Grand Canyon Winter Pastures

Pickup in St. George at 1:00pm. Transfer to Hack Canyon where the first camp is located. Enroute stop to purchase alcoholic beverages should that be requested. Once in camp, learn to set up the tents and become acquainted with the horses. Get to know the rest of your fellow travelers and learn of the days ahead during the welcome dinner.

After a hearty camp breakfast in the frosty air, which will be served from 7-8 AM every morning starting with a hot drink, saddle the horses and follow the trail down Hack Canyon to Water Canyon where the horses will be watered at the spring. Continue to the beginning of the canyon where you have a relaxing picnic lunch.  Keep your eyes open for wary desert bighorn sheep, which are often seen in this area. Afterwards ride back to the spring and hike to a few petroglyphs before mounting up and heading back to camp where you should arrive around 4PM.

Today’s ride takes you deeper into the canyon as far as Chamberlain Cove. From there you ride to Kanab Creek where camp will be made for the next 3 nights. While on the trail you may want to get off and lead the horses down steep and slick rocks.  Along the way explore the various drainages cutting through the Esplanade and arrive in camp around 6PM. The pack horses split off today and take an easy route into camp.

Saddle up and leave camp around 9.30 AM. Ride along the middle layer of Kanab Creek. Some places on the trail will require leading the horses on foot. Return to camp around 5 PM.

Leave the pack horses at camp, and ride down the dry creek bed of Kanab Creek, exploring the inner gorge and some of the side canyons. JumpUp Canyon is the border of Grand Canyon National Park. The walls of Kanab Canyon keep getting higher as the creek bed lowers in elevation. Back at camp around 5.30 PM.

Pack up camp after breakfast and help load things onto the pack horses and leave camp around 10.30 AM.  Climb at a steady pace up Kanab Creek to Hack Canyon camp and arrive around 2.30 PM where you have lunch.  Help load the horses, and transfer back to St. George arriving no later than 8 PM.