Comments on: Grand Canyon-The Hard Way-The Hance Trail 1884

By: Carla Gade

Carla Gade — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 04:38:00 +0000

That’s fascinating. Sounds like fodder for a good tale in itself!

By: Phantom Ranch Grand Canyon | AXI

Phantom Ranch Grand Canyon | AXI — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 19:35:32 +0000

[...] Petticoats & Pistols » Grand Canyon-The Hard Way-The Hance Trail 1884 So, has anyone been there? Have any of you gone down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon? Anyone spent the night at Phantom Ranch or taken the burro ride? If so, you have my deepest respect because this is a truly rugged place. Phantom Ranch Grand Canyon – on Twingly [...]

By: Jackie Wisherd

Jackie Wisherd — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:27:13 +0000

Since I grew up in Arizona I’ve made the trip to the Grand Canyon many times but have never been to the bottom. I have a tee shirt that says on the front I’VE HIKED THE GRAND CANYON and on the back it says JUST KIDDING. That’s about as close to the bottom as I’m going to get. It’s an artist’s paradise…I love taking my watercolors there..each time yu paint it the colors seem to have changed due to the sun and or weather conditions. I love going there…it should be on everyone’s list of things to do.

By: Renee

Renee — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 22:49:50 +0000

I wonder if they had special shoes for this? I certainly wouldn’t want to go down in anything other than a good, sturdy pair of hiking boots!

xoxo~ Renee

By: Cynthia Bruner

Cynthia Bruner — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:20:14 +0000

Thanks for the blog, Mary! I have hiked the Grand Canyon twice, and was married at the Grand View overlook.

Before I hiked, a friend told me the inner gorge was “intimate.” She was so right! You can’t see most of the rim, which looks like a distant mountain. Instead there is the dark, still, sunny canyon around you, more “quiet and pretty” than “grandeur.”

The first time I hiked it I got a fever…I never travel without aspirin now! I put off so much heat the dew drenched my bag and left a mud puddle beneath the tent. My good friends helped carry the weight and I made it out. I hallucinated a few times on the trip up…kept seeing my dog! Wishful thinking, of course!

I recommend top, light equipment even if you have to rent it, staying at Indian Gardens on the way up, using walking sticks to save your knees on the way down, and remember that time defeats distance. Go slow. Take pictures. Stick together. Get the free video from the Park Service and do what they say. And everyone’s first married sunrise should be over the Grand Canyon.