Grand Canyon Backpacking Adventure

The Grand Canyon deserves its reputation as one of the Natural Wonders of the World. At 277 miles long, 6000 ft deep and up to 18 miles wide, the scale is simply stunning. Most visitors to the Grand Canyon never get beyond the rim, and that's a shame, since to truly experience the grandeur of the Grand Canyon you need to hike down into it. Better yet, is to hike to the bottom and spend a couple nights inside the canyon. On this guided tour, we'll do just that. You'll start with 1 night in a comfortable lodge at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, meet your guides, and talk about the hike to come. You will then spend 3 days and 2 nights hiking the South Kaibab to Bright Angel loop. Organized and run by our good friend and Grand Canyon veteran Matt Brown, we will provide all the necessary camping gear - tents, sleeping pads, backpacks - and your experienced guides do all the work to make your tour as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. This is truly an experience for the ages! After arriving in Phoenix, most of our Grand Canyon hikers will rent cars to drive to the park. Your guides can either meet you there or you can meet in Prescott, our hometown. Prescott is an easy 2 hour shuttle ride from the Phoenix airport and we'll be happy to arrange to meet you there for the 2½ hr drive to the Grand Canyon South Rim. Spend your first night at the rim at the comfortable El Tovar hotel and enjoy a wonderful dinner at the hotel restaurant as you meet and talk about your hiking tour. For the next 3 days, you'll be hiking in the heart of the Grand Canyon. The rush of the modern world falls away as you descend into the canyon, the river threading its way below you as the rim rises above. You'll spend one night at Bright Angel campground at the Colorado river near the legendary Phantom Ranch. The next day you'll hike up along the Bright Angel Trail to Indian Garden campground and enjoy more great views of the river and canyon before hiking back up to the South Rim on your last day. Expect to reach the rim around noon, and you can depart anytime after that. Our days will start with breakfast at our hotel or campground, prepared by your guides, which gives us the energy needed for the day ahead. Then we'll be out on the trail, exploring the wonderful landscapes the Grand Canyon has to offer. Each morning, you'll be handed a lunch to carry, and at a mid-point along the way we'll choose a beautiful spot to stop and enjoy our picnic. We get a lot of compliments on our imaginative lunches - making them something to look forward to as well! We should finish our hike around 4 pm, giving you time to wash up, relax, or perhaps do a bit of looking around on your own. Dinner the first night will be at the luxurious El Tovar restaurant, and on the next two nights will be prepared by your guides while you relax. The Grand Canyon is particularly well suited to fall, winter and spring hikes. Cold weather at the rim (it often snows at the rim in winter) is ideal for hiking, and warmer temperatures near the bottom are comfortable without the overwhelming heat the region experiences in the summer. Temperatures at the bottom of the Canyon are typically 25-30 degrees warmer than at the rim, so we can enjoy cool days for hiking and comfortable evenings at camp.