Day 6

Day 6 - Friday, September 22, 2017

On Day 6 we leave Kanab and head southeast on Hwy 89A. At Jacob Lake, 37 miles down the road, we turn south onto Hwy 67 (watching out for Bison along the way!) and travel 44 miles (one way) to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

While 90% of the people who visit the Grand Canyon each year explore the south rim, which is expensive, overcrowded, and usually has a shortage of parking and accommodations, we will be venturing to take in the solitude and beauty of the north rim. Although it may not have the depth of the south rim, the north rim offers a vast view of the Grand Canyon and its temples of colored rocks. In addition, the roads and overlooks are less crowded and offer some great motorcycle riding!

After spending some time at the Grand Canyon North Rim Lodge and viewing the sites from Bright Angel Point we can travel further into the Park and ride out to Point Imperial and Cape Royal points and stop at a few of the overlooks to view the vast canyon scenes. Although the views may not be as dramatic seeing the Grand Canyon during the mid-day hours the roads to these areas appear to involve some great motorcycle riding with some nice curves and sweepers to give us more than a few grins!

At an elevation of 8,000 to 9,000 feet we may want to be prepared for cooler weather while visiting the North Rim of the Grand Canyon as it is over 1,000 feet higher in elevation than the south rim and tends to be cooler. The higher elevation can also make hiking a bit more strenuous, but the trails here do not take you down into the canyon, but rather out to points which overlook the canyon, or along its rim. If we take any hike which leads us down into the canyon we must be prepared for a very strenuous hike out of it.

After spending some time exploring the Park and perhaps taking some short hikes we will have to continue our journey as we still aren't even halfway to our evening destination! We will travel back north on Hwy 67 and then head east on US Hwy 89A . We will ride next to the scenic red cliffs of the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument to Marble Canyon were we cross the Colorado River on the Navajo Bridge. We link back up with US Hwy 89 in Bitter Springs and turn north.

Even though it is better photographed during the early part of the day, stopping for a short hike to view and photograph Horseshoe Bend (one of the most spectacular views of the Colorado River) will be well worth the short hike as we arrive in the Page Arizona area late that afternoon or early evening. Additional stops in the area may include the Glen Canyon Dam Overlook on Lake Powell.

We find our lodging in nearby Page, Arizona.

Day 6: 249 miles 6 hours saddle time

Twilight: 6:54 am (MDT)

Sunrise: 7:20 am (MDT)

Sunset: 6:24 pm (MST)

Twilight: 6:50 pm (MST)

Continue to Day 7