Usually, when I stay at North Rim, I walk down it several times a day. Hopefully they will get some of the work done in the off season and have it opened in Spring 25.
We had one of our rail trails close for just short of a year as they had a grant to make one portion more accessible from a parking lot by having it paved. Mind you, I have no problem with that and it is great to see it done, but the whole trail is about 5 miles and the only portion to be paved was less than 1000 feet...just far enough to get to a spot to view the lake.
That is so frustrating! It was nice that someone let you use the video to see what is happening there. You would think that small area could have been fixed at a faster pace.
Yes, only the far end of the trail would need to be closed, and from my perspective, only for a week or two. Sometimes I wonder about how they are administering our parks.
On our trip through the national parks, we often came across trails closed for construction and sometimes had to change our plan because of it. It is a pity, however, if the path and the viewpoint are closed for such a long time, and nothing happens for months.
my understanding is Bright Angel is only closed from Havasupai Gardens to the river, but not above that, i.e. you can get to tonto trail. Is that not correct?
Yes, absolutely correct. This video was only about the very short "Bright Angel Point Trail" on North Rim, not the confusingly similarly named "Bright Angel Trail" on South Rim. I believe the current schedule calls for Bright Angel Trail on South Rim to be closed from October 21, 2024 to May 15 2025, North of the Tonto Trail Cut Off. I plan to access that portion of the trail in a few weeks and will report back. There is a video on this topic: th-cam.com/video/DVKa-TPZZJc/w-d-xo.html
@@tamiio1 Starting today Bright Angel Trail is closed North of Havasupai Garden, but you can still take Tonto Trail either West or East. If you go East, it hooks up with South Kaibab after about 4.5 miles (working from memory) and makes a nice hike up to the South Kaibab Trailhead.
Must be a new administrator of the National Parks that is doing nothing but enjoying his big salary thousands of miles away. Someone needs to hold him accountable for the malfeasance.
To me, there has been a definite change in the administration of the Park since the appointment of the new Superintendent, a career attorney, not a career Ranger.
I do not know if they are federal employees or contractors, as none of them showed up in the 3 days I was there (which might say something in itself). But after viewing the video, I must say that I am not impressed by their progress.
In that no one involved in making this video is an engineer nor geologist, we can't fully appreciate why the trail was closed. One thing is certain. Those complaining would be among the first to complain should someone be injured on the trail by virtue of an unseen fault or void and a closure wasn't imposed.
Valid point. I guess if one were highly motivated, one could do a FOIA request for the contract for the work to see specifically what the specifications are. It strikes me the highest risk of injury would be the lack of guardrails, but that situation has existed since the trail was created. Thanks for your comment.
It's been a couple of years since I took this trail. It is take you breath away beautiful. I hope they open it next year.
Usually, when I stay at North Rim, I walk down it several times a day. Hopefully they will get some of the work done in the off season and have it opened in Spring 25.
We had one of our rail trails close for just short of a year as they had a grant to make one portion more accessible from a parking lot by having it paved. Mind you, I have no problem with that and it is great to see it done, but the whole trail is about 5 miles and the only portion to be paved was less than 1000 feet...just far enough to get to a spot to view the lake.
I share your frustration with the way the closures are executed sometimes. Sometimes the strategies do not make sense. Thanks for watching!
That is so frustrating! It was nice that someone let you use the video to see what is happening there. You would think that small area could have been fixed at a faster pace.
Yes, only the far end of the trail would need to be closed, and from my perspective, only for a week or two. Sometimes I wonder about how they are administering our parks.
On our trip through the national parks, we often came across trails closed for construction and sometimes had to change our plan because of it. It is a pity, however, if the path and the viewpoint are closed for such a long time, and nothing happens for months.
Yes, closures are common, but usually not on as important a trail and for such a long time period. Thanks for watching.
This sounds really frustrating to not have the work being completed. So many visitors are missing out.
Yes, that is my essential question, who is the Park for? For the visitors or for the employees?
Hope it can be finished soon ❤
Me too! Thanks for watching.
Frustrating. I was planning to do this walk when I visited from Australia but only got as far as the sign.
I agree, it is a real shame it has been closed for so long. I hope you can come back and visit again!
my understanding is Bright Angel is only closed from Havasupai Gardens to the river, but not above that, i.e. you can get to tonto trail. Is that not correct?
Yes, absolutely correct. This video was only about the very short "Bright Angel Point Trail" on North Rim, not the confusingly similarly named "Bright Angel Trail" on South Rim. I believe the current schedule calls for Bright Angel Trail on South Rim to be closed from October 21, 2024 to May 15 2025, North of the Tonto Trail Cut Off. I plan to access that portion of the trail in a few weeks and will report back. There is a video on this topic: th-cam.com/video/DVKa-TPZZJc/w-d-xo.html
@@GC-Hiker Ah sorry, I didnt catch that difference! I sure hope its open as I'm planning a trip there in two weeks! :)
@@tamiio1 Starting today Bright Angel Trail is closed North of Havasupai Garden, but you can still take Tonto Trail either West or East. If you go East, it hooks up with South Kaibab after about 4.5 miles (working from memory) and makes a nice hike up to the South Kaibab Trailhead.
Must be a new administrator of the National Parks that is doing nothing but enjoying his big salary thousands of miles away. Someone needs to hold him accountable for the malfeasance.
To me, there has been a definite change in the administration of the Park since the appointment of the new Superintendent, a career attorney, not a career Ranger.
I don't know about this crew but I'm around federal employees who seem to be on perpetual break. No exaggeration.
I do not know if they are federal employees or contractors, as none of them showed up in the 3 days I was there (which might say something in itself). But after viewing the video, I must say that I am not impressed by their progress.
In that no one involved in making this video is an engineer nor geologist, we can't fully appreciate why the trail was closed. One thing is certain. Those complaining would be among the first to complain should someone be injured on the trail by virtue of an unseen fault or void and a closure wasn't imposed.
Valid point. I guess if one were highly motivated, one could do a FOIA request for the contract for the work to see specifically what the specifications are. It strikes me the highest risk of injury would be the lack of guardrails, but that situation has existed since the trail was created. Thanks for your comment.