Nankoweap Trail

The Nankoweap Trail is an unmaintained hiking trail on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park, located in the U.S. state of Arizona. The Nankoweap trail descends 6,040 feet in 14 miles from the Saddle Mountain trailhead to Nankoweap Creek and on to the Colorado River. It is considered to be the hardest of the trails into the Canyon. Hikers have to carry and cache water as there is none in the 11 miles between the trailhead and Nankoweap Creek.

Nankoweap Trail
Length13.9 mi (22.4 km)
LocationGrand Canyon National Park, Arizona, United States
TrailheadsNorth Rim
Colorado River,
Grand Canyon (North Rim)
UseHiking
Backpacking
Elevation
Elevation change6,040 ft (1,840 m)
Highest pointNorth Rim, 8,840 ft (2,690 m)
Lowest pointColorado River, 2,800 ft (850 m)
Hiking details
Trail difficultyExpert
(unmaintained)
SeasonEarly Spring to
Late Fall
SightsGrand Canyon
Colorado River
Puebloan granaries
HazardsSevere Weather
Overexertion
Dehydration
Flash Flood
The "scary part" of the Nankoweap Trail

In June 1996, a Boy Scouts group ran out of water in the vicinity of this trail, although they were not following the actual trail, but an off-trail route on a nearby ridge.[1] Although one member managed to reach the Colorado River, another ultimately died from heat exhaustion and dehydration.[2] This was covered in season 2 of I Shouldn't be Alive.

See also

References
  1. Can Doc, Ammo (2000). "Tragedy at Little Nanko" (PDF). The Waiting List. 4 (4): 30–31.
  2. Swenson, Jason and Matthew S. Bennett (June 8, 1996). "BOYS RUSHED FOR WATER IN TRY TO SAVE SCOUT". Deseret News. Retrieved March 7, 2014.

Further reading
  • John Annerino, 2006, Hiking the Grand Canyon. Sierra Club Books, 3rd ed., ISBN 1-57805-150-9


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.