Yellowstone National Park: Hike North Rim Trail

Friday, June 2, 2023

I hiked the North Rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Richie had left earlier in the morning, for breakfast at the Falls Café, while I opted for a later breakfast, so we did solo hikes today. After my breakfast, I went to the Visitor Center, where I talked with a ranger about hiking the South and North Rims. He advised me of the possibilities and off I went. I walked the mile to the North Rim and used a spur trail to get over to the South Rim. I got a great view of the Upper Falls (109’) along that trail. I looked at the map there, and I decided to let the South Rim go for another day. The decision was a combination of some current drizzle, with a forecast of rain later in the day, and the distance and time involved in hiking both the South and North. So, I backtracked and restarted my hike on the North Rim.

There are several viewpoints and overlooks to enjoy. The first one is called Brink of the Lower Falls. It is a paved trail, a series of switchbacks that descends 600’ to the top of the Lower Falls. The view at the bottom of this hike blew me away. There is so much water pouring over the “Brink”, falling 309’ to the river below. There is a sound so loud, and there is a spray of water rising as a permanent cloud hiding the river below. Standing there watching and listening to this is a dramatic experience, a very powerful one. There was a young woman standing next to me, wearing a bluish-purple t-shirt, as I watched this, and I told her how powerful I thought it was. She agreed, said she liked it there, but she better liked the view of the falls looking down at them from higher up on the cliff, and she pointed to some overlooks in the distance. I also talked briefly with a couple of guys from the west coast, one from San Francisco, one from Seattle. They had strong accents, darkish skin, and big smiles. They might have originally been from India, Pakistan, or some geographic area in that continental location.

I headed back up the switchback, lung-burner of a trail, pushing the pace, because, why not? It’s good exercise, and exercise is exhilarating. The next stop was Lookout Point. This must have been one of the overlooks the woman in purple had referenced. It provided a great view of the Lower Falls. It was majestic. The overlook was busy with sight-seers waiting their turn to stand in a corner of the observation area to get the optimum photo, some with themselves in the picture, some not.

Looking down below, one could see there was another trail heading towards the river. I descended on it to Red Rock Point. This was a combination of paved trail with switchbacks and a wood staircase built over a series of rocks. It did not go all the way to the river, but it gave another fantastic view of the Lower Falls cascading those 309’. There was a family of four there, and the dad had set up his phone on a tripod to obtain a family photo. One of his kids, a little girl, saw the phone and walked up to it smiling brightly, apparently either used to having her picture taken or being silly, so it seemed. She put her face about two inches from the screen, and smiled big, showing her teeth. The Dad took some shots with a remote unit, after which I offered to take a few more shots, so they would have a variety of angles. I told him the tripod was great when the only tool available, but when someone was there to assist, why not? He happily agreed, so I took about ten shots from different angles and zoom settings. We talked briefly, and then I went on my way. They were of oriental heritage, but we did not talk about where they were from.

After hiking back to the North Rim, the next overlook was Grand View, and that was followed by a 1.2-mile stretch to Inspiration Point. There were three observation areas at this location, with the third being the most impressive. It was down a series of stairs, a round space with a stone wall topped with well-placed, flat rocks along the perimeter. As I approached, I could see there was only one person in the space. As I approached, I saw the person was the woman with the blue-tinted purple t-shirt. She had out a notebook, and, at first, I thought she was writing in a journal, as I might do myself. I said hi to her again, and I saw she was drawing with a pen on a page in a small unlined notebook. I remarked there was nothing like getting it done at the time and place, real time, whether that be writing or drawing. She agreed. I found it interesting, coincidental or what I do not know, that I found myself standing next to her at the very first and the very last stop on the hike. I did not see her in-between, don’t know if she hiked or drove along the road adjacent to the trail.

A woman with an infant, maybe three months old at most, in a front-held baby carrier, started down the steps. I joked with her, “baby’s first visit to Yellowstone?” She laughed and said yes, mine too! A man joined her. I wasn’t sure if he was her husband or her father, he looked much older. He was quiet. I offered to take their “first Yellowstone” photo, with the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone in the background, and so that we did. Happy memories to them.

That was the end of the North Rim Trail, three miles end to end. From there, I took the road back to Canyon Village and our room in the Lodge. Fortunately, the forecast for rain did not pan out, otherwise I would have gotten wet! Instead, I had a fun day of exercise and meeting people! I estimate the total mileage for the hike, from Visitor Center to the Rim and back to the Lodge was more like nine miles, and for the third straight day, I logged over 30K steps, another day in the range of 16 miles of walking.

Walk the walk …