The first leg of the trip would be a “shakeout” leg, in which we would get a better idea of the mileage-per-day we could plan on, how our horses and gear would fare, and gain useful experience to help us plan for the rest of the trip. This leg would be from the US/Mexico Border, about 19 miles east of Douglas, Arizona, to Eagar, Arizona.  At Eagar, which is where my parents live, we would evaluate ourselves, our horses, and gear, and decide whether we could continue on and make the second leg of the trip at that time, which would end at Panguitch, Utah around late-July.

We completed the first leg in April 2015, making 355 miles from the US/Mexico border – actually tied up to the border fence – to Eagar, which is where my folks live. This leg took Dad and me 28 days on the trail. It was a wonderful father-and-son experience (you can read my blog posts about it on this site) and an exceptional learning experience.

Our original plan was to make it to Eagar, and if all was well, to continue on to Panguitch, all in one trip. The plan was to arrive in Panguitch, Utah about July 22, just in time to take our place in the Garfield County Pioneer Day Parade on July 24. However, we were not many days on the trail when we realized that making the entire trip, over 900 miles, in one shot was not going to be possible for us. We decided to stop for the year at Eagar and continue on the second leg the following year, planning for much shorter legs in the future.

We continued the trip in 2016, making our way from Eagar, AZ, joining the Arizona Trail above Payson, AZ, and following it to Flagstaff. Again, our plan was to make it to Panguitch this time, but after reaching Flagstaff, we found it impossible to continue. The drought in 2016 was so severe in northern Arizona that wildfires were raging all through the region and we had already found ourselves threatened at one point and diverted by firefighters in another place. Additionally, consultation with the local US Forest Service made it clear that finding water for ourselves and our horses would be a critical issue. We wisely decided to stop there at Flagstaff for the year.  In the end, we made 200 miles in two weeks.

The following year, my father, in his 83rd year, got bucked off his usually trustworthy gelding while out on a ride and got pretty beat up. It took him quite a while to recover from a lacerated spleen and other less severe injuries. That year my mare was pregnant, as well, so we delayed the next leg for another year. It was during that layover that Dad finally decided it was time to hang up his spurs. So, with a heavy heart I began to plan for the rest of the adventure without my best riding partner.

During 2018, a good friend, Jeff Palmer, mentioned he would like to make some of the horse pack trip with me. During the spring of 2019, he and I made our way from Flagstaff, AZ to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. We made a total of 92 miles in 5 days, ending a couple miles east of Tusayan, Arizona, which is only about 7 miles from the south gate of Grand Canyon National Park.

And there I have been stuck since that time.

Making it across “The Big Ditch” has been a major logistical problem. The Arizona Trail crosses the Grand Canyon via the South Kaibab Trail from the South Rim, continuing from the bottom to the North Rim via the North Kaibab Trail, a total of 22 miles.  The drive for the truck/trailers from the South Rim around to the North Rim, however, is nearly 6 hours, making it necessary to stage vehicles at both the North and South Rims, have places to keep horses with water and feed at both ends, and camp permits for at least three days within the park boundaries. Due to necessary coordination with the mule train outfitters operating on those two trails, crossing from the south to the north presents difficult schedule issues that make it nearly impossible to cross the canyon in one day, not to mention the fact that the park extends another 30 miles or so beyond the trailhead at the North Rim.  Therefore spending a night in the canyon was in the plan, along with another night in the park at the North Rim, before heading out to continue to the UT/AZ border.

However,  securing a Back Country Camp Permit for two nights in the Grand Canyon National Park is a difficult thing.  Applications for these, to have any chance at all at getting one, must be submitted four months before the desired date. Recently the GCNP started allowing submissions 10 days in advance of that 120-day span, but does not actually process them until the opening day of the application time-frame. Of course, I struck out and was unable to secure a permit. The park rangers, however, were very helpful and encouraging. They give some priority to travelers going through the canyon over those just making out-and-back trips, in an effort to assist those making cross-country trips on the Arizona Trail.  I fit into that category and they assured me that if I could come to the park and wait a few days, they would be able to secure a camp permit for me and get me and my horse through and on my way.

Then came the news that my riding companions were not going to be able to make the trip.  So, as mentioned above.  It looked like I was going to have to wait again.  I began to have doubts about the whole trip, as age is starting to catch up with me and I have been feeling the miles lately.  I began to think I might have to just call everything off and just be happy with what I have accomplished so far…which is nothing to sneeze at! I mean who gets to make a horse pack trip of 555 miles with their dad? Still I felt a sense of loss at the thought of giving up on yet another lifetime dream.  At my age, you begin to realize that most of those dreams just aren’t going to happen and I don’t have too many of them left.

Then, last week, someone made a comment on a post on my Western Trail Rider facebook page, to the effect that she and her husband were traveling around southern Utah with their mules, riding at various sites. She mentioned that her husband has always wanted to ride through the Grand Canyon and wondered if it might be possible for him to tag along with us as we crossed. I told her sadly that it looked like my trip was going to be cancelled after all.

Then, a few nights ago, I found I could not sleep for thinking about having to cancel my crossing of the Grand Canyon and the prospect that my opportunities for doing so were quickly waning.  I began to wonder whether my new friends, Ron and Janet Erickson, and I might be able to work out something together. The long and short is that after a few communications back and forth, we have struck a plan!  I decided that the direction in which I crossed the Grand Canyon was less important than the fact that I did, in fact, cross that marvelous natural wonder on my own horses! Besides, riding from north to south makes coordinating with the outfitters easier.  So, if all works according to plan, Ron and I will be dropped off by Janet, with our equines (Ron rides a mule) on Thursday morning at the North Kaibab Trailhead at the North Rim. While Ron and I make our adventure real, she will drive a rig around to the South Rim, where she will pick us up when we emerge from the canyon in the afternoon at the South Kaibab Trailhead.  Looks like this is finally going to happen!

So, I will be heading south on Tuesday to meet Ron and Janet, who are currently staying  at Paria River Ranch, to complete our plans and maybe take a ride with them on Wednesday. Ron and I will cross the Grand Canyon, me with Chief and Missy, him with his mule, from north to south, on Thursday, May 20, 2021.

Yes, today I feel very blessed and grateful. Thanks to the generosity and willingness of the Ericksons and Ron’s dream, like my own, to cross the Grand Canyon on our own worthy steeds.

How great is that?!