September 6 & 7 2016
Three days in a row off work so I chose to stay at home the first day, then Bill drove up and we took a forest drive to Marble View for an overnighter. Even though I love my park, sometimes I just have to change the view. Plus I wanted to see what effects, if any, the Fuller Fire had on this area of the Kaibab National Forest. And I suspected some fall colors would be showing.
Just before the North Rim entrance station I saw about 30 bison mostly laying down in a meadow, plus one touron. What don’t these people understand about “wild” life?
Barely out of sight from State Route 67 and into the forest on FR611 I saw the strangest, what I believe to be, fire break along both sides of the road and some very large slash piles.
Actually it’s about 30 feet from the road, a swath at least 100 feet wide with most of the trees cut down and chips left behind. Looked like a thinning process leaving clusters of aspen and a few ponderosa pine. Yet there were also many large and small stumps, some trees gashed and knocked over. These clearings ran for about 12 miles in the national forest but not on national park land where a section of the road is a boundary between the two. I saw no evidence of burn at all.
I welcomed the familiar tunnel of trees at the end of FR219 leading to Marble View, yet the narrow road had been widened and trimmed.
Two people with a tent occupied the first big site so we went around the trees a bit to allow for privacy and quickly leveled up with an excellent view.
Wild rose bushes turning colors and covered with hips grew at the edge of camp.
I absolutely love this view for it’s distances. About 100 miles away Navajo Mountain stands alone at 10,416 feet. Echo Cliffs to the east, Vermilion Cliffs to the northeast, and the Colorado River deep in Marble Canyon cutting through the Marble Plateau.
Ancient trees on the rim lean from the strong southwest winds of summer yet a dense forest blocked our camp. That is until a walk out to the point threatened to blow us off the edge and the bite in the wind sent us back to camp.
So many gravel roads visible below and leading to the rim that I haven’t explored yet.
As the sun sank behind the forest shadows crept across the plateau below and seemed to flow into Marble Canyon.
Had there been less wind we might have sat outside around a campfire. No shortage of fire wood nearby. Instead we admired the sunset through the camper window and I stepped outside for a couple quick shots.
The morning began with light colored clouds and haze.
After coffee and conversation we walked to the point. To the north the cliff face shows the marvelous curve of the Kaibab monocline dipping east into the valley below.
This area reminds me of tundra with stunted vegetation and lots of fossils.
We left camp about 3pm. Bill headed back to Kanab and I slowly, 2 hours, drove back to the North Rim. I stopped often for the splashes of fall colors.
And along a meadow where the Arizona trail passes through.
Plus a quick pit-stop where I usually find colors and love this old fence.
I do understand the importance of fire for forest ecology, and fire breaks to keep fire from jumping the road. But this is plum ugly and I’d rather have seen burn.
I could feel and hear the forest crying.
Oh I so love this part of our/your countryside. You made me miss the road trip already. We had the same response about cutting when we saw the mutilated hillsides in Park City, Utah. With dozens of ski slopes, it seems very little of their beautiful bushes and trees were left on those magnificent mountains (and I do know that skiiers probably love the place) but it made us sad to see how much has been cut down.
Seems that road trips are never long enough. How sad to see the forest cut in the name of ski slopes.
Nice to get away if only for a night, especially to such a lovely campsite.
Most definitely. This place would be doable with your unit, and not too many trees. 😉
Beautiful shots – – LOVE the long views, AND the close up flowers down on the ground – What a RANGE !
Love, Berta
I’m picking a surgeon for my knee – – can’t make it to work anymore unless I do – Damn!
Thanks Berta. See you next week.
Having another go at commenting!! Love those view and amazing the you can see Navajo Mountain over 100 miles away. Some stunning shots here and I love that sunset. Ha you have the same moon as we have at the moment!! :-)) Have a good week, Diane and Nigel
Wow it worked 🙂
I do love those long views. Have been given a suggestion for commenting problem and will look at it tomorrow on day off.
Hi, Gaelyn!
Thoroughly enjoyed the photographs and the narrative that went with them. You really do a wonderful job with your blogs. Marble Canyon Overlook was one of our favorites to show friends from San Diego when they came up to the Rim for a visit with us.
Thanks George. I was glad Marble View was spared from the fire but not happy with the “fire break” along the way.
If that was a fire break it sounds very unprofessionally done. This is the work of the forest service? Back to more pleasant things like your campsite. What great views you had. Nice to have 3 days off and take a “vacation” from your “job”. HA!
This was a combination job by the Forest and National Park Service. I believe they had way too many fire personnel with not much to do. It’s no wonder this fire cost so much. It’s butt ugly and I’m SO glad Marble View wasn’t screwed up as well.
Love that wide open view from your site – beautiful! The glow of Marble Canyon is incredible, you really captured the light flowing into it. Forest devastation is always such a painful site, Much more lovely is the little meadow and the zigging old fence 🙂
Thanks Jodee. I love this site and was heartbroken to see the devastation along the roads.
Hi Gaelyn – Thanks for the drive and sights. Enjoy the emergence of Fall there on the North Rim.
It’s coming.
The view of the mountain so far away is wonderful. Sorry about the torn up land. I had to google the Arizona trail. Looks interesting and challenging.
I’ve only hiked a few small portions of the Arizona trail but know some who’ve done the whole thing. Which includes crossing Grand Canyon rim to rim.