Cough Drop and I drove from Bandelier National Monument towards the big city of Page, AZ. We really didn't need to go all the way to Page since Rainbow Bridge was en route, but we did need to make our upcoming hike official. We needed to pay for a permit to hike on Navajo land. I had called ahead (I'm a planner!) and knew the permit office would be open that day. We arrived in early afternoon and paid for our permit. The folks at the permit office looked at us like we were crazy hiking in the canyon in winter, but they gave us the permit no less, and a map as well. The map ended up coming in very handy in our hike. We just had a trail description from the NPS website.
Next up, finding a campsite for the night and some dinner. There was a campground in the town of Page, but we wanted something a little more rugged and pretty. The Wahweap campground and marina was not all that rugged, but it was down by Lake Powell and very pretty. Once again, we were the only campers in the whole place. The campground registration folks said we were crazy when we told him about our Rainbow Bridge plans, but we were getting used to that talk at this point. We set-up camp and set off to find a place to hike and see the sunset. The weather couldn't have been better. 
Being the nerd I am, I made Cough Drop stop at the Glen Canyon Visitor Center so I could read the display cases and learn a little more about the making of the dam. Finally, we pulled over to a trailhead right next to the dam to do some hiking. We were able to climb/scramble all the way down to the water on Lake Powell. It was chilly, but not as chilly as the Smokies mountain stream I had put my feet in just last week. We had a great time playing around there until it started getting cold and dark. It was time for some grub. We ended up at the Dam Bar & Grill for some beers and food. Soon after, we made our way back to the campground and caught some shut eye. 
We both are still on east coast time, so wake up time has been around 4:30 - 5:00 am. We both laid around until about 5:30 am, then jumped out of the tent into the 13 degree morning. It was another day of taking down the camp quick and jumping into Buddy (my truck). After a quick stop of Starbucks, we were on our way to the trailhead. This proved easier said than done. We drove two and a half hours towards the trailhead and never did officially find it. We were on Navajo land, and there really aren't landmarks or trailheads. We ended up parking next to a horse corral and walking in the general direction of the trail (thank goodness for the map we were given!). We walked about a mile and a half and eventually found the trailhead. And by trailhead, I mean a set of rock cairns we think is the trailhead!
I was a bit nervous hiking into the canyon with very limited markings, but it proved well worth it. From the beginning of the hike, the scenery was spectacular. This hike is called the Rainbow Bridge north route, but it really should be called a canyon route. Most of the hike was climbing in and out of a variety of different canyons. The rocks would be red at one minute and then white a few hours later. My friend Li told me it is actually the same rock, just a very different color. Blew my mind a little bit. The first mind-blowing area we came to was Bald Rock Canyon. Check out the video to get the full effect. We ended up dropping a thousand feet in about 3/4 of a mile.
The rest of the day was a maze of different canyons and great views. After about 14 miles of scrambling and hiking, we were both ready to call it a day. We found this amazing campsite under the ledge of a canyon overhang. We couldn't have picked a better spot if we tried. We were protected from the elements and the fire we built kept us warm well into the night. 
We woke up early and anxious with anticipation to see Rainbow Bridge. We left our camp set-up and headed out just with day packs to see the bridge. We made really good time, passing Echo Camp (and of course shouting and waiting to hear the echo!) and finally reaching the bridge. I must tell you that most sane people take the ferry 2 hours from Wahweap Campground (where we also started yesterday morning) and then hike in 1.2 miles to the bridge. But we are a different breed. We hiked 17.5 miles into see this canyon and it was worth it. We had the whole wilderness to ourselves for 48 hours. Rainbow Bridge is the longest natural arch in the states and it was worth the walk.
Cough Drop and I retraced our steps back to our camp and picked up the rest of our gear. Then, we began the long trek back toward my truck. It was the same route we took the day before, but it was so pretty we both didn't mind taking our time. After 18 miles of hiking, we decided it was time to call it a day. We chose a campsite up on the ridge, with excellent sunset potential. Another chilly night below freezing and we were both looking forward to the predicted warmer temperatures. We had less than an hour hike back to my truck. We were both excited that the truck was still there and even more excited it started after all the cold weather. The best part of the day was seeing the sunrise over Navajo mountain and the canyons below. Can't beat it.
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