I’ve done it twice, once as a kid in the early 60s and once as an adult. I’d definitely do it again. Down Bright Angel and up Kaibab, and Phantom Ranch is a pretty cool place.
[QUOTE=lawndart;6191305]
This is the spot that scared the Beejesus out of me
http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb42/Lawndart_album/BearBasinTrip020.jpg
I’m the one clutching the saddle horn, and wimpering ‘Mommmy’! :eek:
Was not in the Grand Canyon, but in Wyoming.[/QUOTE]
Oh gee, I expected to see one of those trails where you look down at your toe and have thousands of feet of air underneath. Those are the ones that get me to thinking (and avoiding if I can!) Fair warning, a ridge like the one pictured might be negotiated at a gallop if you are hunting with the Red Rock Hounds :). Heck, you have room to fall on that one without going over the edge!
I haven’t ridden the south rim at Grand Canyon but did the north rim twice- once in the company of my seriously acrophobic husband and he was fine. There’s one leetle turn where you maybe want to sing and look up, especially if you are riding a greenish mule as they asked me to do last time! (But a wonderful mule and I wanted to bring him home).
I did the half day mule ride years ago, and a lady two mules ahead of me was on a mule that decided it was time for a rest…so he laid down … with the lady on him screaming hysterically as she scrambled to her feet. The wrangler closest to her got off and edged his way to her, then got the mule to stand back up, and told her to get back on. She refused, and he had her ride his mule the rest of the way. She pretty much was a mess, crying, the whole way from there, but there wasn’t anything else that could be done. We couldn’t turn her around and send her back up the canyon.
It was definitely memorable.
My mule was stellar, btw. I’d love to go again, and do the ride clear to Phantom Ranch.
We did this a few years ago, in January. My mule was “Happy” and my dh’s was “Shelby”. If I had brought my trailer and a spare $15K or so, I’d have brought them home. 
We went down Bright Angel, and up the same path because the upper trail had been washed out in a spot or two. We spent the night at the lodge at the bottom and returned to the top the next day.
I absolutely loved it. I’d do it again tomorrow or this afternoon. Husband, mostly a non-rider, was miserable on the way back–sore and cold. Most of the people in our group were novice riders.
Caveats: You have to mount from the ground, and the mules are tall–16 hands. If you’re like me, and always use a mounting block, build your mounting muscles before you go. There’s no way to train for the rest of it. Going down at a walk is a hard ride, even with frequent pauses, and a chance to dismount about half-way down. It can be very cold in the shade in the winter time. In the summers, it seems to get 10 degrees hotter every hundred feet or so.
If you’re going and need a partner, let me know. :yes:
PS: My “don’t breathe” stretch was the suspension bridge. I couldn’t help but think what my own horses would have done in that situation.
