Missypie's Belated Trip Report: Grand Canyon Hike & Phantom Ranch Review

So proud of you missypie for doing this! I am tired by just reading how long and steep the hike is! I probably would have never made it... Thanks so much for sharing.

We went to the Grand Canyon when the kids were younger and after that we said we'd hike down for Son's last high school spring break. I made the reservations a year in advance but waited another six months to join a gym. It was sheer terror that kept me on the stairmaster and treadmill!

You are a good mom. If it were my 51st birtday, I would have demanded a vacation that involves a spa and a massage.

Wonderful trip report, missypie. Some of your observations really gave me a laugh. Last fall we also stayed at the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs and enjoyed it very much; hope you did as well.

Great report. I have visions of the people who go down and up in the same day. I'd love to do it myself, but am such a slug and a geezer that I doubt I'd make it up the last 4 miles. Thanks for letting us live vicariously through you.

Congratulations! Thanks for the great report. I also want to do this trip before my son graduates from high school. Interesting perspective on the bunkhouse experience. I've had those "longest nights of my life" while camping, so I was hoping the bunkhouse would be better.

wtm003----if you want to do the trip with your son, consider camping at Bright Angel instead of the Phantom bunkhouse. We have been to the bottom of the canyon three times and MUCH prefer the campground. It is very clean and pleasant, with campsites strung out along Bright Angel creek. You go to sleep to the sound of a babbling brook instead of snoring strangers.

On our third trip we stayed at Phantom---most of us in a group cabin among friends. But my husband was in the dorm and still hasn't forgiven me.

Camping is so much better. You can still book you meals (dinner and breakfast) at Phantom, and if you don't want to carry heavy backpacks with camping gear, you can send most of it down (and back up) on the mules.

Besides, it is much easier to get a camping permit than reservations at Phantom.

Missypie, I'm sorry you and your family didn't have a good time at the Grand Canyon. This makes me sad, because I encouraged you to give it a try.

Thanks for reporting back. You & your family have great adventures!!

MY

Enzian, what possibly made you think we didn't have a good time? Yes, the bunkhouse was a bit creepy, but that was just a few hours of the adventure. I can't say I loved a couple of the miles of the hike up, but most of it was very doable and it gave us all a great sense of accomplishment.

Wtm003, if your party is smaller (e.g. 4 people) you can get a cabin rather than having to stay in the bunkhouse. What was so weird about the bunkhouse is that no one introduced themselves or talked to others outside their own group. There's always hope that your bunkhouse would contain a gregarous soul who would insist on introductions. The impediment to this is that there seems to always be one or more people sleeping...you hike, you come to the bunkhouse and you crash....or in the morning, some people have the early breakfast and others are trying to sleep...because of this, the lights are low and everyone talks in hushed voices.

missypie,
Congratulations for making it down to Phantom Ranch and surviving the hike out!
I think as the years go by you will look back on this trip and it will get better and better, especially doing it with your kids.
The bunkhouse experience is what keeps me from hiking down (or should I say, my husband - he does not want to be sleeping with 9 strangers). If I'd been there, I know I would have been the gregarious one making introductions!

Gilbert56, if there are just two of you, get a cabin! I don't think the cost is all that much more. (There were 5 of us, so we would have had to have rented two cabins.) The cabins have a toilet and a sink and you shower in a shower room/cabin.

Hi Missypie---I'm sorry that I misunderstood. Reading through, it seemed like the ony thing you really enjoyed was the salad at Phantom.

The cabins there are actually not easy for hikers to reserve. According to what I have been told, all but of them are reserved for mule riders (which Gilbert has done several times). They might release a cabin later if they can't fill it with mule riders, but this is really random. If you call a year in advance to make reservations at Phantom as a hiker, you will be given dorm space---IF you even get that.

We actually chatted with quite a few folks who hiked who were staying in cabins.

Yes---I have too. They either were in the group cabin (which we had), or the one hiker's cabin that can be reserved early, or they lucked into a cancellation for one of the mule riders' cabins.

I've met people who called a week or two in advance and got a cabin that way, but it really takes some luck and a lot of flexibility to be able to take a last-minute cabin like that.

Great descriptions here -- especially like the part about the climb up! I like to walk and hike, but I'm afraid it would be the mules for me.

missypie,
As Enzian said, reserving a cabin at Phantom Ranch is almost like winning the lottery. I call on the first of the month for a cabin for the following year and by the time I eventually get through, the cabin (there is only 1 available for hikers) has already been snagged for the whole month, and even dorm space is hard to get too.
If the mule rides are not full or there are last minute cancellations, then those cabins open up for "walk ups" at Bright Angel transportation desk the day before. We have spoken with many hikers at Phantom Ranch who lucked into a cabin that way, especially in December, when we go.
The cabins have different bed configurations too - some have a queen size bed and some have bunks - it all depends how many in your party. We have always had the queen size bed in our cabin.

In this economy, there might be more cancellations than usual...I bet there are folks who could afford the trip when they made the reservations a year ago who can't afford it now.

Another thing - when you make your GC room and meal reservations, check that confirmation email as soon as you receive it. I had booked the early breakfast and they put me down for the late. I didn't even open the confirmation email until about 6 weeks before the trip. It took a few calls before there were enough cancellations that I could get the early breakfast. They also made a mistake on the room reservation at Maswik Lodge. We were able to correct it when we got there, but I had to pay the 2009 price rather than getting the 2008 price.

"In this economy, there might be more cancellations than usual...I bet there are folks who could afford the trip when they made the reservations a year ago who can't afford it now."

Excellent point---I'll bet you're right, especially when it comes to the mule riders, who pay a lot more than hikers for their experience. I wouldn't try to pick up a cancellation the next couple of months, though---hiking down and up in July or August is not recommended. (That is, the park service recommends against it on their website.)

Also a good point about the changes--if you make any change to your reservation they will use that as reason to update your price to the current ones.

It has been my dream to do this some day, but, as I get older, I doubt I will. I might settle for the raft trip out of Lee's Ferry to the West Rim at some point. I have done the shorter raft trip that runs out of Peach Springs (you return via a helicopter ride straight up from the West Rim helipad--quite a ride).

Thanks for posting.

LairenKahn1, I posted about this on another message board and someone said that their 72 year old aunt had done it!

What is wild is that so many "casual hikers" (the ones in street shoes, with no water, carrying a sack of souvineers from the gift shop) hike down the first couple of miles on the Bright Angel Trail, then back up...that is one of the most grueling parts of the entire hike! If you go down to Indian Gardens and back up, you might as well do the whole thing because that is the most difficult part anyway.

Age is not a factor so long as you are fit enough.

I led a group of 12 on a rim to rim hike (with one night at Phantom Ranch) last September. The youngest person on the hike was 52; two were in their early 70's (72 and 74). Those last two were among the first to the top, hiking up from the bottom of the canyon on the Bright Angel trail in 5 hours.

Sounds like there is hope for me yet.

Congratulations to you and your family for this great accomplishment! This trip has been on my "travel list" for quite some time, although I'd like to do the mule trip too!

After reading about your experience, I definitely would want a cabin too! The thought of bunking it while wide awake scares me! I already spend enough sleepless nights in my own bed these days, lol!!

Thanks for posting this enjoyable trip report!

There is one set of bunks in an alcove that are apart from the others. My daughters got those. They slept soundly. I certainly wouldn't avoid the trip just because of the bunkhouse experience. It is just such a small part of the trip. However, I admit that I wouldn't have wanted to have spent a secnd night there.

Another thing I would add, at the risk of being branded a complainer: bring your own food for the hike out - don't rely on their "sack lunch" - at least don't rely on their sack. I had their extremely cheap sack strapped to my pack, but it had things in it with points (e.g. the package of cream cheese) and the point wore a hole in the sack by the time I had walked about a block!

The sack lunch had raisins, a bagel with cream cheese, an apple and a couple of other things (perhaps $3 worth of food for $11.21). It wasn't terrible, but you need to consume so many calories for the trip up that it would make more sense to pack your own high calorie energy bars, etc.

I've been away so I'm just now catching up. Enzian and missypie thanks for your comments. My husband and I discussed the points both of you made and our lodging choice would probably be in the following order: 1) the impossible to get cabins 2) camping 3) the dorms. I'm the only girl in our family of four so I would be in the dorm be myself, which doesn't sound like too much fun.

Enzian, are the campsites shaded? I would go crazy if I got to the bottom and then was baking in the hot sun for a couple of hours.

Missypie, great tip about the sack lunch. If we do this in spring 2011, I'll have two teenage boys who will need MUCH more food than what you described. They'll probably each need a jar of peanut butter in their pack along with other snacks.

wtm---yes, the campsites at Bright Angel are shaded. They are strung out along the creek, under the cottonwood trees. There is a path down the middle, and campsites on the side without creek frontage are also shaded by the cliffs rising above, in late afternoon. It is really very pleasant there.

Did I mention that you can send your camping gear down on the mules in a duffle? They will take 30 pounds of gear---most of what you need for camping---for $60. Since the campsite is very inexpensive, it still works out pretty well.

Just be aware that Phantom Ranch and the campsites are booked at different times and through different systems---Phantom Ranch through Xanterra, first day of the month a year in advance, and campsites through the backcountry office at the National Park:

http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/backcountry-permit.htm

To camp in April (when we have gone on two occasions) you fax your permit request on December 1 the previous year---five months in advance.

Another option is to do what I did last time---find some friends to go with you and book the group cabin at Phantom---you need 10 people for that. Then at least you are among friends!

It has always been my thought that the cabins were for mule riders only. If you call the 13 months in advance is it possible to get a cabin for 3 or 4 people?

"People hike the South Kaibab for the views of the canyon...very expansive. What blew me away was how green it was. You think of brown and red stones when you think of the GC, but lower down it is very green. It took us 6 hours to go down....some folks make it in 2-4 hours. I didn't think we were hiking particularly slowly....the path varies...lots of gravel, bigger rocks, logs to step on or over. I really don't see how folks hike quickly and maintain their footing.

We arrived at Phantom Ranch at about 3 pm. When you're down there, you can't see "the Grand Canyon"....you're just in a shady gorge by a creek."



We've done a lot of traveling through the canyons and western USA, and yet I still don't really understood the appeal of this trip, at least as a travel experience.

I applaud you OP, for your honest assessment of the trip. To gaze upon the GC is spectacular, as are many of the hikes.

But I'm still mystified why some go to the extent needed to reach the bottom, especially if you're constantly watching your footing and not the vast beauty, and then discovering at the bottom that it is like "you're just in a shady gorge by a creek".

So is the appeal directly related to the physical challenge more than as a travel experience? I don't believe we've ever been congratulated on any of our travels, although it sounds like this type of experience definitely qualifies!

"But I'm still mystified why some go to the extent needed to reach the bottom, especially if you're constantly watching your footing and not the vast beauty, and then discovering at the bottom that it is like "you're just in a shady gorge by a creek". "

Well, I'd say that our views of this hike differ. I have found it incredibly beautiful every step of the way---that's why we have done it three times. You don't have to constantly watch your footing; there are places where you do and many where you don't. And in between you can always stop and marvel.

And at the bottom, I'd have to disagree that you are "just in a shady gorge by a creek". It's a gorge 4,500 feet deep that few people have the privilege of seeing. . . And on the way, you pass through millions and millions of years of rock strata, changing color layer by layer, and several different eco-zones. The whole thing is fantastic. And if you want to see the "whole canyon" from the bottom, just walk out to the Colorado and look up. Or stand in certain areas around Phantom---in the right spot you can see up to the South Rim lodges, oh so far away.

As for why some of us "go to the extent" to reach the bottom---it is partly for the challenge, but also for the love of the place. Maybe that is hard for some to understand.

spirobulldog---some have reported that there is one cabin for hikers (but I've never actually confirmed that with Xanterra). The other cabins are as you say reserved for mule riders, unless near the time they haven't filled them. But if you call 13 months in advance as a hiker, you are likely to be offered only the dorms.

"And at the bottom, I'd have to disagree that you are "just in a shady gorge by a creek". It's a gorge 4,500 feet deep that few people have the privilege of seeing. . . And on the way, you pass through millions and millions of years of rock strata, changing color layer by layer, and several different eco-zones. The whole thing is fantastic. And if you want to see the "whole canyon" from the bottom, just walk out to the Colorado and look up. Or stand in certain areas around Phantom---in the right spot you can see up to the South Rim lodges, oh so far away."



Just to clarify, I was quoting the OP when I wrote ""just in a shady gorge by a creek"" Your additional description enzian makes it a bit more appealing to me personally.

We do 'love it' there also, and since we're young and fit, I'm sure we'll attempt it someday. Until then, especially with youngish children, there are too many other things we want to see and do. After reading this review, if we do go, we'll definitely find a way for our family to stay together. Vacations are all about bonding; we have the rest of the year to go our separate ways.

I still appreciate the OP's candid review, including the negatives. That's not always the case on other forums.

It's actually a great family trip, with kids 12 and up, as long as they are active (participate in some kind of sports). Our daughter went with us when she was 14; her sports are cross-country and tennis, and she was just fine with the hike---no fatigue or soreness. She loved it, especially the photography opportunities, and camping out by the creek. We saw desert bighorn sheep by the trail on the way up, and then got caught in a snowstorm, all of which gave her lots to talk about afterward.

I wrote a trip report on that hike with our daughter, as well as the next one we did with a group of friends. You'll note from that one that it's not necessary to be "young and fit", just "fit".

Enzian, thanks for the camping info. It does seem like a great family trip!

Enzian is obviously a camping enthusiast, which is terific. If you are NOT a happy camper, don't think that camping will be fun just because you are at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. I'm not trying to dim anyone's enthusiasm, but if you are like me and think that camping is a couple of steps away from hell, don't think you will love it because of the location. Just make an honest self-assessment before you decide which way to go.

I just found your trip report. When I got to the part where you deadpanned that you lost the will to live, what can I say, everyone in the house wanted to see what was making me laugh so hard.

I like others appreciate your candid views - and no, I didn't get the sense that you didn't enjoy it, just that you were trying to ensure that those who do this know what to expect, which is invaluable advice.

As I am an extremely light sleeper, this means I wouldn't sleep, exactly, in the bunkhouse; rather I'd lie awake and imagine certain scenes out of "the Shining." Even at our own wilderness cabin where there's not a (human) soul around for miles, I use earplugs: if I can't hear those mysterious scratching and thumping sounds outside at night, I sleep a heckuva lot better. (I still remember reading, by the light of the kerosene lantern, "Silence of the Lambs" and at a critical point, a dead moth fell from the ceiling....

Sue, thanks for your nice words. I'm glad you took the report in the spirit in which it was offered. I must admit that in the bunk I was convincing myself that mass murderers probably aren't the type to hike down and up the Grand Canyon and that the murderess would have to be in awfully good shape to be able to make a getaway...