Hiking Q&A

I must be crazy asking this on a gaming forum, but is anyone here an avid hiker? Specifically, I need advice on hiking in desert terrain. I hike pretty regularly during warm weather around here, but never in a desert climate.

My husband and I are taking our kids on a three day guided tour to the bottom of the Grand Canyon in June. I need advice on everything from recommended foot-gear to the type of clothing we will need to wear that time of year. I'm leaning toward those all-terrain shoes since you can walk in water and they're designed to dry off quickly, but I'm not sure if I should go with ankle boots for more support. Also, long sleeves or short? Most of the websites recommend long sleeves, even in the summer, but is there any particular material that is better than others?

The hike is 10 miles each way, and we're camping two nights in the bottom of the canyon. Any advice would be appreciated.

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Well obviously I'm going to do that. It just occurred to me this morning that there might be some people on GFF who live in Arizona or Nevada who might know a thing or two firsthand about hiking in the Grand Canyon, and that maybe someone could give me some "insider" tips.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Oh, I forgot to mention that this is a guided tour and the tour-guide will bring all the fire-starting equipment, medical stuff like aspirin and band-aids and moleskin, and even our camping equipment. I think he carries it on a donkey. This guy even cooks all our meals and pitches our damn tents! I found out about that last night and was actually sort of embarrassed. =/

Anyway, those are good ideas. Atomic Duck, about the shirts, there's something called a "wicking shirt" that I'm supposed to get that has long sleeves and is white. It supposedly "wicks" all the heat away from your body and reflects sunlight. Ever heard of that? Also, I think you're right about shorts. I can't imagine wearing long pants down there.

David, I hadn't thought about the pistol, but that's a really good idea.

One of my concerns is that we're also taking two children. Well, one will be 17 at the time, so he's not really a child, but the other is 8, and the tour guide strongly recommended that he NOT carry a backpack. So we're going to have to distribute his extra clothes and stuff between the three of us.

Oh, one more question. Walking stick or no? Supposedly they issue you one, but I've never used one before and I hike quite a bit. Do you guys think I'll need it?

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I am seriously going to print out this entire thread for future reference.

Our tour-guide will be toting everything for us on donkeys. We just found out today that after May this company doesn't even allow you to carry in your own backpack, and like I said, we're going in June. All you are allowed is a walking stick and a fanny pack and your stuff will be waiting for you at the bottom of the canyon. You don't even carry your own water...the mules do it for you.

As far as the gun thing goes, my husband will most likely carry one. He's very skilled with weapons and I suck at them. I've been target shooting before, but I'm not very good.

I've decided that we're all definitely going to go with the all-terrain type shoes versus standard hiking boots. Also, we're going to spring for those long-sleeved wicking shirts.

Sass, I can't wait to see your pictures. Thanks for all the advice, guys. =)

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