North Rim Getaway at Jumpup Canyon Enjoy the silence and solitude as you truly escape from the modern world

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Here is an adventure off the beaten path! We travel into the depths of the largest drainage of the Grand Canyon on the north rim - the Kanab Creek Wilderness.

We begin this adventure with an early pick up at the Hilton Garden Inn in Flagstaff. It's about a four hour drive to the north rim through the Navajo Indian Reservation, over the marble Canyon Gorge (which crosses over the Colorado River), passing below the Vermilion Cliffs and eventually up onto the Kaibab Plateau at 8500 feet elevation. We arrive at the Jumpup Canyon trailhead about 12 noon. Even the trailhead for this trip is remote, and only accessible in good weather. We enjoy a light lunch and begin our backpack trek down to the lower Jumpup Spring where we will set up our first camp, about five miles. It's a beautiful spot below a sandstone cliff with great views of the canyon. From here we can visit the rock art site of the ancient Anasazi Indians.

The next day we hike around Gooseneck Point and down into Sowats Canyon to our base camp called Mountain Sheep Spring, about 4½ miles. We will be staying here for the next two nights adjacent to a lovely babbling creek underneath shady cottonwood trees. The third day is a long day hike into the finest slot canyon on the southwest, the Jumpup Narrows. It is breathtaking, with the polished walls of rock going up hundreds of feet as the canyon narrows down to less than eight feet wide.

We hike into side canyons to find seasonal hidden pools and waterfalls. You feel as if you are truly in the heart of the Grand Canyon where few people visit. The silence and solitude adds to the magical feeling of this primitive and untouched wilderness. We visit Indian Hollow - a maze of beautiful deep sandstone canyons. The Kanab Creek wilderness is considered a very sacred area to the Ute Indians and we are fortunate to have been allowed to visit this canyon area with their blessing. We, of course, adhere closely to Leave No Trace techniques during all our visits here.

On day four, we begin our return journey back to the first camp site at Lower Jumpup Spring. We arrive early in the day, so there is plenty of opportunity to do some exciting exploring in the area. There are endless options to hike. The evening brings another chance for some exceptional star gazing. On day five, we return to the trailhead, then take our scenic drive back to Flagstaff, arriving about 5 pm.