click here to view a gallery and slideshow of all 93 photos from this hike

Cape Solitude is one of the remote places at Grand Canyon that I always thought I’d never get to see. The hike is an approximate 30-mile round trip with no shade, and not a single drop of water to be found. The path consists of an old jeep road that bears east and then north from Desert View along the rim of the Palisades of the Desert, skirting the border of the GC National Park and Navajo Indian Reservation. The walking leads through wide-open, rather featureless desert.

Cape Solitude itself is a special, isolated place that looks over the confluence of The Colorado River and The Little Colorado River. Where these two canyons meet, one does not appear any more grand than the other. This marks the official beginning of Grand Canyon – all the terrain to the south of the “LCR” is “Grand,” and the Colorado River gorge to the north is technically called “Marble Canyon” – all the way upstream to The Glen Canyon Dam at Lake Powell.

It is also supposed to be a very spiritual place. The Hopi people believe that all of mankind originated in an underground realm and emerged to this world from a spring located in the Little Colorado River Gorge, known as the “Sipapu.” The story goes that all sorts of misfortunes and strange things happen to people that visit this area, with omniscient temperamental deities lurking around every corner.

With the cooler temperatures of late October and the willingness to carry a lot of water (Two gallons), an overnight trip to Cape Solitude became a reality. The circumstances could not have been any better. I’d be sleeping alone at Cape Solitude on Hallow’s Eve, the night before Halloween. Boo. Bring on the thunderbirds and mystical desert spooks.

The trail begins unceremoniously as an old road that continues beyond the developed area of Desert View.

Cedar Mountain dominated the initial view, and a unique perspective on the canyon the to west is interesting as well.

The Watchtower

The old road turns north here away from Cedar Mountain. It meanders through an unexciting depression called Straight Canyon, and ascends to the open desert

This cairn marks a junction with a route to the west that leads to Comanche Point.

This is one of the better views along the mostly featureless hike. Navajo Mountain can be seen on the left side of the horizon.

There’s supposed to be several old Navajo “hogans” out in this area, but this is the only one I saw.

The atmosphere of this hike would have been twice as good without the constant noise of helicopters and airplanes overhead. This part of the canyon is directly beneath a primary flight path for Grand Canyon air tours.

The Park Service built this fence out in the middle of nowhere, extending for miles to mark the boundary between the National Park and the Reservation.

Finally the road comes to the rim of the canyon.

Chuar Butte – this also happens to be the area of an airline collsion in 1956. At the time it was the deadliest accident in aviation history, and led to the creation of the FAA.

Cape Solitude at last.

The confluence. Check out that aqua-blue water.

Don’t miss the next page (This day continued)