Family Adventure on Hermit Trail: A Guided Hike into the Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon tops many family travel lists, offering breathtaking vistas that captivate even tech-savvy kids, alongside endless activities like hiking, rafting, camping, plant identification, fossil hunting, and wildlife spotting. As a parent, envisioning these moments with your children in this iconic natural wonder is easy.
One challenge you might not anticipate? Handling nature's call—specifically, bathroom needs—on the trail. It's a universal parenting hurdle, especially in remote backcountry areas where facilities are scarce.
This became our reality on a sunny August day in 2016 along a rocky bend of Hermit Trail. The South Rim's majesty unfolded below and above, amid ancient rocks, mesquite, and pinyon pines that seemed to witness our predicament.
My 8-year-old son urgently needed to go.
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This was day 6 of a two-week road trip across California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah, visiting 10 National Parks during the National Park Service's 2016 centennial. My brother's family (wife and kids aged 7 and 9) joined ours (wife and our 8-year-old) after Yosemite and a traffic-clogged drive to Las Vegas, where we rented two Airstream trailers.
Our ambitious first stop: Grand Canyon, diving into trailer camping at a "dry" site in South Kaibab National Forest—no hookups, just batteries and tanks. We navigated setup challenges, woke with headaches from uneven leveling, but awoke to the Canyon's grandeur.
Help arrived soon after.
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At 8:45 AM, guide Drew Schlachter arrived in a nine-seater van, slightly late but perfectly timed. A first-time guided tour for us, Drew dispelled stereotypes with his engaging style—sweets and fun facts for kids, coffee and trailer tips for adults.
Why hire a guide at a popular spot like Grand Canyon? First, its vast scale overwhelms: South Rim? Best trails? Kid-friendly options? Guides curate personalized itineraries. Second, exclusive access: During peak season, only permitted backpackers and licensed guides enter trails like Hermit Trail, avoiding crowds for intimate views of vegetation (lichen, pinyon pine, 167 mushroom species), wildlife (mule deer, pocket mice), rocks (limestone, sandstone, schist), and history.
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Hermit Trail descends from Hermit's Rest to the Colorado River, a historic path developed by the Santa Fe Railroad from a trailblazer's route in Hermit Basin (named for Louis Boucher). It served luxury Hermit Camp (with a tram until 1930) before rockslides and erosion led to its decline. Today, it offers wilder terrain—switchbacks, scrub mesquite, snakes—revealing the Canyon's basin and river.
Drew expertly narrated, engaging kids with plant names, history, and fossils from ancient seas. Patient with my son's curiosity, he pointed out details, sharing his fatherhood insights.
We turned back upward.
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Grand Canyon National Park, established February 26, 1919, by President Wilson, draws 5 million U.S. visitors yearly. Access the base by foot, mule, helicopter, or more; over 10,000 backcountry permits issued annually. Home to indigenous peoples (Pueblo, Yuman, Havasupai, Hualapai, Paiute, Navajo) and 12 endemic plants, it's a timeless wonder carved over millions of years.
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On the ascent, near a rocky shelf and mesquite drop-off, my son crouched in distress.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
Dialogue escalated—urgency, embarrassment, my frustration peaking. "Leave No Trace" echoed, but options were limited.
Drew intervened calmly: "No problem, I've got a kit." Experienced guides prepare for everything.
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We managed discreetly, then continued to Moran Point for Colorado River views through Drew's telescope—"chocolate milk" to the kids. Lunch at Grandview Point tasted exceptional amid brewing storms that skirted our zone. Drew shared Forest Service stories on controlled burns.
That night, balanced Airstreams under ponderosas offered restful sleep, dry camping concerns forgotten.
