The Nankoweap Trail is a hiking

Hiking

Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...

 trail

Trail

A trail is a path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel. Trails may be for use only by walkers and in some places are the main access route to remote settlements...

 on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park

Grand Canyon National Park

Grand Canyon National Park is the United States' 15th oldest national park and is located in Arizona. Within the park lies the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, considered to be one of the Wonders of the World. The park covers of unincorporated area in Coconino and Mohave counties.Most...

, located in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

.
The Nankoweap trail descends 6,040 feet in 14 miles from the Saddle Mountain trailhead to Nankoweap Creek and on to the Colorado River

Colorado River

The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...

. It is considered to be the hardest of the trails into the Canyon. You have to carry and cache water as there is none in the 11 miles between the trailhead and Nankoweap Creek. "The Scary Part" is a section that is 6 inches wide under a sheer cliff with a couple of hundred foot drop punishing the slightest misstep. Getting across "The Scary Part" with a full pack is a serious challenge.

Thought to be an Ancestral Puebloan trail, John Wesley Powell

John Wesley Powell

John Wesley Powell was a U.S. soldier, geologist, explorer of the American West, and director of major scientific and cultural institutions...

 supervised the development of the Nankoweap Trail in 1882 as a means to allow geologists access to the area. Interest in the trail revived after Harvey Butchart

Harvey Butchart

John Harvey Butchart was a mathematics professor who was well-known for his hiking exploits in and around the Grand Canyon. Over a period of 17 years Butchart hiked the entire length of the canyon, making him the first person known to have done so.Butchart was born in Hefei, China, to missionary...

described it in his 1970 Grand Canyon Treks trail guide.

Further reading

• John Annerino, 2006, Hiking the Grand Canyon. Sierra Club Books, 3rd ed., ISBN 1578051509

External links

• Nankoweap Trail at HikeArizona
• Nankoweap Trail at NPS