Members of the SaddleBrooke Hiking Club traveled to the north rim of the Grand Canyon to undertake a 
78-mile trek on the Arizona Trail to the Utah border.  The Arizona Trail, which traverses the entire 
state from north to south, is over 750 miles long.  This most northern section of the Arizona Trail 
travels from the Grand Canyon starting at the North Kaibab Trailhead.  It passes through the National 
Park, the North Kaibab Forest, and BLM land to the Utah border.  The trail follows the eastern edge 
of the Kaibab Plateau, the highest of the five plateaus that make up the north rim of the Grand 
Canyon.  Fifty miles of the route follow the original Kaibab Plateau Trail which was co-joined 
with the Arizona Trail to become the first part of the state Trail to be dedicated in 1988.  
The route offers spectacular vistas of the Saddle Mountain Wilderness, House Rock Valley, the 
Vermilion Cliffs, Marble Canyon, and the Navajo Indian Reservation.  This late-Sept., early-Oct. 
journey, completed shortly before the North Rim closed, was the perfect time to enjoy the cool 
Kaibab forest, grassy meadows, and the brilliant yellows, golds, and oranges of the fall aspen trees.  

Hikes varying in length from 13 to 22 miles were completed in five days.  Based out of Jacob 
Lake, the group positioned vehicles daily at the various trailheads, often finding it necessary 
to travel for miles on high-clearance forest service roads.  We walked on well-maintained 
trails, seeing only one other hiker the entire 5 days, through areas where evidence of 
earlier human endeavors was apparent.  Examples were old corrals and springs from early 
ranching and a network of old mining roads, some of which the trail followed.  We crossed 
the Navajo Trail, a route taken by the Indians to trade with the Mormons.  We traveled 
through Tater Canyon, named after a failed attempt in the late 1800’s to grow potatoes 
in the area.  Wheat was also planted in DeMotte Park, but because of the short growing 
season, inadequate water, and poor soil, farming on the Kaibab Plateau was never successful.  
Near Telegraph Hill was a handmade wooden ladder attached to a downed fire lookout tree, a 
predecessor to the metal fire towers used by forest rangers today.

Each day was a delight to the senses, but included at least one special highlight as well.  
Since the first day’s hike was the shortest, we had time to take a drive on Cape Royal Road 
on the North Rim to the Point Imperial and Angels Window overlooks.  That evening we ate 
pizza on the porch of the Grand Canyon Lodge while viewing the sunset over the canyon.  
The second day we spotted a flock of wild turkeys and were rewarded for hiking over 
two-thirds of this 22-mile segment before stopping with a lunch spot overlooking the 
East Rim of the Grand Canyon.  Several species of wildlife, found nowhere else, live 
on the Kaibab Plateau.  One such example, the elusive Kaibab squirrel, sited only 
once by the hikers, was seen on the third day.  This gorgeous creature, its long 
ears decorated with tassels at the ends, had a dark gray body and a lovely white 
feathery tail.  At the end of the fourth day we encountered magnificent views of 
the Grand Staircase as we drove on Winter Road back to Jacob Lake.  On the fifth 
day, as we descended Buckskin Mountain, we were treated to panoramic vistas of the 
red rock bluffs of Coyote Valley.  Our group celebrated the completion of the most 
northern segment of the Arizona Trail by posing for this picture with one foot in Arizona and one foot in Utah!