Going down the Grand Canyon on a burro, what do I need? What will I see?
October 3, 2022 5:26 PM Subscribe
One mile down, I will see a lot of history. What will it be?
5 hours on a burro X 2, in the sun, what will I need?
Unless your legs are accustomed to horseback or burro-back, you'll need some painkillers as your legs are going to get sore. Ten hours in the saddle is a LOT!
posted by anadem at 6:50 PM on October 3, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by anadem at 6:50 PM on October 3, 2022 [5 favorites]
I would think you’d want shiny bike shorts to try to keep from getting blisters.
I’d bring a Mylar blanket and a clear garbage bag in case you get lost. These are very light useful items-in a worst case scenario, the blanket will keep you warm, and you can get water with the bag by making a solar still)
posted by nouvelle-personne at 7:00 PM on October 3, 2022
I’d bring a Mylar blanket and a clear garbage bag in case you get lost. These are very light useful items-in a worst case scenario, the blanket will keep you warm, and you can get water with the bag by making a solar still)
posted by nouvelle-personne at 7:00 PM on October 3, 2022
Call your mule ride concessionaire and ask for a list. They haul thousands of people up and down the canyon in mule trains every season and will be the best source of info. Not sure if you are South or North Rim bound, but both companies have info on the NPS Grand Canyon site as well.
I’m sure they also have a very specific way they want you to carry water and supplies. If you have to try to make water with a makeshift still on a GCNP mule trip, something has gone horribly, horribly wrong (Prancer belongs to the Canyon now). The Park is really focused on Preventative Search and Rescue, and the wranglers are going to make sure that no one goes down without access to key items.
You will see huge scenery. It will be amazing. What you varies based on time of year.
posted by chuke at 7:25 PM on October 3, 2022 [17 favorites]
I’m sure they also have a very specific way they want you to carry water and supplies. If you have to try to make water with a makeshift still on a GCNP mule trip, something has gone horribly, horribly wrong (Prancer belongs to the Canyon now). The Park is really focused on Preventative Search and Rescue, and the wranglers are going to make sure that no one goes down without access to key items.
You will see huge scenery. It will be amazing. What you varies based on time of year.
posted by chuke at 7:25 PM on October 3, 2022 [17 favorites]
Long pants - the type that you can stow your smartphone/camera in a cargo pocket, closed toe shoes, and having a short heel can help you feel where the stirrup is. If you bring a hat, make sure it has a chin strap. You might be able to bring along binoculars-with a strap. You don’t want to drop anything while you’re in the saddle.
posted by childofTethys at 7:31 PM on October 3, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by childofTethys at 7:31 PM on October 3, 2022 [5 favorites]
This 4 minute video is pretty forthright about the hazards, difficulties and expectations. The person speaking at the 2:40 mark says, by the 4th hr, you’ll be done.
posted by at at 8:05 PM on October 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by at at 8:05 PM on October 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
Oh oh oh - pack a churro. So that at some point after that fourth hour you can say you were thorough and brought a churro to eat while riding a burro.
I don't know why I think this is so funny but if you're planning to get worn out, a bit of silly (and tasty!) fun might be welcome.
posted by aniola at 8:35 PM on October 3, 2022 [4 favorites]
I don't know why I think this is so funny but if you're planning to get worn out, a bit of silly (and tasty!) fun might be welcome.
posted by aniola at 8:35 PM on October 3, 2022 [4 favorites]
A trip down the Grand Canyon is also a trip back in time of up to a couple of billion years — and also a chance to see the Great Unconformity, which is a billion year gap in the sediments of the canyon, which has been a mystery for more than 150 years and is described in the link as "one of the first well-documented geologic features in North America."
posted by jamjam at 8:43 PM on October 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by jamjam at 8:43 PM on October 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
If you like SFF, Fred Saberhagen set a nicely atmospheric volume of his unorthodox vampire series amidst the spatiotemporal complexities of the Grand Canyon: A Question of Time.
posted by jamjam at 9:28 PM on October 3, 2022
posted by jamjam at 9:28 PM on October 3, 2022
Wear pants with a minimal seam in the seat/crotch. Riding leggings are designed for spending hours in the saddle. Off the rack blue jeans might rub your inner thighs raw.
Other clothes tips might come from searching the term “endurance riding.”
posted by bilabial at 5:10 AM on October 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
Other clothes tips might come from searching the term “endurance riding.”
posted by bilabial at 5:10 AM on October 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
If you don't have a separate camera, I would get a phone case (or straps that hold the phone) on a lanyard that lets you access the camera.
posted by amarynth at 5:50 AM on October 4, 2022
posted by amarynth at 5:50 AM on October 4, 2022
I used to ride, so I'm focusing here on 'being even a little comfortable at hour 10 in the saddle'. Have you ridden before? If not, consider trying to get even one starter lesson to just give you a bit of a sense of which muscles hurt after, and what it all feels like.
You absolutely, non negotiably, will need some kind of anti-chafe cream. You may want to think about two pairs of underwear, with different shapes, so that you can switch halfway. Avoid trousers with a seam down the front of the crotch, and indeed underwear with seams in the crotch area - they will rub, and that's just going to HURT.
Shoe wise, closed toes and a small solid heel are the best for safety. Please wear a riding hat! Yes, it will be horribly hot, but better that than a brain injury. A cooling towel to the neck really helps with the hot head.
Have an amazing time!
posted by In Your Shell Like at 7:56 AM on October 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
You absolutely, non negotiably, will need some kind of anti-chafe cream. You may want to think about two pairs of underwear, with different shapes, so that you can switch halfway. Avoid trousers with a seam down the front of the crotch, and indeed underwear with seams in the crotch area - they will rub, and that's just going to HURT.
Shoe wise, closed toes and a small solid heel are the best for safety. Please wear a riding hat! Yes, it will be horribly hot, but better that than a brain injury. A cooling towel to the neck really helps with the hot head.
Have an amazing time!
posted by In Your Shell Like at 7:56 AM on October 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
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posted by aniola at 5:36 PM on October 3, 2022