Hey everyone,

I'm living in southern Arizona again after a few years of being trapped in central Texas. I work in the Grand Canyon a few weeks a month, carrying pack weights that should be illegal. I'm starting to explore the canyon more on my own (not guiding). Another member recently posted that only one other BPL member lived in Arizona (or at least had added themselves to the map), however, I still wanted to put out feelers to see if there was anyone in Arizona or elsewhere interested in doing some 3-4 day lightweight trips in the Canyon. I do a lot of long one day loops now just to not have to deal with permits but would like to start getting out for longer stints.

I could help with permits if we need to turn them in by hand since I'm in the park quite a bit. Just applied for a permit to do the Grandview Loop in 2 days 1 night so hoping for that. Got a week in April that I'm totally free if anyone is interested.

I'm still new to lightweight packing but have a good pair of legs under me and am fairly knowledgeable about the canyon and like long mileage days. If anyone's at all interested in doing some trips there (or southern AZ) hit me up!

Slaton

Ill be living and working at the Grand Canyon starting in June and would be interested in doing some trips.

If you have some flexibility just get walk-in permits for the next day. You might have to wait until the "day after tomorrow", which is a sure bet, but I have only missed on a "tomorrow" permit once out of about 9 trips (all 8 to 11 days). This is especially true if you stay out of the BA corridor.

Get the Sky Terrain map with the Travel Zone designations to see how to plan a trip. Go into the BCO in the afternoon and chat with a Ranger. Explain what you want to do, what a "long day" means to you, learn the walk-in rules, and have them run an itinerary to see what might work. Then go home, make your plans, call the BCO in the afternoon, and have them run That itinerary. If it works, show up the next day and do it in person. If it doesn't, ask them what would work. They are a great group of folks who know how to have fun in the Canyon.

Thanks Greg and Alex. The permit system and finding ways to work it is a learning process for sure. I guide in the canyon and normally don't have to deal with getting permits (my company gets them). Now that I have more time finally to more personal trips I'm having to re-learn the process! But yeah the folks at the BCO are good for sure.

Alex, I'll be in Yellowstone for June working but may be back down in Tucson in July. I try to stay away from the canyon during the summer months but maybe if you're still around we could do some hiking later in the fall! It's such a cool place. You're going to love it!