The Grand Canyon - Climbing Out

You da man Bill. I wanna grow up to be just like you. LOL.
 
Texas Slim said:
At this time, I'd say your best chance to pick up a permit would be to take over a date that has been given up. From time to time, for a variety of reasons, groups will be unable to complete their trip as scheduled. When they cancel their trip, those dates become available on a first come first served basis. The biggest problem here it that you likely have very little time to pull your trip together. And while the number of people capable of putting together a 18 day, 280 mile trip has grown, the number of people who have the experience and willingness to put that kind of trip together in a week or two is still generally small.

So, as much as I hate to say it, if you really want to experience the Canyon from the bottom up, your best opportunity will be on a commercial trip. Be prepared for sticker shock as as a good trip will run around $6,000 per person. If you consider this option, PLEASE, do it right. No motorized trips! Take your time, enjoy the Canyon as it should be experienced with nothing but the canyon wrens to disturb the silence.
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Thanks for all the info TS. If I ever do the trip on water it would probably be on a commercial raft. That way Karen could join me. She has rheumatoid arthritis and her knees can no longer handle the pounding of hiking in. However, I am going to see it she might be able to ride a mule down on my next trek. :)
 
on_the_edge said:
Excellent pics!!! You make me want to drive up to the GC right now and start hiking!
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Let your dreams be your guide. Go ahead and start making plans. You'll never regret it. I believe you're closer in Tuscon than I am in Los Alamos. That's a pretty area down south. I used to camp at Chiricahua National Monument when I traveled from San Diego to Dallas to visit my folks.
 
tholiver said:
Excellent pics!
The American southwest is so beautiful,i'm definitely visiting there some day!
:thumbup:
And as we just got an extra 2 feet of wet-soggy-snowshovel-snapping-snow yesterday pics that don't have white in them are much appreciated!
This thread and Pitdogs BC green-shots are really helping me survive til spring!
:D
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Know what ya mean bro. At 7600 ft we have our share of snow in Los Alamos. I'm waiting for the melt so I can resume my local mountain hikes. The only thing clear enough now is Rio Grande canyon. :(
 
HighDesertWalker said:
Thanks for all the info TS. If I ever do the trip on water it would probably be on a commercial raft. That way Karen could join me. She has rheumatoid arthritis and her knees can no longer handle the pounding of hiking in. However, I am going to see it she might be able to ride a mule down on my next trek. :)
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You actually reminded me of a couple of options.

Some outfitters used to offer shorter, split trips. The trip starts at the Lee's Ferry put-in and runs down to Phantom Ranch-- I think that's a four day trip. At Phantom Ranch, some of the passengers will leave the trip and others will join to finish out the float. I'm sure it's much less expensive but you'd miss some of the most famous rapids on the river.

The good news for those taking commercial trips is that you can expect first class treatment including excellent meals and drinks and very knowledgeable guides.
 
For just over 2 weeks last October-November, I ran 225 miles on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon from Lee's Ferry to Diamond Creek. It was a private trip, there were 13 of us. My bother, who had 10 years total waiting time on his permit, combined permits with a friend, who also had about 10 years wait time. I was lucky enough to get in on the trip. It was fantastic, with lots of day hikes up side canyons. My brother was a former professional guide on the river, and is a current NPS ranger on the river. He has over 80 runs under his belt, from commercial trips to patrol to taking down groups of scientists to study the canyon (frogs, disease vectors, geology and archoelogy).

The old system of waiting for seniority in waiting are over. As of last year, there is a lottery system in place. You can earn seniority for the lottery by waiting years, if you go down the river a particular year you are not eliminated from the system but that year does not add seniority to your wait. The woman's name who handles the private permits is Elisha. She was a member of our group. There is a web site where you can register, or you can call Elisha.

That is all I remember off hand. I'm in Tuscany for a couple of weeks and away from my notes, but if anyone wants more information I can look it up when I return to the States. You should be able to google Grand Canyon Raft Permit and get the registration site though. Again, it's a lottery system now and I don't believe you have to keep paying money each year to keep your name in the system.
 
Thanks for the info Robb. Sounds like anyone who wants to make the run has got a chance. Thats great. You're never too old. :thumbup:
 
I went to the Grand Canyon on a roadtrip with my friends this january. We went to the rim and saw nothing but fog... we had to leave cuz the weather was getting bad and we didn't wanna get stuck... we were on deadlines... too bad.
 
Nsaglibene said:
I went to the Grand Canyon on a roadtrip with my friends this january. We went to the rim and saw nothing but fog... we had to leave cuz the weather was getting bad and we didn't wanna get stuck... we were on deadlines... too bad.
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You probably did the right thing. You can get snow on the trail in January, and that makes for dangerous hiking conditions. But take heart, the Grand Canyon isn't going anywhere. :)
 
Looks like fun. How'd you manage to get pics with no tourists in the picture??? I hike the canyon about 3 times a year on average and on those corridor trails its like walking down main street in New York there's so many people. Glad you had a good time, those pics are giving me the itch.
 
iamonespfn said:
Looks like fun. How'd you manage to get pics with no tourists in the picture??? I hike the canyon about 3 times a year on average and on those corridor trails its like walking down main street in New York there's so many people. Glad you had a good time, those pics are giving me the itch.
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The trails thin out in Nov when show is a possibility, and hikers tend naturally to disperse once they get moving. Beyond that, I tend to wait until all's clear before I shoot.
 
HighDesertWalker said:
The trails thin out in Nov when show is a possibility, and hikers tend naturally to disperse once they get moving. Beyond that, I tend to wait until all's clear before I shoot.
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Guess I should try Nov. then, I've done January several times but I guess cabin fevers setting in by then cuz there's still quite a few people on the trails. Great pics!
 
Your pics really brought back a lot of memories for me.

My wife and I (along with her brother and his wife) hiked the canyon. We went down on South Kaibab (I believe going over the silver bridge) and stayed at Bright Angel on day one. Day two was Bright angel to Indian gardens, then day three was Indian Gardens back to the rim.

It's one of those things you'll never forget - the way the stars looked from the bottom of the canyon. How quickly it gets dark there. The smells.

Again, thanks for posting the pics. Hope you had as good of a hike as we did.
 
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