Struggling back from a debilitating spinal injury, I had the grandiose idea of hiking into the Grand Canyon with my then 14 year old grandson Devon. My reasons were twofold.

First of all, when I was 16, my mother braved a car trip cross country(ish) - from NH to AZ, with my sister, younger brother, and myself - at that time a very self absorbed teenager. When we reached the Grand Canyon, we spent all of one hour there during which I had a hard time picking my jaw up off the ground and keeping myself from babbling. I was so overwhelmed with the beauty and unbelievable size of the place. I knew I would return some day and enjoy it more fully.

Secondly, several years ago, I was scared out of my wits when I had to spend 4 months recovering my ability to walk and even use the stairs. What better test of my progress than to brave a hike into the Canyon? It gave me the goal I needed. On Christmas Day 2007 at my daughter's house, I asked her permission to take Devon with me on a two to three week road trip culminating at the Grand Canyon and the hike I desperately wanted to make.

The excitement was contagious. Devon, bless his soul, still thinks his "GranJan" is a cool person to be with and started asking questions and making plans right away.

I wanted to leave as soon as possible after he got out of school the following summer, so we had a lot of time to plan. And plan I did.

The first thing I did was to find a reputable guide company. I did a lot of research and settled on "Four Season Guides" out of Flagstaff, AZ. (http://www.fsguides.com/)

I got in email contact with Brian Treacy, the owner, right away and let him know what my situation was and what my goals were. In true professional fashion, Brian worked closely with me via email and phone over the next few months letting me know what goals I had to reach physically in order to safely complete a 3 day hike with one of his best guides.

To make sure I didn't slack off on my goal, I made the deposit for the guided trip. This was really going to happen!

One of the things I took on to help get into shape was working at a local horse riding facility.  I have loved horses my whole life and had even owned a mare for several years when I was much younger.  I figured the work in the barn and the riding I was able to do in exchange for the work would really be something I could stick to because I loved it so much.

I had talked about my efforts with a high school friend of mine, Dean Shalhoup, who is a widely read reporter for the Nashua Telegraph.  We both thought it would make an interesting human interest story and he spent some time talking with me about my plans and goals.  Several days later a photographer from the Telegraph came to follow me around as I performed my chores.

Imagine my surprise and honor when I opened the paper one Saturday morning just before leaving on our trip and there I was - on the front page!  I had such a positive response to the story, it gave me even more determination to succeed. Read the story by selecting the link.

I signed onto Rand McNally's amazing road trip mapping site and started laying out the trip. I figured I could drive anywhere from 400 - 750 miles a day, taking every other day off to rest. With the road mapping site providing me with maps of the entire route, it was EASY to pick stopping points or to plan on locations I wanted to include.

As each destination is selected, the site offers searches for things to do and places to stay. I just LOVE the internet! I was able to make reservations directly from the site and everything I was planning was then printable/viewable in a report.

Starting from southern New Hampshire, I decided of course we had to go by way of Niagara Falls.

We left New Hampshire two days after Devon's last day at school. I brought my laptop with me and made sure every hotel we stayed at had wifi available. As we progressed along on our trip, I was able to send pictures daily to our friends and family who were "watching" us. It really made the trip so much more fun.

I knew we were going to spend two days in New York. One day to get there, one day to explore Niagara Falls. I had been so amazed at the falls during my own teen trip and knew I wanted Devon to experience it fully, without being rushed along. (My mother's sole purpose was to get to Arizona to visit her friend, everywhere we stopped along the way was no more than an hour).

Planning WAY ahead of time and having researched the various things to do at the Falls, I selected a helicopter ride over the Falls, going on the Maid of the Mist, and then exploring on foot anything offered by the Park.  I never thought to ask, but was surprised when Devon's face got a little "anxious" looking as we took off in the helicopter!  He got over it fairly quickly (I had assumed he would love it - this is the same youngun who hung out the window as we drove up the more than scary autoroad of Mount Washington yelling "I LOVE the view!" as his mother turned green in the back of the car and hid her head in the seat.)

We had a great turn around the Falls and landed all of 10 minutes later. This ride was $170 for ten minutes and after we exited the craft, two "helpers" assisted us down the stairs from the landing deck. They asked if we enjoyed the ride and I said yes of course!  They told me if I enjoyed the ride I should consider giving the pilot a tip as he worked on tips only.  I gave them another $20 and as we were walking away, realized this had to be a scam.  No way in HECK was a helicopter pilot working for tips only on what cost $170 for ten minutes! Oh well, live and learn.  I was bound and determined that Devon have a full POSITIVE experience and I wasn't going to let $20 ruin the day.

Next, we went on the Maid of the Mist. THIS ride only cost $19.18 and was AMAZING!  We had great fun getting wet and looking somewhat ridiculous in our blue raincoats. Good grief - I don't know ANYONE who would look good in those coats, so I guess I shouldn't mind I look kind of a goof myself. The boat was full of other tourists and we passed the Canadian version on our way back.

Forget getting any pictures close up of the Falls as you pass by. They don't call it the Maid of the MIST for nothing. We had to take all our pictures as soon as we left the dock and then store the camera away under my coat so it wouldn't get soaked. Because you DO get soaked!

The Falls are wonderful to look at and you see the most amazing things, but as an Engineer, I was fascinated with the structures everywhere. Because they are under constant refurbishment, the Park tends to post informational blurbs about the walkways and bridges. I found myself asking more questions about that then the Falls. It was great fun to recognize the deck that is used in a floor finishing product commercial - we stood right on it!

My absolute favorite picture of the whole trip is the one of Devon looking out over the Falls. I knew I had hit the jackpot when he was as blown away as I was when I first saw them.

The next day was strictly a travel day. We ended up in Indianapolis, Indiana, rested overnight, then onto Springfield, Missouri. This was a two day stop as I wanted to go see Fantastic Caverns.

As we drove, Devon kept himself amused with video games or his iPod. I had recently purchased an iPod myself, but only had 64 songs thus far, while he has hundreds!

We arrived in Springfield, Missouri and rested overnight. The next day - on to the Caverns! Missouri has beautiful scenery and the drive to the Caverns, while out of the way, was easy enough. There is so much to do in this area, but we needed to select one thing per stay so we could stay rested for the continuing drive to Arizona.

While we waited for the underground transport to arrive, we shopped in the gift shop area, itself a large beautiful place to wander around. I bought Devon a pendant there he still wears almost daily.

Once we began the ride into the caverns, I couldn't help but wonder at the story that went with the location. The first person to discover these caverns was following a hunting dog that had gone to ground in a very small hole. He brought people back to see his find, but imagine - they had to crawl through the same small opening and then view the cavern with candles!

Whoa! There's no way I would have seen this beautiful sight under those conditions.

Honestly, our next overnight rest stop was in Tucumcari, New Mexico simply because I was drawn to the name when searching available stops on the way to Phoenix, Arizona. I didn't much care about where we stayed on a layover, so why not some place with an interesting name?

As we continued our drive to Phoenix, I was astounded by the vast open areas that seemed to stretch on forever. We would drive hours without seeing any kind of structures, and the only exceptions that came along were the gas station rest stops along the way. You have to remember I come from a state that can be traversed - and back - and back AGAIN in one day. Seeing the odd groups of cattle or horses when I hadn't seen a farm or house in HOURS was amazing to me. There are no such things as free roaming herds in New Hampshire.

I fear my grandson didn't have the same impression as I did.  At one point as I stopped for what must have been the tenth time to take pictures of the wide open spaces he said, "GranJan, what exactly are you looking at?!"

In Phoenix we picked up my daughter Jasmine who had flown in to join us for the hike into the Canyon. She had recently been hired at the company I had worked at for 31 years and was able to take the time off for the hike only.

Devon had missed his Mom!

We stayed overnight in Phoenix then drove to Flagstaff, Arizona the next day where we were to meet up with Brian of Four Season Guides at one of their outfitting locations. Brian has a policy to meet his clients the day before the hike to go over the regulations of the actual hike and to ensure the hikers truly meet the physical requirements to take on such a challenge.

Coming from the Northeast, our greatest challenge was going to be the overwhelming heat we were going to experience. It wasn't that bad in Flagstaff, but within the Canyon it can easily reach 113 degrees. I was counting on the dryness of the heat to make it tolerable. The humidity in New England during the summer can drain you faster than the actual temperature.

Prior to leaving home, my conditioning for the hike included power walking with a backpack that contained two gallon jugs of water. I did this every day regardless of the weather. Also, on Brian's advice, I power walked with the same hiking boots I was going to use on the actual hike. He also told me to make sure my conditioning included a lot of up and down hill walking.

Most hike groups are comprised of ten people, but I was honored that Brian had closed our group to the three of us plus our guide. I had worked so hard over the previous months to make myself fit for this and Brian had gotten to know us so well through the constant communication that we hugged eagerly on first meeting face to face.

It was so exciting to sit on the benches at the back of the store and go over the details and itinerary of the next three days. Our guide would meet us back at the store the next morning at 5 AM to drive us to the trailhead where we would start our adventure. Our guide's name was "Ryan", so imagine my surprise when "Ryanne Sebern" was a SHE!

While you're on the hike, you certainly don't want to be paying for a hotel room, and I was relieved when Brian offered us secure locations within his store to leave all our luggage and my laptop.

I had overbought and overpacked for the trip, but Devon had assured me he would take up any slack if I found things too heavy. My MAIN concern was that I have backup batteries and memory cards for my camera.

Speaking of which, I made sure before we even left New Hampshire to use my camera in all manner of circumstances. The time to figure features out on the camera is way ahead of time. I was able to whip that baby out and take awesome photos with no hesitation at all.

I hardly slept the night before I was so excited. The hardest thing I had to do was drink as much fluid as I could. We were instructed to be properly hydrated BEFORE we started. As you're hiking, you drink from sip tubes connected to water bladders that are carried within your backpack. This was the only equipment we had to provide ourselves as you certainly don't want to be using bladders used by dozens of other hikers. All other equipment was provided by Four Seasons. We were given duffel bags and backpacks to bring to the hotel with us and told to pack anything we didn't need on the actual hike down to the canyon floor into the duffel bags as they were going to be sent down separately by "mule" train! How cool is that?

Ryanne picked us up and off we went. The truck was packed with all the camping equipment and food the night before, so all we had to do was throw in our backpacks.

The backpacks contained everything we needed/wanted during the 10 mile hike down into the canyon. We were warned to keep this as light as possible since we also had to carry the required fluids for each person. I took this to heart and managed to keep my backpack down to the bare essentials. All food needed for the rest and lunch stops was carried by Ryanne! We of course offered to take on our share, but the guides are so fit and so used to this, she just thanked us and said she had her routine down to a science. Boy did she ever.

I don't know what I expected, but I was surprised when we got the trailhead and saw dozens of cars, trucks, campers already there. Finding a parking space is hard, but we lucked out and took one being vacated just as we drove in. Ryanne was eager to get started as the majority of the hike was going to be in the heat of the day - the sooner you get started, the cooler it is. She very efficiently and politely herded us into our backpacks and off we went.

As we started, Ryanne told us what to expect, how to behave (hiker rules and regulations) and answered what for her must have been the 1000th time she heard such questions.

We no sooner got onto the actual trail when a "mule" train came into sight. The "mule" train is actually comprised of both mules and horses kept by the Havasupai people in their village in the Canyon floor below.

Ryanne warned us to stay as far off the trail as possible - towards the "wall" side rather than the Canyon side. The horses in these trains are free rein and travel up and down the trails with only one wrangler who travels behind them. They know where they're going and stop for pretty much nothing or nobody!

The train in the photo was coming up with equipment from hikers on their way out. The wrangler unloads them and then reloads them back up with equipment going down. The guides have an ongoing professional relationship with the Havasupai and Ryanne had left our gear in a designated location at the trailhead. This particular wrangler was there to pick our stuff up (along with gear from other guides as well).

It didn't take long for the sun to hit us and start to take a toll, but when you move at a steady even pace, you actually become acclimated pretty quickly. Ryanne constantly reminded us to take sips of water, even when you didn't feel like it.

The downward walking is actually a bit harder than you would think. Your legs start to protest pretty quickly, especially since you're carrying a weighted backpack, but we took frequent rest stops at shady spots along the way and as long as you drink, drink, DRINK, you're okay.

I had bought trekking hats that have a flap in the back to protect the neck from getting sunburned - one of the things you have to watch out for.  I had also bought "fishing" vests for Devon and me thinking the number of little pockets they had would make for great places to keep things like the chapsticks you constantly use or the gum we chewed. He was a great sport to wear these things, because it turned out the vests were more a pain than they were useful.

As we went along, Ryanne pointed things out to us or gave us some history about the canyon, the Havasu, or anything she thought we'd be interested in. She kept reminding us to stop and take pictures as we tended to be more focused on the trail and had our heads down a bit. You'd be surprised how much scenery can go by when you're watching your every step!

The first part of the hike is all downhill. Fortunately, the trail winds a bit back and forth down the side of the canyon, so the elevation drop isn't that hard to take. The rest of the hike is pretty much a flat shot to the campground, albeit a long hot one.

It wasn't long before I kept checking my watch wondering when we would stop for lunch. I wasn't hungry - I was hot and Ryanne had told us lunch would be in the shade. The clothing I wore was very lightweight and designed for heat dissipation, but it still felt like I was wrapped in wool. I was very concerned about burning too much, so I kept the legging part of my pants on far longer than everyone else.

Eventually - LUNCH! Ryanne gave us each portions of a pasta salad she had prepared the night before, and topped it with a salty crunchy mixture. Salt intake is just as important as water intake. All of the meals provided to us were designed to keep our bodies in balance with the nutrients and carbs required. We also had available at any time fruit and energy bars.

I amazingly had very little appetite and my water bladder wasn't emptying fast enough for Ryanne's peace of mind. Devon and Jasmine were constantly refilling their water sources, but I hadn't refilled once. Ryanne was very insistant that I drink more, but actually, I wasn't sweating like the others were. They all had sweat dripping from their faces and their clothes were damp, but I was dry as a bone. This is typical for me, but unnerving for someone who is used to the opposite.

 After lunch, we were much refreshed and raring to go.  We passed other hikers in some cases going our way, but also other hikers who were on their way out.

At one point, we came around a bend and there was a newborn foal!  A horse train was just coming across the same scene and Ryanne told us that when mares are ready to foal, they're simply turned loose with another mare to keep them company and the mares give birth wherever they happen to be.

After a couple of days, the Havasu round up the mares and the foal follows them back to the village where they are kept until old enough to join the trains.  I thought this was very dangerous, but actually, there's nowhere for the mares to go and they tend to want to stay close to the village anyway.  The presence of an "Auntie" mare helps protect the little group.

The foal wobbled up to a hiker from another group and Ryanne warned us loudly not to touch!  The hiker heard her (was was her intention) and we all just moved along eventually.

Another sight Ryanne pointed out to us was the "Wishing Rock".  This strange formation has dozens of little holes in it, so hikers pick up a little rock form the trail and insert them in the holes and make a wish.  My wish was to get to the camp site!

 A little while after seeing the foal, we started seeing greenery.  This point was lost on me until Ryanne said, "Guess what the greenery means?"  "WATER!"

And just as she said that, I could hear it!  I tell you, it was like a bunch of camels running to a watering hole in the desert.  First there was nothing but red-brown dirt, then there was a sparkling stream.  I was trying to figure out how we were going to avail ourselves of this incredible boon when Ryanne told us to simply get in the water, clothes and all.

She told us by the time we got to the camp site, our clothes would be bone dry.  And the balance of the hike would be a lot more pleasant with the dampness cooling us off.  I didn't argue, we all but ran and jumped right in.

I was amazed at the crystal clear blue of this water and it was also COLD.  I have never enjoyed being in the water so much as that day.  I wanted to stay there for an hour, but two things prevented that.  First, Ryanne told us we were getting close to the camp site and if we thought this water was great, wait 'til we saw what was waiting for us.  Secondly, suddenly she told us to get out!  HORSES coming!

Sure enough, they came right through where we had been sitting.  They stopped and milled around a bit drinking their fill before the wrangler got them going again.  I was thinking that we could probably get back in for a minute or two, but when one of them took a really long pee right where we had been sitting, I didn't protest when Ryanne told us it was time to move on.

 We could hear the falls long before we got to a point where we could see them.  The roar is incredible.  If I hadn't seen a preview on the tour website, I would never have believed it.  I picked this hike because of the Falls and it exceeded my wildest dreams.

The viewpoint seen in the first photo is from the actual trail.  You're going along thinking you're at the bottom of the canyon floor, then you see how wrong you are - you're WAY above the level of the camp site.  The top of the Falls is even lower than the original viewpoint.  And of course, now you notice there are swimmers down in the pooled area at the bottom of the Falls.

When we get to the bottom of the Falls, Ryanne left us there to cool off while she went to set up camp.  She gives us directions to the site - it's less than a mile along a well worn trail - and takes off.  We stayed for more than an hour.  Everyone just leaves their stuff on the bank and jumps in.  You can tell the hikers from the campers already in residence, because they're wearing swimsuits and you still have all your hiking clothes on.

It was beyond amazing.  The water is cold enough you actually start to shiver if you stay in too long.  Can you imagine that?  Shivering in the bottom of the Grand Canyon?!

The next day, we went to another set of Falls - I call them the "Hawk Falls" because of the striking similarity to a hawk the water creates. (I have forgotten their true name).

We actually had these Falls to ourselves for almost a half hour before other campers came to enjoy them. I was amazed that daredevils were actually hiking up to the top of these falls and jumping into the water below. They would get to the top of the falls, hold onto a rope that is tied there for just that purpose, edge as close to the edge of the jumping point as possible, and then leap off.

After watching them for a while, I commented that it looked horribly dangerous and wouldn't want my daughter or grandson to even THINK about doing such a thing. That's when Ryanne told us that there had been a death there two weeks before. The problem is, when someone gets hurt in the canyon, it can take hours before medical aid can be brought in. First, someone has to be able to make contact - that usually involves going back to the village (5 miles away), getting someone to make contact, then getting medical aid to helicopter in, get to the site - you get my point.

This particular falls claims a life every one to two years - mostly teenagers jumping.

It's not that the falls are particularly high, certainly nowhere near as high as Havasu Falls, but when they don't land exactly right, it can be disastrous.  I was heartbroken to hear and see two boys egging on a young girl to make the jump.  She sat at the top after edging down with the rope, not being able to get back to the top, for almost 15 minutes before making the actual jump.  She made it, but it could have been a tragedy and there was nothing we could do to prevent it.

We left soon after as I couldn't watch anymore and the enjoyment was certainly tempered by the number of daredevils showing up.

There was a third set of Falls we went to see, and they are even higher than Havasu Falls. They're named after the fellow who discovered them - and died while trying to rappel down them. Yikes!

Getting down to the bottom of these falls was really scary. Jasmine and I started down the trail, but after a few minutes I told Ryanne I just couldn't - the edge of the trail is RIGHT THERE and it's so high up, I was getting a bit of vertigo. I think my daughter was very glad I chose not to go because it gave her an out too.

Devon and Ryanne went alone and later, Ryanne told us Devon had done a GREAT job of maneuvering on the trail, but that she'd never seen anyone climb up as fast as he did! He wanted to get back to camp. I was extremely proud of him.

 It was wonderful to explore a little of the canyon by day, but for the rest of the time?  We simply relaxed in any body of water we could find.  You would get in, cool off, get out, warm up and start all over again.

It was so peaceful to just sit there and chat about anything and everything.  I know Jasmine wants to go back some day and do it again.  I hope I am fit enough to join her.  This was the best trip I have ever been on.  For the scenery, and the time together with my daughter and grandson.

Ryanne warned us over and over again to wear our water shoes and socks with the water shoes.  I didn't listen and suffered for it.  I was more concerned about having to deal with wet socks and yes - even getting the dreaded "tennis shoe" tan, so I just wore my water sandals.  Once a blister started on the side of my ankle, it was hard to stop and guess what?  You can't hike ten miles out of the canyon with blisters on your feet.

The day we were to hike back out, Ryanne checked my ankle and told me I would never make it.  It was going to be bad enough to hike the five miles to the village where I could then be helicoptered out.  And that's what we did.  Jasmine paid for the three of us to copter out - Ryanne was not allowed to join us and she kept going.  She told us she would be back at the trailhead before our turn to ride out came up and she was right.

I was so upset with myself.  I had listened to her faithfully the entire time except on this one issue.  Sigh.  Live and learn.

In retrospect, it wasn't such a bad thing.  We got another view of the canyon and Jasmine got her first helicopter ride.  Devon was the pro - having been over Niagara for HIS first ride.

Once we got back to the trailhead we made short work of getting everything back into the truck and settled in for the three hour ride back to Four Seasons.  It was nice to have air conditioning!

That's about it.  The next day my daughter flew back to her job and Devon and I drove upwards of 750 miles a day until we got back home.  I hope his memories are as wonderful as mine.  I hope he brings his kids back some day - but I get ahead of myself!

More pictures to enoy: