5-7 of us have been adventuring together for years now, and we get along well.
- Alcohol at night, but never to a degree that is excessive. Most of us turn in around 9-10 pm, and we all enjoy a quiet campsite.
- Politics/that heavy shit stays back at home. We come out to nature to escape that type of stuff. We like discussing Tacomas, future trips, past trips, our lives, etc.
- We usually share a meal or two together, courtesy of Will and his excellent culinary skills.
- Mornings are generally 'slow', with departure times of around 10 am being very common.
- Most of us have trucks that are loaded with a bunch of stuff that allow us to help each other out in most every way. Extra power for recharging batteries, extra fridge space to keep food cold, etc. and we are happy to help out.

We use Signal to discuss a ton of the particulars of the trip, so we can add you to that discussion once you are confirmed. Please only confirm if you are pretty serious about joining us on the trip.

Things we need and don't need:
- Probably no need to carry extra gasoline, but use your own discretion. Our longest distance between gas stops is only 150 miles.
- A chainsaw of some sort. I can't guarantee there will be down trees, but a few reports did mention downed trees at various times of the year, so best to be prepared. I will have a DeWalt sawzall, but it would have a hard time cutting through a large tree.
- Firewood. All nights except for Point Sublime allow for wood fires (currently, will check with NPS right before we begin). In my experience we will have adequate firewood from fallen trees for Wed, Thurs, and Friday nights. Tuesday may also have downed trees, but Sublime is far more popular than Crazy Jug, so it may all be snatched up.
- LPG fire for the one night at Point Sublime, if we all agree its worth someone carrying the thing for a single night. Average temps in September for the North Rim are 69 during the day and 39 at night, fyi.

Two of our previous trips:
- The Longest Mile: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-longest-mile.738348/
- Lost in the Maze: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/lost-in-the-maze-september-2022.782171/

Some photos from previous trips to get that hype train rolling:

TLM - Day 3 - 15 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

TLM - Day 6 - 32 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

LM - Day 4 - 03 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

LM - Day 5 - 08 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

_MG_2082 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

_MG_2395 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

_MG_2600 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

_MG_2790 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

_MG_4303 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

_MG_3924-Pano by Brent Prater, on Flickr

_MG_3618 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

Confirmed:
Mike @MR E30 (Head vehicle)
Alan @TailHook
Will @Sixthelement (Trail vehicle)
Brent @PcBuilder14
Sean @Psybain
Robert @azshooter40
Matthew @Bishop4WD
Matt @OnePuttBlunder
Dave @cookiedough (Join Monday at N. Rim VC)


Maybe:
Brad @Rudimentality

- Mike

 

For those that are confirmed going, I'll DM you the link for the Signal chat...

 

Very interested. Already have the 9-17th scheduled off and was planning on a North rim trip.

 

I can vouch for Rob

 

I’m in!

 

Interested pm'ed op

 

I cant make the dates, but I will be lurking for future trip ideas.

Best of luck. Garage in Flagstaff with tools if anyone needs support.

 

Watching - whether it's a Buffalo Ranch or Winter Rd start and a Mt Trumbull/Toroweep end this sounds amazing. Have a Maine trip planned with the family for fall leaves, but will be watching. OEM friendly and the current subscribers is incredibly enticing. The Longest Mile and Lost in the Maze were amazing and inspirational reads, but beyond my abilities from a technical off-roading perspective.

 

@PcBuilder14 did elephant hill stock except sliders.
We could get a stock truck through the Maze easy also. Just slower on some parts is all.

 

Yup! Sliders and skids are all you need on a 4x4 Tacoma to get through quite a bit out there.

 

I already mentioned it in the signal chat, but just to make it official, I'm down for the fall trip if there's still room.

 

I'll add you to the list of confirmed.

 

Now that the dates are confirmed, would like to join if still room.

 

Alright, I'll add you to the confirmed list.

 

Sounds like a cool trip, do you have room for another? Heading to Sierra Vista tomorrow to run AZBDR, but looks like I will miss the rim rd. portion.
Sam

 

Welcome to my neck of the woods. I visited the PB/La Jolla area a number of times as a kid to see family, and spent 4 yrs there in the Marines.

 

ahaha I'm Sean btw, not Michael.

 

Count me in!

 

I just stayed 2 nights at the Tuweep campground, and it's fantastic. If it's a weekend might want to book the group site soon just to be sure it's available.

 

Added to the list.

To everyone who has confirmed that they will be attending this trip, download the Signal app and message @TailHook with your info so he can get you added to the chat. I am going to be bouncing ideas around in there, as its way faster to communicate than TW, so if you want to provide input that's one way you can do it.

Only message him if you are added to the confirmed list in the OP.

I'll summarize our conclusions here in this thread, in the OP.