On the North Kaibab Trail: Photograph by Will Tenney

On the North Kaibab Trail

Zig-zagging steeply down into the Grand Canyon from the rim at over 8,000 feet, the North Kaibab Trail is the only trail down into the Canyon from the north rim. We hiked down about 3 miles, roughly 3000 feet down into the Canyon. On the way back up, resting often in the heat, I stopped in front of this small grove of birch trees, their leaves making a gentle rustling in the afternoon breeze. While it was fall already up on the rim and the leaves were turning, it was still the height of summer down here in the Canyon.