Left to right, front: Bill Halte, Marilyn Reynolds; rear: Clare Bangs, Lynn Warren (photographer) on the North Kaibab Trail with Roaring Springs in the background.
Lynn Warren
Many Creekers have visited the Grand Canyon but most have probably limited themselves to the convenient South Rim which is crowded with over five million visitors each year. The North Rim gets just a tenth of that number and on October 6, four PC Hikers traveled approximately 320 miles north to Jacob Lake to camp out one night before heading another 45 miles down to the North Rim Campground to camp for the next three nights. Since the North Rim is at 8,000 feet, the conditions were quite a contrast to the Phoenix area and temperatures at night dipped into the 30s although daytime temperatures rose into the upper 60s. The campground served as a base for three interesting day hikes. The first hike was to Widforss Point, providing what is considered one of the most beautiful views of the canyon. The second hike, including some nice fall color, was along a scenic portion of the Ken Patrick Trail (named for the only ranger murdered while on duty) along the rim of the canyon west of Imperial Point. The hikers saved the best and most challenging hike for last and on the third day descended into the canyon on the steep North Kaibab Trail to Roaring Springs, source of water for both the North and South Rims (the pipeline was considered an engineering marvel when completed in 1970 but is very problematic today and the park service estimates that it will cost $160 million to replace it). Although the hikers experienced some rain on the previous evening, they were treated to a beautiful sunny day for the hike and were impressed by outstanding, dramatic scenery in both directions; it was very rewarding to finish this final hike since it was 10 miles roundtrip with 3,000 feet of elevation change at high altitude. Overall, the camping adventure was very enjoyable and provided quite a workout since the hikers covered 30 miles in three days. The club hikes five days a week, with an occasional out-of-town adventure such as this; visit the club website at PCHIKERS.ORG for the 2016-2017 meeting schedule and photos.
Pete Williams
On September 27, the PebbleCreek Hiking Club did an introductory hike at Verrado with nine prospective members – Linda Ciacco, Joe and Amy Volstromer, Stan Rubinstein, Christine Sevcik, John and Mary Barry, Art Solorio and Bruce Waddon. Six current members of the club helped on the hike – Pete Williams (leader), Lynn Warren (photographer), Doug Jamiolkowski, Helen Lewandowski, Wayne Wills and Mark Frumkin. The club just started its 2016-17 hiking season and invites anyone with an interest in the outdoors to check us out. While Phoenix appears to be mostly desert, there are actually wide varieties of vegetation, animal life and geology in Arizona. Our website (pchikers.org) has lots of information about the club and many photos from our hikes.