- btwood2
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- 5 out of 5
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Editor Pick
Mule Ride III: Indian Gardens to Plateau Point
- April 3, 2007
- Rated 5 of 5 by
btwood2 from Rodeo, New Mexico
We’ve descended 4 ½ miles and 3,000 feet by mule from the South Rim of the Canyon to Indian Gardens, in a lush grove of cottonwoods where the Havasupai Indians used to grow corn, beans, and squash. Now it’s a campground and rest stop for hikers, riders, and mules. After discovering we can still walk, though stiffly, it dawns on us that it’s quite warm here (102 degrees F in the shade of cottonwoods). Wrangler J.P proceeds to hose us down one by one, with a convenient garden hose.
The ride from Indian Gardens out to Plateau Point is smoother, since we’re now on the fairly level Tonto Plateau, and cooler, since we’re wet. Our group gets to Plateau Point around 11:30am, and J.P. and Johnny break out the lunch boxes some of the mules have been carrying. Potato chips, bun, cheese, baby carrots, apple or orange, and fruit drink, with Oreo cookies for dessert. Bob doesn’t watch his closely enough and a bold, fat squirrel makes off with an Oreo, undoubtedly not the first time.
Incredible panoramic views of the Canyon and Colorado River keep distracting me from my lunch. Tiny specks on the blue-green River are lucky rafters. The River flows through the oldest rock in the Canyon, 2 billion year old Precambrian Vishnu schist. This is the only time that I’m envious of hikers, who aren’t restricted to a 30 minute stay on Plateau Point as we are. There’s so much to see here, far vistas and near. Bright yellow and magenta wildflowers bloom on the cacti that thrive on Tonto Plateau.
I’m not the only one that doesn’t finish all their food, and J.P. collects the leftovers. They’ll be left at Indian Gardens for hungry hikers. All too soon our lunch break is over, and it’s time to mount our mules. Funny, but every time it’s getting harder to do so! Cracker isn’t a big mule, but somehow she’s gotten taller. And now she’s carrying some of the empty boxes in her saddle pack, requiring me to lift my leg even higher to swing it over on the other side – ouch! Not used to riding, the stiffness of muscles I rarely use is already setting in.
On the ride back, we discover riding uphill is easier on us but not on the mules. They require more frequent rest breaks, during which J.P. tells us Grand Canyon stories and geology. Though a part of me doesn’t want the ride to end, my legs absolutely do. I fear they’ve been permanently bowed, unnaturally bent around Cracker’s wide ribcage. After dismounting at Stone Corral, I give Cracker a thankful hug and say goodbye. J.P. and Johnny then call us together in a circle, congratulate us and hand us our genuine Master Mule Skinners certificates.
As Bob and I gingerly sit down in our car, I recall Wrangler Marilyn’s morning words: "Those mules goin’ down this canyon, it wears on you. But you’ll be better for the experience."
From journal Lure of the Canyon
Editor Pick
Mule Ride II: South Rim to Indian Gardens
- April 3, 2007
- Rated 5 of 5 by
btwood2 from Rodeo, New Mexico
In the brisk invigorating early morning air at the edge of the South Rim, we watch as a slew of wranglers are efficiently readying upwards of 40 mules and supplies. Anticipation builds in the hustle and dust of the corral next to Bright Angel Trailhead. How lucky we are to be taking the day ride down into the Canyon, through Indian Gardens to Plateau Point, and back. Thank goodness for last-minute cancellations. Another’s misfortune becomes our good fortune.
Soon it’s time to match riders with mules and wranglers. J.P. and Johnny, our wranglers, pair Bob with big brown Sleepy. I’m assigned to Cracker, white with unusual light-colored eyes. We’re assisted up onto our mules, slickers and canteens strapped to our saddles, the first group of 10 to take to the trail. J.P., lead wrangler, tells us on our first rest break that he’s from Florida, and flew fighter planes before coming to the Grand Canyon. He likes the mules to stay in a tight formation. "Keep up, and drink water" he tells us, as we all take a swig from our bota bags.
I’d read that Grand Canyon mules like to walk disconcertingly close to the canyon’s edge, so I was prepared, and it’s no lie. The rider in front of me tries to pull her mule more towards the center. But I’m only nervous on heights if I have to do fancy balancing acts. Sitting on the firmly cinched saddle, I put my trust in Cracker, give her free rein, and enjoy the view as we descend on this bright, sunny, almost cloudless day. The downhill ride has us lurching and bumping so much, I soon learn to take photos only during rest stops.
Variegated red, tan, and gray layers of canyon slowly envelope us. Below, the trail snakes far and steeply down. We are making our way through geologic time as well, from upper Kaibab limestone, the youngest layer at 250 million years old, through the darker Toroweap Formation and light-colored Coconino Sandstone. Each layer takes us 10 million years further back in time.
Little Cracker turns out to be a dream of a mule, sure-footed and eager to keep up. In fact, most of the time she has her nose stuck almost into the tail of the mule in front, who doesn’t seem to mind. Not so with Sleepy. Bob constantly has to use his motivator on his big, slow mule.
We dismount at oasis-like Indian Gardens, halfway down the Canyon, for a pit stop, mule drink, and watering down. Thick cottonwood trees growing thanks to the graces of a spring-fed creek provide welcome shade. Yet, mid-morning, we’re amazed to see the temperature gauge reading 102 degrees! This means that we get watered down. The cold water J.P. hoses on our upper backs soaking down through layers of clothing is most refreshing. Here the trail forks, with overnight mule riders taking the right fork to the suspension bridge across the Colorado to Phantom Ranch.
From journal Lure of the Canyon
Editor Pick
Mule Ride I: The Stone Corral
- April 3, 2007
- Rated 5 of 5 by
btwood2 from Rodeo, New Mexico
"Any of you expect this to be an easy ride?" wrangler Marilyn asks our group of about 40. We’re gathered around the corral where mules are being readied for day rides to Plateau Point and overnight rides to Phantom Ranch. There are negative murmurings from the crowd. Apparently not enough of a response for Marilyn. "Any of you expect this to be easy?" she queries a bit more insistently.
From beside me the voice of my husband, ever the tease, "Yeah, I expect this to be real easy". "No… no-no-NO!" Marilyn is reeling us in. "It’s not an easy ride. You’ll be sore and tired. This is NOT an easy way to see the Canyon; this is hard. We want you to understand there’s nothin’ easy about the mule ride. We want you to keep that in mind this afternoon when your knees are hurtin’, your rear end is hurtin’, your back is hurtin’, your feet are hurtin’, and you’re dirty from the dust and stink from these mules."
In our scrapbook of our 1988 trip to the Grand Canyon is a brochure showing a mule train making its way up Bright Angel Trail, captioned "This is how we’re going next time". Back then, mule trains passed us, toiling and sweating up the endless switchbacks of Bright Angel Trail in the dry but lethal July Canyon heat. And it looked much easier than what we were doing. Now, almost 18 years later, we’d been lucky enough to secure two last-minute spots on the day-long mule ride to Plateau Point, two days prior to the ride itself, due to recent cancellations. Cost for two: $284.42.
Due to the weight restriction of 200 pounds fully clothed, we’d worried that Bob’s weight of a wee bit over 200 would disqualify him from the ride. The big scale at Bright Angel Lodge Transportation Desk was kind, though, and weighed him in at exactly 200 pounds. Registering for the rides the day before, we were handed rain slickers, bota bags, packets of lemon juice to flavor our drinking water, and an activity ticket instructing us to arrive at the stone corral no later than 6:45am.
So here we are, bright and early at the corral on the South Rim of the Canyon, next to Bright Angel trailhead, listening to wrangler Marilyn with a mixture of excitement and slight apprehension. Neither of us ride, we couldn’t even recall when we’d last gone for a horseback ride but it was decades, not years ago.
Marilyn is instructing us how to use our motivators, 3-feet long leather whips, to keep our mules going, but more importantly, to prevent more than a 5 feet gap between mules. Apparently mules have the propensity to take off at a run to catch up to the mule ahead if they find themselves too far behind. Grand Canyon would like to maintain their perfect record of no deaths by mule on their rides; therefore, the use of motivators is emphasized and encouraged.
From journal Lure of the Canyon