One does not walk McKittrick Ridge by happenstance.

If your goal is to feast upon the awesomeness of this vast and delicately carved canyon... then one must plan... and be willing to walk about eight miles carrying everything they might need for at least three days... including at least one gallon of water... per person... per day. That's 24 lbs of nothing but water... on top of and in addition to whatever else you might need. Like food... clothing... (it can get quite cold!)... sleeping bag... tent... toilet paper... ziplocks... and all the other little things which we use every day. Like two cameras, 30 rolls of film and a tripod. Just to take this picture... which in my opinion, only marginally describes this place.

The idle, disorganized or the just plain lazy.. never see McKittrick Ridge. This probably accounts for it's serene awesomness and overwhelmingly delicate beauty. One never encounters an idiot on Mckittrick Ridge... Loud, obnoxious people are "weeded out" long before they make it this far!

If you look carefully along the ridge running out to that dome shaped knob... there on the left side of this image... you might be able to make out a trail... winding out up and over that knob. There are exactly 36 switch-backs along that trail, descending from there to "The Grotto" in the bottom of the canyon. About 3000 feet straight down in less than a mile.

I call it The Magic Mile... and in my mind it's nothing short of holy ground, absolutely awesome... but NOT for the faint of heart or those subject to complaining!