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

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

Old Jun 23rd, 2009, 01:22 PM
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Missypie's Belated Trip Report: Grand Canyon Hike & Phantom Ranch Review

Cast: Missypie (one day before her 51st birthday): husband; Son 18; Daughter 16; Daughter 13
March 2009

We arrived at the rim the day before the Big Hike. Ate lunch at Bright Angel Lodge, then took the shuttle to the various look out points leading to Hermits Rest. At the first shuttle stop there was a huge line so we walked the first .7 mile...the girls protested mightily because they had been promised no hiking that day. At one of the lookout points, we saw the kids' voice teacher and her family. We always see people we know on vacation.

We checked into the Maswik Lodge. As an aside, let me say that the Xantera Corp, which has the contract to run the GC hotels, restaurants and gift shops, is ripping the American taxpayer off mightily. Food is generally grade school cafeteria quality at very expensive prices, and we paid around $200 per night for a motel room that should go for about $79. I know it's all in the location, but I feel like writing the National Park Service to tell them to renegotiate the contract.

We got up very early the next morning to be on the shuttle to the South Kaibab trailhead at 8. (In the winter, shuttles run at 7, 8 and 9; in the summer they run at 5, 6 and 7). The South Kaibab trail is a very steep 6.4 miles down (another half mile to Phantom Ranch). There are toilets at a couple of places but no water. Everything you read says to go DOWN it, not up, but we passed plenty of folks walking up.

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 were staying in the bunkhouses...there are two for men and two for women, each housing 10 folks, with one shower, toilet and sink. We all showered (felt so good!!!) and laid down in our bunks for a few minutes.

We got drinks from the cantina and listened to a ranger program, then sat by the creek until it was time to eat. The food was very good - may have been the same "grade school cafeteria" quality about which I complained earlier for all I know - but we were so hungry. (The salad was remarkable, so the food must be a better quality than on the rim.)

After dinner it was dark...the kids went inside. Husband and I looked at the stars for a while but then the bats started swooping a bit low for comfort, so we went to our respective bunkhouses.

Lights were out by 8 pm. It was one of the longest nights of my life. I slept until midnight, then just laid there. I must say that the bunkhouse experience creeped me out a bit....there is someone moving around in the bunk above you, and on two sides of you, but you don't know them at all. I finally got up and brushed my teeth, etc. (using a flashlight for light) at about 4:15...woke daughters up at about 4:45. D16 amazed me...sitting crosslegged on her bunk with only a flashlight and tiny mirror, she was able to put on her heavy eye makeup perfectly. That dance company experience has served her well.

Breakfast at 5:30 am. The girls were totally packed and ready to go by then...after breakfast, we sat for 40 minutes waiting for the guys to get ready. Then....what I had been worrying about for a year...the hike up.

The first 6 miles were great....almost always a stream nearby, nothing very steep. A nice break and lunch at Indian Gardens. Then 4 miles of non-stop switchbacks. The hike between 4 and 2 miles from the rim is where I lost the will to live. It wasn't so much lack of cardio traning...it was just flat exhaustion, even though we were eating and drinking a lot. The kids zipped along, but Husband and I hiked very slowly. I pictured the treadmill, dialing back the speed from 3 to 2 to 1.5. About two miles from the rim there were still two more miles of switch backs (plus ice plus mud) but at that point it got noticably cooler, so it was easier going.

We made it up in 8 hours...some folks take half that, but I'm pretty proud of the time since they say to allow twice as much time for up as down. One guy jogged all the way down and up in about 6 hours....I notice that those kind of folks are always alone.

We each had a set of hiking poles...we loved those for both down and up. Four of us survived the experience without a blister...Husband wore his 30 year old boots (the kind that are hard leather and weigh about 10 lbs each) and got terrible blisters, despite moleskin and everything else we brought with us. He wore slides the rest of the trip and I persuaded him to leave his boots behind. Our toes survived the hike down quite nicely because I bought lambswool pads that ballerinas wear with their toe shoes.

I was prepared physically. I would never ever ever hike it in the summer. When we reached Phantom Rach, it was almost 90...in the summer it's 120, and no A/C.

At the top we went to the car (wisely parked right at the trail head), changed shoes and had lunch/dinner. It was very hard to walk after sitting for the meal. We checked back into Maswick Lodge. I filled zip lock bags with ice to D's legs, since she had to dance the next day. The next morning we got up at 3:30 am (on my birthday!) and drove to Phoenix to put D on a plane home for drill team nationals. Her team ended up winning the whole darned thing (highest points of any kind of group) so it was worth the logistical worries. The rest of us spent three nights at the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs resort...lots of pool time. We saw the "farewell tour" of Rent on Saturday night, which was the trip highlight for Son.
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Old Jun 23rd, 2009, 01:42 PM
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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.
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Old Jun 23rd, 2009, 01:49 PM
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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!
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Old Jun 23rd, 2009, 01:52 PM
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You are a good mom. If it were my 51st birtday, I would have demanded a vacation that involves a spa and a massage.
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Old Jun 23rd, 2009, 01:58 PM
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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.
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Old Jun 23rd, 2009, 04:31 PM
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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.
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Old Jun 23rd, 2009, 06:51 PM
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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.
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Old Jun 23rd, 2009, 07:14 PM
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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.
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Old Jun 23rd, 2009, 07:17 PM
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Thanks for reporting back. You & your family have great adventures!!

MY
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Old Jun 24th, 2009, 06:46 AM
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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.
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Old Jun 24th, 2009, 07:07 AM
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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!
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Old Jun 24th, 2009, 07:22 AM
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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.
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Old Jun 24th, 2009, 08:10 AM
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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.
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Old Jun 24th, 2009, 08:20 AM
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We actually chatted with quite a few folks who hiked who were staying in cabins.
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Old Jun 24th, 2009, 08:45 AM
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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.
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Old Jun 24th, 2009, 08:59 AM
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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.
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Old Jun 24th, 2009, 11:13 AM
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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.
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Old Jun 24th, 2009, 12:54 PM
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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.
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Old Jun 24th, 2009, 01:55 PM
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"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.
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Old Jun 24th, 2009, 02:07 PM
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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.
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