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VAEPE 
Group: Members
Posts: 1
Joined: Nov. 2012
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Posted on: Nov. 14 2012, 8:39 am |
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I am planning a trip and am looking for details from others that might have taken the same route.
Starting in Bryce Canyon and moving south to meet some friends at Phantom Ranch at the GC. I am planning to do this in late March.
Planning a route via TOPO is one thing but I need some lessons learned and feedback as it pertains to the historical weather conditions for this corridor. In my request to GCNP for a BCP I discovered that the road to the North Rim is closed at that time beacuse of weather / snow.
Am I underestimating the significance of snow and ice at this time in this corridor (Late March)?
Thoughts?
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| Post Number: 2
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ol-zeke
me in the Tetons
Group: Members
Posts: 10931
Joined: Sep. 2002
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Posted on: Nov. 14 2012, 12:22 pm |
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Most years, there is still several feet of snow on the ground in March. I would also add that March is a heavy snowfall month. From their site:
Foot travel across the Kaibab Plateau (North Rim) in winter shares many of the pleasures, and dangers, of a journey through a high mountain environment. Deep snow brings peace and a unique kind of beauty to the Kaibab forest, but quiet may be harder to come by when the winds of winter hum across the meadows and howl through the trees. With the exception of avalanche and crevasse, the Kaibab Plateau in winter offers all the potential pitfalls of lofty peaks: high elevation, extreme cold, violent storms bringing remarkable snow fall, and great distances, all encountered in one of the most isolated locations in the lower 48. It’s possible to cover the entire 45 miles between Jacob Lake and the North Rim and not see another soul so self-sufficiency becomes the primary requirement imposed by the landscape. Tested and reliable winter tents and sleeping bags, insulation that will work when wet, shell layers that provide effective protection from wind and the wetness of the snow, spare parts for stoves, tents, ski bindings or snowshoes, an efficient snow shovel, plenty of high calorie food, fuel for melting snow, and, most importantly, the personal expertise required to use it all effectively and safely are key components in a successful passage. The tranquility of a quiet evening with a winter sunset flaring overhead represents one face of the Kaibab Plateau in winter, but it is well to remember the other side and to be more than prepared when snow, wind, and cold team up and rush you like an arctic wave.
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Everything I know, I learned by doing it wrong at least twice.
The easiest way to ruin a Friday is to realize it is only Tuesday.
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| Post Number: 3
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High_Sierra_Fan
Group: Members
Posts: 39805
Joined: Aug. 2005
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Posted on: Nov. 14 2012, 1:55 pm |
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Also later in March it can transition to breakable crust season with the added benefit of lots of snowmelting for water as the smaller sources (springs etc.) are frozen....
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| Post Number: 4
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SW Mtn backpacker
Born to hike, forced to work ...
Group: Members
Posts: 6742
Joined: Jul. 2006
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Posted on: Nov. 16 2012, 3:09 pm |
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Might want to check out the almost similar Hayduke Trail and those who have traveled it in Spring (Andrew Shurka, etc... iirc).
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Usually Southwest and then some.
In wildness is the preservation of the world. - Henry Thoreau
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