Camping at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is an annual thing now, and I love it!
Last year, I went on the first of (hopefully) many camping trips along the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. I’ve written a little bit about this before, but the northern Arizona Returned Peace Corps Volunteers adopted a section of the Grand Canyon Highway, which leads to the North Rim, and are now obligated to perform trash pick-ups along a two-mile stretch twice a year.
Which means, the northern Arizona Returned Peace Corps Volunteers are also obligated to go camping up on the North Rim twice a year as well. Those are the rules.
Jane and I had originally made plans to go for the early summer trash pick-up, but that trip ended up falling through.
(Long story short, last December, Jane and I made the mistake of agreeing to share a site with another RPCV. That RPCV booked the site in her name, and then ended up uninviting us from the campsite shortly before the trip so she could use it to host someone else. Campsites book up six months in advance, so we were completely screwed. I ended up going paddle boarding at East Clear Creek instead.)
But, luckily, the friends we booked a site with this time held up their end of the deal, so we had zero issues!
After a four-hour drive, we got up to DeMotte Campground on the Kaibab National Forest Friday night, set up our camp right as the sun set, and then ate veggie brats and like six s’mores before passing out.
Then, we spent Saturday morning eating breakfast (blueberry pancakes), knitting, and eating lunch (more veggie brats) before we left our campsite to head to the Grand Canyon.
Unfortunately, right before we left, Jane fell victim to a cruel attack by a yellow jacket. It got her RIGHT between her toes, which meant we didn’t really think we’d get a chance to hike at all.
So… alcohol!
We drove over to the North Rim Lodge, grabbed drinks, and then sat on the old Adirondack chairs overlooking the canyon for a while.
Then, Jane decided she was feeling a little better, so we decided to take a quick hike.
We originally planned to just hike three miles of the Uncle Jim Trail, but ended up just doing the whole thing. The views made it totally worth it, even if we did have to dodge mule poop the entire way.
Then, we made it back to our campsite for dinner (campfire veggies and potatoes) and like, nine more s’mores.
We woke up early Sunday morning in order to make breakfast, break camp and head out to our section of the Grand Canyon Highway for the cleanup.
Six of the eight RPCVs that came camping pitched in, so we made quick work of it!
After we filled our blue trash bags, Jane and I hopped in my Jeep and headed back to Flagstaff, just so I could hop right back on the road and drive to Albuquerque for a work conference.
I was honestly SO bummed we got screwed out of the first RPCV camping trip earlier this year, but I’m really glad that we were able to make it out to the second camping trip this summer.
My Peace Corps service was one of the highlights of my life, even though it was cut short, and I love hearing stories from other RPCVs who served in other parts of the world.
And… the Grand Canyon is one of the highlights of Arizona! I could never get sick of it, so I love that this is a semi-annual tradition and I hope to keep going on this trip as long as my schedule allows.
