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Hiking the Transept trail

Transept trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona

Staying home on a quiet weekend often finds me hiking the Transept trail along the west rim of the North Rim’s developed area and located less than .25 mile from my RV home.

Widforss Plateau from Transept trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona

The view crosses Transept canyon looking west at Widforss Plateau.  The entire trail from the Grand Lodge to the campground covers 1.5 miles of forested rim.

Transept trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona

Keep your eyes open for sweet little side trails…

Mike on rock outcrop & Widforss Plateau from Transept trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona

…to almost secret rocky overlooks.

Pinedrops along Transept trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona

Pinedrops

Plus colorful treasures in the forest.

Mike sitting on edge along Transept trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona

Mike has really overcome his fear of edges. Maybe a little too much.

Gaelyn on rock outcrop off Transept trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona

Possibly he learned that from me.

Sponge fossil along Transept trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona

Our discoveries are many including this huge sponge fossil.

Limestone stratigraphy from rock outcrop off Transept trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona

And I love the sculptures of eroded limestone stacked like ancient building blocks.

Mike on rock outcrop overlooking Widforss Point & temples from off Transept trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona

Geologist Clarence Dutton named the Transept Canyon in 1882 because of the way it crosses the north-south Bright Angel Canyon at an east-west angle like the arms of a cruciform church. He remarked that it was “one of the finest and perhaps most picturesque gorges in the whole Kaibab front.”

Arizona, Grand Canyon National Park North Rim, National Parks and Monuments , , , 22 Comments

The Box – Rim to rim Grand Canyon Day 2 – Part 4

Gopher snake North Kaibab trail Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaGopher snake
We left the beautiful Ribbon Falls behind and returned to the canyon’s Sonoran desert headed to The Box. This, the only snake seen along the trail. I would have liked to see the pink rattler found only in the Grand Canyon, from a distance.
Boardwalk North Kaibab trail Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaAmy on boardwalk over swamp
Where a side stream feeds into Bright Angel Creek a swamp has formed, complete with cattails. Yet another contradiction to the dry desert in the canyon.
Looking up North Kaibab trail Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaUnknown canyon butte
The 7 mile (11.3 km) stretch of the North Kaibab trail between Cottonwood Camp and Phantom Ranch is the longest leg without drinking water. So we all carried about 4 liters each, but could have filtered the creek water if necessary.
North end The Box North Kaibab trail Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaNorthern end of The Box
This narrow canyon with towering walls is one of my favorite sections of the North Kaibab trail. It can also be one of the hottest, during summer’s mid-day sun.
North Kaibab trail Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaBright Angel Creek and Bass Formation
The contact between the sedimentary limestone of the Bass Formation (where stromatolites are found) deposited 1.25 billion years ago and the 1.7 billion-year-old Precambrian metamorphic schist directly below leaves a gap of more than 50 million years in the canyon’s geologic time line called the Great Unconformity. An unconformity can mean mass erosion or no deposit at all.
Vishnu schist and Zoroaster granite North Kaibab trail The Box Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaVishnu schist and Zoroaster granite
When the North American continent was smaller and far below the equator, a chain of volcanic islands formed along a subduction line off the coast. Because of plate tectonics, the island then collided with the land increasing the size of the continent and forming what would someday be the Southwest. In addition, subducted crustal slabs of ocean deposits mixed with volcanic ash and lava flows melted and squeezed into the overlying rock to form pink veins of igneous Zoroaster granite.
The Box North Kaibab trail Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaCanyon walls in The Box
The Vishnu basement rocks (grey) with igneous rock (pink, white and black) mixed in forms the vertical walls that surrounded us. It’s like walking in an ancient geologic museum.
Bright Angel Creek The Box North Kaibab trail Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaAmy and Jan cooling off in Bright Angel Creek
The creek offers a narrow strip of lush riparian growth with box elder, grasses and sedges yet only a few steps away lays the aridity of the desert.
Bright Angel Creek The Box North Kaibab trail Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaBright Angel Creek in The Box
I took so many pictures of this canyon, and the rock intrusions that look like geologic art to me.
Bright Angel Creek North Kaibab trail Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaApproaching Phantom Ranch
This was the last of the easy downhill part of our rim to rim hike. The canyon widens towards the mouth of Bright Angel Creek forming a delta where the first tourist camp was built in 1906. We were motivated to get to the Canteen at Phantom Ranch for a cold beer and chocolate.
 
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Past Roaring Springs Rim to Rim Grand Canyon Day 1 – Part 2

Redwall Bridge North Kaibab trail Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaAmy and Jan
Only 2.6 miles down on this fall 2009 rim to rim we crossed this chasm on the Redwall Bridge built across Roaring Springs Canyon and fault after a major flood in 1966 wiped out much of the North Kaibab Trail.
We were constantly in awe.
From here the surroundings were pure desert…
North Kaibab trail Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaAmy below seeps
…except where ground water from the rim has percolated through the rock layers to an impervious layer and seeps out to form micro environments with ferns. The Redwall Limestone was deposited 340 million years ago when a sea covered this area and it’s really not red at all. It’s a typical beige limestone stained by iron oxides from several layers up. The white streaks are salt deposits from the water.
Eye of the Needle North Kaibab trail Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaEye of the Needle
This narrow section of trail was blasted through the Redwall Limestone.
As we hiked we stopped to chat with a few other hikers asking and answering the same basic questions: Where you from, where did you start hiking, where are you headed, is this your first canyon hike? We ran into a few people again in camps along the way.
Temple Butte Formation North Kaibab trail Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaTemple Butte Formation
Sandwiched under the Redwall Limestone, small and isolated lens-shaped channel deposits show where the fingers of estuaries reached into the sea some 365 million years ago.
Fossil North Kaibab trail Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaBrachiopod fossil in Muave Limestone
Most prominently seen below the Redwall Limestone, the Tonto Group reveals a transgressive sequence of the gradual invasion of seas moving in across the land some 500 million years ago. The Muave Limestone was deposited in quiet waters with limy sediments and is the youngest of this group.
Roaring Springs North Kaibab trail Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaRoaring Springs
When percolating surface water reaches the Muave Limestone it can form a water table that drains through caverns and emerges into waterfalls like Roaring Springs. This water source supplies all needs for both the North and South Rims.
A side trail takes you to the base of the falls and a spigot for drinking water. But this is the spigot that has been broken most of the summer, so water from the falls must be filtered. We opted to forgo the side trip and get water a mile further on.
Bright Angel shale North Kaibab trail Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaBright Angel Shale
The next oldest deposit in the Tonto Group represents an accumulation of muds from delta like deposits. Amy looked for Trilobite fossils here, but no luck.
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker North Kaibab trail Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaYellow-bellied Sapsucker
Stopped to fill water bottles at the Roaring Springs Ranger Residence and spotted this sapsucker. Mostly we heard Cactus Wrens barely catching sight of them swiftly flitting across the trail.
Bright Angel Creek North Kaibab trail Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaBright Angel Creek
Saw a few American Dippers in the creek, but they were too fast for me to photograph.
Tapeats sandstone North Kaibab trail Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaTapeats Sandstone
Third, and oldest, layer of the Tonto Group reveals a beach or shoreline environment.
Tapeats sandstone North Kaibab trail Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaTapeats Sandstone up close
The Tonto Group represents at least 50 million years of deposits starting with the beach (Tapeats Sandstone), mud delta (Bright Angel Shale) and shallow sea (Muave Limestone).
Below the Tonto lies the oldest revealed rock in Grand Canyon. You’ll have to come back to see that sparkly stuff because we saw it on day two of the hike.
North Kaibab trail Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaApproaching Cottonwood campground in Bright Angel Canyon
It was a long day of hiking down 4170 feet in 6.8 miles (1271 m in 10.9 km) to our first camp and we all felt a good kind of tired.
Moth North Kaibab trail Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaLichen Moth Lycomorpha fulgens
Amy took charge and set up her tent, a two person that three of us spooned into. Then she cooked a delicious organic Mac and Cheese with tuna dinner. Little mice ran all around our feet and even nibbled on Amy’s toes. Jan and I cleaned up afterwards.
Cottonwood camp North Kaibab trail Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaCottonwood camp, Jan & Amy
During our cocoa toddy we saw the lights come on at the North Rim Lodge, watched the stars including a few shooters, and listened to the creek. It was an early to bed night as we had a 7 mile (11.3 km) hike, plus a side trip, the next day to Phantom Ranch and beyond to Bright Angel campground.
Arizona, Grand Canyon National Park, National Parks and Monuments , , , 22 Comments

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