Easter in the Grand Canyon

It was months ago that I played the Grand Canyon lottery to try to get a backcountry camping permit for our family. This involved faxing our itinerary request to the backcountry camping office (hand delivery or mail are also acceptable methods to apply). I was so excited when we got the permit that I actually cried; some people have tried and failed to get a permit several times, and I felt so fortunate that we would be able to make our trip to the Grand Canyon an epic one. The girls had expressed an interest in backpack camping during the trip, and we knew that it would be very cool to camp in the canyon.

We hiked down the South Kaibab trail (about 12 km) on Easter Sunday and camped at the Bright Angel Campground which is just across the Colorado river. Hiking down sounds easy, but it certainly isn’t. I think the climb down was harder on our bodies than the climb out. On Monday we hiked half way up (about 8km) the Bright Angel Trail and stayed at Indian Garden campground. Today we hiked the rest of the way out of the canyon (about 7km). Although today’s hike was a little shorter, we climbed twice as high today as we did yesterday. The difference in elevation from the top to the bottom of the canyon is more than 4000 ft, so it was a pretty big climb.

Words and photos are insufficient to describe what we saw on the trail. The views, the switchbacks, the mule trains...all of it was pretty epic. Rather than try and describe these things I thought I’d tell you what it was like to watch my girls conquer this amazing hike.

Firstborn first. It seems like Lucy was born to hike. She has been a strong hiker throughout our trip, but she particularly loves having a destination to hike to. It was impossible for any of us to keep up with her on the trail, though I did have some limited success from time to time. Other hikers commented on her strength and determination which made me very proud. The most amazing thing for me to see was that although Lucy was the fastest hiker in the family, she was also the most present. She saw and enjoyed every flower, lizard, and bird on the trail. When I caught up with her she’d say ‘did you see that purple flower back there?’ Or update me on her lizard count. She delighted in the scenery around each new bend in the trail. I know that we slowed her down quite a bit, and I hope that she will be able to come back one day and hike at her own speed the entire way. We were lucky to meet a young woman named Sarah who was doing the same trip as us all on her own. I liked that Lucy (and Miriam) were able to talk to her and also to see what might be possible for them in the future. Lucy finished strong today; I’m sure she could have reached the top a full 30 minutes or more ahead of the rest of us.

And now for Miriam. As for most things, Miriam takes a little longer to get started than the rest of us. Longer to wake up in the morning, longer to be ready to start hiking. Once she gets started (backpack adjusted, snacks in place, clothes just right) Miriam is also a very strong hiker. She needed and asked for more breaks than her sister, but if we could get her talking she’d hike for an hour without a break. She was full of questions about the trail - the distances, the elevation, the mules, the other hikers, the campground - anything she could think of. I wish I had had an easy way to document those questions so I could answer them all for her. Today was the hardest day for Miriam - doing a climb like this after two days of long hikes wasn’t easy for any of us, but she struggled with some pretty rough moments in the last 2 kilometres when the rim seemed so close yet so far away. I am very proud of the way she finally overcame her discomfort and frustration and finished the trail strong. I hope that Miriam noticed the looks of admiration and surprise she was getting from others on the trail. Her favourite doll was lashed to the side of her backpack throughout the hike, and seeing ‘LaLa’ in Miriam’s pack caused many smiles along the trail.

I am so glad we decided to take this ‘side trip’ from our big trip. I love what it showed me about my girls, and I hope they can see that they have learned things about themselves. As we head to our next destination (which will include milkshakes and hamburgers!) I know that we have been changed by this experience, and I look forward to debriefing with the family over the next couple of days.

I’m only going to post two photos here. One is of Miriam near the top of the canyon today. She looks tired and a little bit upset, but soon after this she took a deep breath, got on the trail, and led me up to the top. 

The second picture is a panoramic shot that Lucy is in, though you may not be able to find her. She is walking along a ridge on top left part of the image, probably nearly 1km ahead of me. She’s in a red shirt with a blue backpack. I loved watching her from a distance.