Grand Canyon

Teddy Lancaster

It was either May 1994 or 1995 that an article showed up in EN that said "yes, you can ride you own horse in the Grand Canyon" by Eldon Bowman. He lives in Flagstaff....

I saw the article and was going to the Pan Am anyway, so we drug two horse out west and played.. For details:

You need no permit or reservation...at least not then. Go the the Back Country office to get a ranger to unlock the gate to the horse camp (yes there is one, but not much room. I know the rig I have today would not have gotten in). As long as you are not planning on spending the night at the bottom, they don't care. You don't even have to leave you name and next of kin with anybody. We got there in the afternoon, set up camp (yes they have running water and flush toilet - they also have a few steel corrals and hitching rails...not very horse friendly, tho) and rode to the entrance to Bright Angel trail.

I had NO idea of what I was in for...and just SEEING this trail, I said no way!!! Scarey...narrow trail, tons of people, no guardrail...one bad step and that's all she wrote...

We had called Eldon Bowman and he offered to guide us down..we tried to call when we got there, but the cell phone would not work and we were too far farm a phone. He came the next morning and convinced us we would be okay...just follow him. He rode a 26 year old Morgan and lead a 22 year old QH...just in case....

I am TERRIFIED of heights... I got vertigo and almost passed out, but kept talking to myself and somehow stayed in the saddle... I may also say I rode ready to jump off at any moment... I was riding my 6 year old arab mare who I cannot get within 100 yards of a backpacker on a trail at home. She was great...never batted an eyelash.., even when these strange people with packs on their back spread-eagled against the wall of the canyon trail to let us pass (you must stay by the edge of the trail, but you do have the right of way).

Eldon knew the trail....he took us down South Kaibob which has no water (who needs water on the way down). BUT, it is certainly NOT designed for horses...VERY narrow on many places...switchback turns that barely give the horse room the maneuver... in some spots there were steps and drops of 100's of feet on each side. And then there are the mule trains.... You have right of way over people, but the mule trails have right of way over you. Parts of the trail are so narrow there is NO way to turn around or turn back. Eldon knew the schedule and knew the safe places to get off trail. There are several plateaus on the way down with facilities.... that helped us all.

As you near the Colorado River, you must ride through a tunnel that is barely wide enough for you and your horse...once you're in, you are committed... when you reach the other side there is a bridge 70 feet above the water...no turning back, you MUST go over this bridge. But, I will say, the floor is rubber matted and the sides are 6 feet high. My horses were great.

If you ever go, bring cash...there is a restaurant at Phantom Ranch and you can buy souvenirs such as postcards that say "mailed by mule from the bottom of the Grand Canyon (EVERYTHING is brought in and out by mule or raft) and BEER...which I NEVER drink, but I sure needed one then!!!!

We went back up the Bright Angle Trail which has plenty of water. I was surprised to see so much GREEN on the way up. There is also another nice rest area on the way up with hitching rails and facilities. It was more than awesome to look UP and be bewildered as to just HOW one was going to scale those cliffs. I wish I knew the history of this trail, how it was planned and who cut it...

The trip down and back was about 25 miles. I took us nine hours (with a one hour stop at Phantom Ranch). It was about 65 at the top and 110 at the bottom...dress in layers and wear a hat!!!! I have loads of wonderful photos all the way down and back (from the brave moments I had in taking my hands off the reins...)

Would I do it again? NO!!!!, But I am sure glad it did it once...

From there we rode Canyonlands Park and then the Outlaw Trail ride...a summer I will never forget.

Copyright 2000, Teddy Lancaster

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