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Point Imperial

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callen60
callen60
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Point Imperial

  • September 11, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by callen60 from Ozarks, Missouri
Point Imperial

The sun crossing the horizon is a highlight nearly anywhere in the southwest. We’d watched it reach lower and lower into Zion’s sandstone canyon two mornings before, and despite the fact that Arizona stubbornly refuses to go on daylight savings time, even the kids were game to catch the sunrise on our first morning at the North Rim.

In early June, that puts sunrise at the challenging hour of 5:11am. Adding to the difficulty, Grand Canyon Lodge sits on Bright Angel Point, separated from the larger Walhalla Plateau by narrow Roaring Springs Canyon. The far eastern side of the Plateau looks out over a wider expanse of canyon, and offers a better view as the sun makes its first appearance.

That means some early-morning traveling if you want to see that first light from an optimal vantage point. Point Imperial, just north of the Walhalla Plateau, is the closest point to the Lodge on that eastern edge, as well as the highest point on the North Rim. It’s a great place for sunrise, but a 12-mile drive from the cabins. We set the alarm for what seemed to be an unfathomably early time.

Not long after we hit the road, we knew we’d cut it too close—it would take every minute of the 20 minutes described in the park newspaper. There wasn’t any other traffic headed our way—who would be leaving Point Imperial before sunrise?—so I cut across the roadway on some of the S-curves, hoping to speed our arrival. But when we arrived, we realized we wouldn’t see any of the Sun’s ascent to the horizon. Three other early-risers had planned better than us, one of them helpfully informing us that ‘you just missed it’ as he headed to his car.

Although the moments before sunrise may offer the most dramatic lighting of the sky—though given the day’s arrangement of clouds, even that’s debatable—the early sun on the sandstone that provides the most memorable colors and spectacle. It was cool at the 8,800’ elevation of Point Imperial, but having invested some serious effort in reaching that spot, we were all willing to see what the next half-hour brought.

Our other companions weren’t so dedicated. So soon we by ourselves at one of the most majestic overlooks of the Grand Canyon, watching the sun gradually light up the prominences, crevasses, and canyon walls. The pyramidal shape of Mount Hayden, just off to the south, was one of the first spots to catch the sun, and I recognized it from a black-and-white shot my brother had taken on his most recent trip.

When most of the western wall around us was in full sunlight, we headed back, arriving at our cabin sometime after 6am. Another hour of sleep proved too tempting for everyone but me. While they all catnapped before our 8:30 mule ride, I grabbed a coffee and staked out a seat on the Lodge’s veranda, joining a few dozen others as we quietly watched the Canyon enter the daylight.

From journal On the Plateau, Part IV: The Grand Canyon's North Rim

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