Virtual AZT: Inner Gorge...Kaibab...Dragon Bravo Fire...and The End of the Trail

 

The gorge is magical. Turquoise blue water. Waterfalls. Red rock cliffs and canyons.

I could have stayed here.

Correction...we should have stayed here.

But Thursday Morning arrived...and with it the end of our campsite stay.

"Well...what's it going to be?" Dixie asked, as we packed up our tents.

"I'm coming with you." I replied, barely audible...hardly convincing.

"That's the Spirit!!!" She laughed.

 The workaround sounded fairly straight ahead.  We would get off the trail before it became #39 and hike in a wide loop until we intercepted Passage #40..the Kaibab trail...which eventually ended our adventure.

 

Off...we went.

Blissfully unaware that Dragon Bravo Fire had shifted...and now had overtaken the lower half of the Kaibab Passage.

We climbed out and immediately saw there was a problem.

The further we looped to intersect the Kaibab...the more smoke we saw.

What had looked like a small inconvenience was now a dangerous reality.

And there was still that felony thing... 

 The beautiful North Rim Lodge

was reduced to a smoking pile of ashes and burned black stone.

Still...we trekked on.

 

Off the path...it was easy to get confused...turned around. 

 

The air was thick with smoke and the smell...like 1000 campfires all burning around you.

 

When we reached the Kaibab...we were stunned to find the passage filled with rangers.

 

"Oh...Thank God!!!" Dixie called, getting their attention.

 

(...let me handle this...she hissed...)

 

We were quickly approached and she turned on all that southern charm...complete with blond stupidity

 

"We got off the trail this morning and turned around...lost...can you help us?"

 

"Miss..this trail is dangerous and now closed" the Ranger informed her.

 

He led us out to the middle of Kaibab...where we had relatively a few miles to the trailhead...and our destination.

 

Saved by big blue eyes...long blond hair and a South mouth.

 

And no felonies.

 

We celebrated in town before going our separate ways.

 

It was an amazing adventure!

 

Glad you came along.

 

Love,

 

"Beans"