Four Day’s in the Canyon; 25 miles, a mile of elevation (down and up), spectacular views of a landscape that rivals any on earth, and a communal solitude that forged a bond between my daughter and I that will be a marker in our lives journey.

The idea of hiking the Grand Canyon with my very young daughter (Eleanor) was sparked couple of years ago, when I was hiking the Grand Canyon for the first time with my father, staring in awe from the SouthKiabab Trail as the sun rose over the canyon walls silhouetting the landscape.  It made me a little sad that I could not burn that image in my brain, and transfer the memory to my children, complete with the state that the sunrise brought to my soul.  The trip came into fruition last summer as she was running circles around me on a short backpack trip to Little Lakes Valley in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains.  Hiking from a trial head that was above 11,000 feet was taking a toll on my body.  I was enjoying the trip, but could feel the effects altitude on my lungs, and the pack on my muscles.  Eleanor was as usual running circle around me. In fact, she hatched an idea as to how to share the trip with her friend and family,  and collected about 5 pounds of the prettiest rocks she could find around our camp site, and stowed them away in her pack for hike out the next day.  I was shocked to lift her pack at the end of the trip and to realize that she was dancing down the trial with an extra 10% of her body weight in rocks pulling down of her pack.  I came to the conclusion that this girl can hike.  Perhaps it is time to share the Canyon with my first-born.

Securing permits for a trip below the rim is not an easy task.  You must plan to fax your application on the first day of the moth 5-months before you plan you trip. I also had to plan carefully as I knew that I would be pushing the limits Eleanor’s physical and emotional capabilities during this trip.  Playing it smart was certainly in the cards.  I put in a request for a permit that would allow for 4-days and 3-nights in the canyon for my daughter my parents and me.  We planned to stick with the well traveled corridor trails (SouthKiabab for the decent and Bright Angel for the accent), and split the the trip out of the Canyon in two by camping at Indian Gardens for the last night.  We spent two nights in the Bright Angel Campground near Phantom Ranch, allowing a day off from major hiking, and allowing us to explore the area a little more thoroughly than I have before .

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The route was ideal to foster the confidence and limitations of the whole group,  enough of a challenge that when Eleanor called Mom after the hike down, she indicated that it was the hardest thing she had ever done.  Despite the challenge she was ready and willing to go after a little rest.  The day off also allowed Eleanor to earn a Junior Ranger patch that is only available to kids who make it down to Phantom Ranch.   Splitting the trip back up was necessary in my opinion, and I think we would have been sunk without the rest day for little legs.  It also gave us a rare opportunity to experience snow in Indian Gardens.   It was a fun trip,  and a wonderful experience.  The route was challenging enough to give us a sense of accomplishment without claiming any victims.