After MAC and I met on a guided hiking trip to Havasu Falls in the Grand Canyon in 2008, we decided to go on another group trip together the following year with the same guide. The second trip included the comfort of lodges and B&Bs (no tent camping like on the first trip) and covered the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion National Parks, and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
Slot canyon at Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument 2009.
The trip was a go but then the other participants, who had all signed up together, rescheduled. The tour company decided to run the trip anyway with just MAC and me and the guide we’d requested. At no additional cost to us, it essentially became a private trip. With two participants instead of twelve, everything—hikes, rest stops, meals—took less time and we were able to do more than was on the itinerary. It was a fabulous trip of a lifetime. Somehow it’s 10 years ago already.
I remember the guide mentioning an annoying question he frequently got asked on the trails by inbound hikers: is it worth it? You’ve been to the destination—the mountain summit, the alpine lake, the cliff overlooking the ocean, the waterfall, the canyon view—did you think it was worth the physical effort to get there? I started noticing how often I heard the question on the PNW trails.
It is a strange question to ask a stranger. What are they going to do? Take your word for it and turn around if you say “no, it’s not”? What to me is a small beautiful lake perfect for a leisurely lunch spot might be a disappointing vista for someone who huffed and puffed for four hours and has a blister. It seems more like a question to ask yourself.
MAC and I went on to join guided hiking trips in Death Valley and Yellowstone National Parks. For those four years, I decided the expense was worth it to me to have others responsible for all the planning, cooking, driving, and other logistics. I just had to show up in shape and with a positive attitude. And I didn’t have to consider whether the trip was worth a week’s salary (or whatever it was at that time)—I paid for the trip from my yearly bonus.
My first year on the SLSR budget has been an exercise in deciding is it worth it?—not in hours of physical effort or paid laboUr, but in my carefully budgeted retirement savings. Right now the cost of a guided trip or any other fancy travel doesn’t fit in my budget and I’m not missing those vacations yet but it’s early days. Those first two guided trips and a later trip to New Mexico gave me a taste of the four corners area (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah) and I can see working for a bonus again—from some temp or part-time job—if it gets me back there.
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Neil says
Thoughtful and interesting., as usual. Nice memories of your hiking days in the PNW.. no doubt you and MAC will be hiking again soon.
back is the new forward says
Yes there will be more adventures on the trails again!
Claire Haas says
The cheaper alternative to a guided trip is one that is self-guided. Once you have been to a place, in your case the Southwest U.S., you have a much better appreciation for the safety pitfalls of such a trip. For example, weather (one would not want to be caught in a slot canyon when there is a thunderstorm). One has to take enough drinking water if the temperature is high, or know the poisonous snakes and other critters to avoid and how to avoid them.
I have always liked self-guided trips, so I have learned to used topographical maps (nowadays one may be able to use a GPS if there is coverage). I have learned to pack enough food for the days we will be away from civilization and how to dry it so that it does not weigh too much to carry for the required time. I have learned to pick my friends to go on the trip with, so one does not have to “carry” a person who thought it would be “worth it” and finds out only during the trip that she thinks she is going to die (literally).
It is always a good idea to find 5 or more other people who have similar experience in these things to go with as a safety factor and never to travel with just one other person. That way you have others to fall back on if someone is ill or injured, or if your equipment fails you have say, another stove to use.
Oh yes, one other thing. Plan exactly where you are going and stick to it. That way you can find out what it is like from others who have done the same thing. You can plot out how far you will go in a day and what (and how much) you will need to take. Changing your mind about where to go when you arrive can get you into sticky spots you do not want to be in, such as my canoe friends who ended up on a whitewater river, when they had planned to do only flatwater.
back is the new forward says
Thanks for sharing your good advice, Claire. Picking the right travel companions with the right attitude is crucial – sounds like you have some stories there!