On New Year's Day, Brian and I put in a request for a back country permit in the Canyon for the month of May. If you are interested but not familiar with this process, you can read about it here. We knew we wanted to take a leisurely pace because we'd be taking our eleven year old niece, so we spread the trip out over multiple days. Even though this meant carrying more food and heavier packs, we decided it was still worth the trade off. Hiking 18 miles and 3,000 feet in two back-to-back days is really tough.
We chose one night at Indian Garden, (1/2 the mileage, 1/3 of the elevation), for our first night, Bright Angel Campground at the bottom for our second night, (also referred to as Phantom Ranch, although technically speaking that's referring to the rooms for rent at the bottom), and the third night again at Indian Garden. This allowed us no more than 5 mile/four hour hiking days. With heat well into the hundreds, this was a smart move for us. We were able to hike in the mornings and have the remainder of the day to lay in the various creeks, partake in card games, naps, reading, and exploring.
The hike is obviously not for the faint of heart, but it is true that all shapes, sizes, and experience levels take it upon themselves to brave the trail. The difference, I guess, is how comfortable you are along the way and therefore how enjoyable it will be for you. Lots of different people can put one foot in front of the other and eventually make it to the final destination. Whether or not they are miserable is another matter entirely.
Brian and I are getting better at backpacking every time we go out, but I still enjoy the safety of the corridor trails in the canyon. I'm not sure we'll ever be die-hard backpackers, as all the fuss with packing and weighing and counting and planning are a little too cumbersome for me. I enjoy the haphazardness of the camping road trip more than the ultimate precision of the backpacker's plight. There is still no better way to experience the canyon, however, than to be in it. And for that reason, we will always have some reason to pick up the packs. Die-hards we aren't, but dabblers we shall.
I wish we had taken a better camera, but still I'm sure you can tell it was a great trip.
