Sweeping the North Rim of the Grand Canyon

September, 2007

By Ray Hanson, Lander, WY

“I remember our route today as being fairly easy with a few up hills,” said Chris, co-leader of Adventure Cycling Association’s North Rim of the Grand Canyon self-contained six day mountain bike tour to the 14 participants. Chris had researched the route a few years back and was trying to recall the details. Our first day’s ride of 33 miles would end at a primitive campsite on the Kaibab Plateau overlooking the Grand Canyon. As co-leader of this tour I was pretty clueless to the route. Only a half-hour earlier did I receive a map and cue sheet that showed and described the 165 miles of dirt roads and single track trail we would be riding on for five of the next six days. When you’re the co-leader of a tour with no knowledge of the route’s location or conditions – hills, riding surface, prevailing winds, etc. – it’s a no-brainer to volunteer for sweep duty. As sweep I carried the group’s tool and first aid kits. What’s another 10 pounds of gear when you’re pulling a BOB trailer loaded with 60 pounds of gear? Plenty let me tell you! If trouble did occur out front I’d eventually ride up on it to assist the needy with bike, trailer, or body repairs. I’d also be gathering up the safety triangles Chris would hang at the crucial turns to assist the rest of us with following each day’s route.

As the riders pedaled off from Jacob Lake late in the morning of this first day of tour number one I gave them a good 30 minute head start so as not to put pressure on them to ride faster than they were comfortable. Finally, I shoved off to begin riding through beautiful Ponderosa pine forests in the Kaibab National Forest. Soon our route dropped 1,000 feet into a drier, hotter landscape of oak and brush before the start of the day’s climb to gain back those thousand feet of decent and return to the shade afforded by the large pines.

After a couple of hours of riding I spotted riders struggling uphill toward Big Springs, a Forest Service work center at Mile 15, our only potable water source on today’s ride. “Beautiful day for a ride don’t you think?” I greeted Katy and Art as I rode along side them. Through sweat burning eyes they agreed with my assessment. We continued our ride toward Crazy Jug Point, our primitive campsite for the evening, gaining valuable elevation and cooler temperatures. As all cyclists know, the end of a day’s ride is usually capped off with either a headwind or a long steep hill. This afternoon the winds were calm as we approached within one mile of the campsite. “What’s that?” yelled Art as the long steep hill came into view. Well, I like a challenge from time to time and this was mine for the taking. As Katy and Art began pushing their bikes and BOBs upward, I rode on. A thought crossed my mine though. As sweep I probably shouldn’t have riders behind me. Oh well, it was only another mile to camp. Hopefully, nothing would go wrong that would require my attention. As I struggled along in granny gear on the steep rocky slope I was fooled several times by false summits that often play tricks with cyclists. Finally, I could hear voices up ahead. As I passed Sam and John pushing their loaded bikes they cheered me on as I rode through the lactic acid burn intensifying in my legs. At last I topped out and found the other tour members at our campsite. Soon, Sam, John, Katy, and then Art rolled into camp. I had lucked out. I didn’t have to ride down, and then back up, that tough hill to assist them with any bike or body repairs. It was a beautiful day for a ride after all!

After a dinner of chewy freeze dried entrees, a side of noodles with tuna fish, and something identified on the packaging as dessert, Chris and I discussed the day’s ride – how were the riders’ fitness levels, the trail worthiness of their bikes and BOBs or panniers, and any complaints yet? We both felt good that while some riders walked segments of the hills we encountered today, their overall fitness level as well as the tour worthiness of bikes and other gear was good. Neither of us had heard any major complaints yet, but there were still four days of tough riding to go. I didn’t consider the comments about the freeze dried food derogatory.

Chris and I were leading the two inaugural North Rim of the Grand Canyon self-contained mountain bike tours from September 4-9 and 10-15 for Adventure Cycling. Yep, there was no rest between tours for the co-leaders. On the evening of the 9^th I returned to St. George, UT; with group one, from where we’d been shuttled to Jacob Lake earlier in the week. Saying goodbye to group one while greeting group two went quite smoothly. Group-one was very tight lipped about their experiences so as not to give away too much information to the riders about to depart on their own adventure. I spent the next four hours assisting group-two with gear issues, late night shopping for week-two food, grabbing some dinner, washing my clothes, doing bike maintenance, and taking a shower. Pulling a lounge chair pool-side at the RV Park where we were staying, after midnight, was priceless. Up at 5:30 AM to get things ready for lap two of the tour route was kind of a drag though. Chris had been doing his own running around by driving his vehicle out to the three primitive campsites to refill the cache of water we’d be using on the second week of touring. He met us at Jacob Lake for the start of lap two.

Our route utilized forest roads much of the time, some of which were excessively steep and rocky. Chris offered a bottle of wine to anyone who could ride the steepest, rockiest ¼-mile section of 10%+ grade on day-two of each tour. He knew a sure bet when he made one. No one came close to succeeding. We also experienced technical riding with fully loaded bikes on day-two as we rode 15 miles of single track on the Rainbow Trail. We were rewarded at several vista points with spectacular views of the canyon and its side drainages as the trail skirted the canyon’s rim. The trail ducked into forested drainages before turning back toward the canyon to be rewarded with another awesome canyon view before concluding at our second night’s campsite.

On day three we rode into Grand Canyon National Park using a combination of forest roads and paved highway. Within the park we rode some more pavement and portions of the Arizona Trail, a designated north-south route from Utah to Mexico, to our two night stay at the park’s campsite within 100’ of the canyon’s rim. A hiking trail from our tents led us to the North Rim Lodge where we enjoyed dinners on two evenings. A nice respite from freeze dried dinners. On day-four, an off-day, several in the group ventured off to hike on trails leading to vista points or to enjoy fresh coffee or micro brews from chairs lining the stone decks at the lodge.

Day five found us riding north to exit the park. Eventually, a forest road took us to the East Rim View Point where a primitive campsite tucked into a grove of aspen provided a beautiful setting. Several of us stashed our gear and trailers in camp and took in 15 miles of forest roads and Arizona Trail single track to experience the thrill of weightlessness, from the standpoint of being 60 pounds lighter without the trailers.

Our final day of riding used a blend of the Arizona Trail, paved highway, and forest roads to bring us back to Jacob Lake by mid-afternoon. After loading the bikes and gear on the shuttle van and trailer and saying good-bye to those that had driven their vehicles to Jacob Lake we began the two hour drive back to St. George, UT to end each of the inaugural tours on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

During the summer of 2007 I had the pleasure to lead three self-contained mountain bike tours for Adventure Cycling. My third tour was a 12-day tour along Adventure Cycling’s Great Divide Mountain Bike Route from Salida, CO to near Taos, NM. For 2008, Adventure Cycling (http://www.adventurecycling.org) will be offering an array of tours, both self-contained and supported, as well as several cycling events. I hope to add three more tours to my resume during 2008.