Grand Canyon - Can't hike in/out

Why not DRIVE to the bottom of Grand Canyon.
Diamond Creek, a small stream, runs alongside the road.

We've taken out rafts at Diamond Creek a couple of times at the end of
two week rafting trips, it's mile 226 or so from Lee's Ferry ... this
is really out of the way and the view isn't all that great, you'll see
as much at Lee's Ferry without the hassle, I feel.

Also, the "small stream" floods every time it rains. One of our river
guides told us they lost a bus once (reconditioned school busses),
Diamond rose so high that the bus was swept into the Colorado River and
no doubt lies at the bottom of Lake Mead now.

This is not a trip for the casual tourista.

Bill

There is a 200 pound limit on the mules.

"RVer Don" wrote in message
news:1113889697.885114d86b56e24512a718f69ca9cfa3@t eranews...

wrote in message
...

Any suggestions for decrepid old foggies
(other than watching while all the fit young hikers march off? :-) TIA

If you really want to go down there....many, many folks, all ages, ride
mules down and back. I don't know the cost, but am sure you can find it
online somewhere. Probly you can even make reservations online.
My wife and did several years ago. Fantastic trip. The only problem you
probably need to make reservations a year or more in advance. Might get
lucky and get a cancellation. Worth a try.

Don in Tracy, Calif.

A walk from the village to Hermit's Rest (the far west end) can be
done in about three hours (or maybe 3.5) of easy walking on level
ground. Or you can take the bus out to the end, and walk back. If you
get tired, stop and wait at one of the bus pick-up points.

The two trails down from the canyon rim are often crap due to rain and
the damage done by horses and mules. If the trails are in bad
condition, stay on the rim. In the unlikely event that the Bright
Angel or Kibab trail are passable, walk down about 15 minutes and then
start back up. See if you can do this before trying any longer jaunts
into the canyon. Walking back up can be harder than it looks.

A walk from the village to Hermit's Rest (the far west end) can be
done in about three hours (or maybe 3.5) of easy walking on level
ground. Or you can take the bus out to the end, and walk back. If you
get tired, stop and wait at one of the bus pick-up points.

The two trails down from the canyon rim are often crap due to rain and
the damage done by horses and mules. If the trails are in bad
condition, stay on the rim. In the unlikely event that the Bright
Angel or Kibab trail are passable, walk down about 15 minutes and then
start back up. See if you can do this before trying any longer jaunts
into the canyon. Walking back up can be harder than it looks.

On Thu, 21 Apr 2005 06:17:02 GMT, "Bill McKee"
wrote:

There is a 200 pound limit on the mules.


That info is on their web site too.