We are taking a family vacation to the Grand Canyon and have reservations for a mule ride into the canyon. Everyone is a little nervous about the ride and I'm hoping someone who has taken the trip can enlighten me. I saw them do it on the Brady Bunch, but I don;t know much about it beyond that. We range from 20-54 years old.

It was a bit hard to get use to, but a memory to cherish. First of all you have to trust this animal. Everytime we took a hair pin turn the darn thing looked as if it had only three legs on the trail. They go to the very edge. My trick was to keep looking up the canyon so as not to see the drops down the canyon. You also have to keep your donkey close to the one in front of you. If you don't, it will gallop to the pack later. Not pleasant. Drink plenty of water, have your camera handy. Relax. You are making memories your family will tell the next generation. Enjoy.

Did this a long long time ago, probably Brady Bunch times. If you have problems with vertigo, forget it. Half the time I couldn't look at anything but the mule's neck. Just there a year ago and swear I saw the same mules, or do they all look alike?? There are some nice hiking trails that are described on this forum and I, for one, would rather be on my own two legs than that mule's 3! Just to clarify, I grew up on horses and had no fear/doubts about riding the creature, just about his judgement and the shear drop!

The facts may ease your mind: in over 75 years of organized mule rides, not one single rider (or mule) has ever suffered a death or serious injury while on the mule. If you wear a hat and long cotton clothes, put on lots of sunscreen, drink lots of water, and OBEY THE RULES given by the mule skinner; you'll do fine. As noted, you'll spend half your time wondering if the mule's next step will be your last, but you'll be completely safe.

Dear Stephanie,

My husband and I (we were in our late 20's) did it 3 years ago and are very glad that we did.It was quite an experience.
It is true, the mules do walk very close to the edge and I did close my eyes every time there was a hairpin bend coming up. Which is often.
I also seemed to have a clumbsy mule that kept tripping over every rock!
If you are going to be going when it will be cold make sure you take gloves (we didn't )as the reins can be quite rough on your hands.
My husband, who is very fit and does't carry much fat on his behind also had huge blisters on his butt for about a week. No problem it that area for me though, plenty of padding!
Having said all this, don't miss it.
I know it seems quite daunting putting you life in a mules footsteps but I guess the mule doesn't really want to fall down the canyon either.
Once you get over the initial jitters you kind of forget about it.
So don't cancel your reservation the waiting list is so long which must mean something.
Be brave and enjoy.

One important thing to bear in mind is the weight limit (I'm sure they must have told you this when you booked....but just in case).

We tried to "stand by" for the mule trip a few years ago (apparently a lot of people don't show up for their reservations) but my husband weighed in at 206 pounds, and they have a strict 200 pound limit (SPCA rules) including the clothes you'll be wearing (he keeps insisting it was winter - and it was the clothes making him heavy!).

Instead we hiked down the same path the mule trip takes - and saw the mules coming down. I know other posters have said it - but it bears repeating. The mules walk INCREDIBLY close to the edge. Frankly, after seeing it I was glad we hadn't gone as I don't much care for open heights and 5 hours would have been too much for me.

I'd like to "weigh in" with a few questions on the weigh-in for the mule trip. I am right at 200 lbs. right now and trying to drop a few more pounds in the next few weeks before our trip.

I phoned the Bright Angel transportation desk and was told that you weigh-in the day before in whatever (lightweight!) clothes you are wearing at that time, regardless of what you will wear for the trip down. Is this correct? Also, is the scale reliable (like a Dr's scale) or just some typical unreliable bathroom scale? If I pass the weigh-in the day before, is that the last weigh-in (read: can I eat supper that night)?

I hate to seem so anal about this, but it will be close for me. We've been through a lot putting these vacation plans together and I don't want to blow it for the family. I would appreciate anyone sharing their experience.

Hi Wayne - our "weigh in" experience was about 7 years ago so it might be out of date - but here's how it went.

We did indeed weigh in the afternoon before the trip we were standing by for and were just wearing regular clothes (but it was December, so we were more heavily dressed than you will be). As I recall it was a professional scale - not a cheap bathroom one. At that point they told my husband he might have a problem because he was over the 200 pound limit. They said he could come back the next morning and be weighed again, but that weigh in would have to be in the clothes he would be wearing for the trip. When pressed, they said that if he were around 202 or 203 they would probably overlook it. He weighed in again the next morning (at that time they were lenient about having to wear all of the sweaters/jackets for the weigh in but he did have to be weighed wearing his heavy hiking boots). He came in at 206 and that was unacceptable. Based on our observations I would say that if you pass the weigh in the day before, you're not weighed again.

Hope that helps.

My wife and I took the mules about 10 years ago. It was the most exciting trip you can take, beacuse it is only you and the mule, and when you look down what you see is eternity.

You don't want to weight too much, because you don't want to fool the mule.

We have great fear of heights, but really wanted to take the mules. I had nightmares for 6 months, and took out $500,000 in accident insurance, which I did not tell my wife. But when we got there and learned that no person had died falling off the mule in 75 years, we became very confident. There were times, though, especially on the hairpin turns, when I did not think I was going to make it. But we did, and the worse we had was a sore bottom. I said a prayer when we reached the top.

They said to whip the mule to keep up, but mine simply refused to follow closely, and seemed to go his own way. After a while, I figured he had done this before and knew more than me, so I let him go his own speed. It worked out.

It was the experience of a lifetime.

Thanks everyone for sharing all this info. One other thing...my wife has a bladder about the size of a kidney bean which goes into a flash flood alert everytime she sees a roadside rest area. She would like to know if there are adequate pee stops along the mule trails!

Rest stops on the trail are VERY few and far between. I don't have a solution other than to prepare for it.

These once in a lifetime jaunts are really that, and you'll never regret it. We took our 19 and 22 year old kids on a dogsled trip last Christmas, at 15 below zero. None of us were sure it was so great an idea but once we got there...turned out fabulous and of course, a "once in a lifetime" thrill for all of us. Do whatever you have to drop five or ten (you guys usually can do it easier than us women) and your wife probably won't have much of a problem. Amazing how you don't think about, um, going, when you're so wrapped up in alternatively being scared to death and awestruck at natural beauty.