Does anyone have a copy of the first National Geographic guide to the National Parks? If not, you can see the cover as it was featured in Ken Burns Our National Parks, America’s Best Idea documentary. You’ll find it in the segment that has the commentary from a photographer that has made a life’s journey to photograph in each of the 58 units of the National Park System that carry the designation of National Park. On the cover of the first guide is a wonderful image of Mt. Hayden on the north rim of  The Grand Canyon.

Seeing this image many decades ago sparked what has become a passion for me. I never miss an opportunity to shoot this wondrous icon.  After all, what could be more appropriate than paying tribute to the renowned geologist Ferdinand Hayden in a place that reveals more geology than anywhere else on the planet? Actually, this would be paying tribute to a tribute!

Getting to the North Rim is usually a seasonal endeavor. At over 1,000 feet higher than the South Rim the park road is closed after the first real snowfall in the fall and opens for the season again in mid May or as soon as possible thereafter.

Heavy snow is common at elevations of over 8,000 where Mt. Hayden is visible overlooking Marble Canyon to the north and the confluence of the Little Colorado with the big river to the south.

Hand saws, even a chain saw is good preparation if you are thinking about leaving the National park for B.L.M lands that surround the park. Heavily forested, off-road travel may bring sudden situations that snow chains and tow straps may be handy remedies for. I never venture out without food, water and provisions for several days. You simply just never know!

Some years snow at this time of the year makes back-road travel almost impossible. Monsoons in the summer and passing storms in the fall can have the same effect. I never know what I might find or where I might photograph as the park will have just opened for this season but one thing I can count on is trying to be in position to at least see this breathtaking vista once again. Always of course, hoping that a photographic image will rise!

In the image featured, early light streaking across a thin cloud cover provided one of the most tranquil and peaceful shoots I’ve done. This is a popular vista and sometimes there are many voices raised while witnessing the quiet of a new day. The silence of this day added to the feeling of soaring through time and space.

Canon 1Ds. Canon 50mm 1.2  Singh-Ray ColorCombo (combines both the Color Intensifier and Warming Polarizer). Singh-Ray 3hs graduated neutral density filter