North Rim Trail

Here is the trail that we will be taking from the North Rim.  Be prepared for a downhill hike for 14 miles.  There are a few places to get water so you will not have to carry all of it.

The following is a chart indicating the distance for each leg of the journey.

North Kaibab Trailhead (8241/2512) to:	Distance from Rim mi / km	Elevation ft / m	Water	Toilet Facilities	Emerg Phone	Ranger Station	Campground
Supai Tunnel	2.0 / 3.2	6800 / 2073	No - seasonal	Yes	No	No	No
Roaring Springs	4.7 / 7.6	5200 / 1585	Yes: May - Sep	No	No	No	No
Cottonwood Camp	6.9 / 11.1	4000 / 1219	Yes: May - Sep	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes - Tables
Ribbon Falls	8.4 / 13.5	3720 / 1134	No	No	No	No	No**
Phantom Ranch	14.0 / 22.5	2560 / 780	Yes	Yes	Yes	No</td>	No*
Bright Angel Camp	14.5 / 23.3	2400 / 732	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes - Tables
River Trail Junction	14.6 / 23.5	2440 / 744	No	No	No	No	No

FINALLY

I finally have dates.  There are a couple of openings that are open if anyone is still interested.  More details later.
We will be there the 17 and 18 of June 2011.  Now comes the planning and training.

Still Waiting.

I have been sending in the request to get reservations every day for the last week or so.  No luck yet.  I did get an email from the reservation specialist for Phantom Ranch and he is willing to let me email him once an week and he will hold our request for any cancleations recieved during the week.  So I will send him a message tonight.  Cross your fingers that someone will cancel so we can get in.

Keep training and planning.  Maybe we will have to do it in one day?

Reservations Sent In

YEAH!!!.  The fax was sent at 12:57am on 1 Sept 2010 to request our reservations.  It was late because we just found that we do not have local long distance.  Well guess we always use our cell phones for long distance and never call anyone in state.  Finally was faxed using a free internet fax option.  Hopefully this will not negatively impact our choices.  Keep your fingers crossed.

Final Count

Hello all,
I need a final count for the trip by the 31 August 2010.  Here are the details about what will happen.

If there are more then 10 people who want to come we will make the reservations as a group.  If this is the case then 50% of the amount will be due 14 days after the reservation is confirmed.  So it would need to be paid by approximately 25 September 2010 and then the remaining 50% would be due 90 days before we arrive at Phantom Ranch.  This is the total for the lodging and the meals that you want to request.  So using myself as an example it would be ~$100 in September and then ~$100 more in June.  Group reservations can be changed up to 30 days before arrival for a full refund.

If there are less then 10 people then all the money is due at the time of the reservation.  It can be canceled up to 2 days before arrival for a full refund.

We can consider dorms at $42.02/person/night.  Theses are separated by male and female.  We can also put up to 4 people in a cabin (mixed gender).  This is $105 for the first 2 people then 12.93 for the 3rd and 4th people.  When I have a final count we will decide which option we are going with.

Please let me know if you have any questions or problems.

Overview of the plan

Here is the plan so far for September 2011.  I am planning that this should be a Monday through Friday but I will not know until I can get the reservations.
Day 1: Leave Phoenix and stay overnight on the North Rim.  This will either be in a hotel or camping (depending on what I talk Kent into).
Day 2: Start down the North Rim.  I plan to start as early as possible so as to enjoy the hike and get to the bottom before the sun sets.  We will then stay that night in the dorms at Phantom Ranch.  If you also plan to have dinner there then your reservation needs to include it.
Day 3: Spend the day at the bottom of the Grand Canyon and enjoying the short hikes there.  I am planning to buy breakfast, lunch and dinner there.
Day 4: Leave to hike up the South Rim.  I am planning to also buy breakfast and a sack lunch this day.
Day 5: Stay overnight on the South Rim at either a campground or hotel (again depending on what Kent wants).
I am planning that my stay at the bottom of the Grand Canyon will be about $200 (unless I decide that I need a steak dinner).  This will include 2 nights in the dorms, 2 dinners, 2 sack lunches, and 2 breakfasts.  My thought in buying the meals there is that I will not have to carry as much stuff then.  3 days of food could be heavy.  I also am planning to refill all my water at the bottom therefore I only need to carry one day of water.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
I cannot wait for this adventure.

1 More Month

Hello everyone
I am still planning this.  I am feeling great after the physical therapy.  So here is a reminder.  Training should be happening now and in 1 month I will be putting in the reservations for the dorm (see the link on the left side)

Here is a run down of the costs also:

Phantom Ranch
Room Type	2010
Dorm, per person	$42.02
Breakfast, per person	$19.63
Sack Lunch, per person	$12.39
Steak Dinner, per person	$41.68
Veggie Dinner, per person	$26.10
Hiker's Stew Dinner, per person	$26.10
Duffel Service	$64.64 each way