Hiking poles for Bright Angel trail?

[Donna C]

Hi all, I will be rafting on the Colorado river through the Grand Canyon in October and will be hiking down the Bright Angel trail to get to the river. Because my plan is to take my gear as carry on when I fly out there, I can't take my poles. I know the trail is steep, but do I really need the poles? The rafting company says yes but they deal with people who probably don't even walk a mile. If I do need them, my next option would be to purchase a pair at the store inside the park and give them away at the end of the trip. I would like to use my Osprey Mira 26 hydration pack without the bladder in hopes that this pack will be big enough to carry everything, although I am probably being too optimistic. So, poles or not?

[David Chenault]

If you're a reasonable fit hiker not carrying much you'll be fine. The tough part about the Bright Angel isn't so much the massive elevation loss, it's the big waterbars and hard surface which conspire to really pound your quads. On the other hand, depending on how long your float is you might like the poles for some of the longer side hikes (like Kanab Creek) which can entail miles of sustained boulder hopping.

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

I have hiked that particular trail a lot (without poles). I wouldn't go out and buy a pair specifically for that trip. My 2 cents

[Donna C]

Great info. I think I am decent shape for the downhills. No poles it is. And even if I need them on the side hikes, I can always just do my best without.

[David Thomas]

I've hiked the BA (and SK and NK) many times, usually as a round trip in a day, usually solo, but recently with a 10 or 11-year-old along. In Winter, poles (and more so, ice cleats of some sort) can be nice for the upper 1-2 miles which can be icy. In Summer, I would never bring poles on that trail, especially if you don't usually hike with poles. I find that people new to poles trip over them at first. That trail is NOT steep. It is an almost constant grade going down (and up) of 10% (500 vertical feet per mile) which is the most comfortable slope for gaining or losing elevation. It does, however, maintain that nearly constant slope for a LONG time and I therefore find a BA round trip produces sorer muscles than a Half Dome RT, even through their vertical and horizontal distances are very similar (Half Dome is a much more varied trail profile from flat to 10% to steeper in places to way steeper on the cables). I wouldn't want (didn't want) poles on the side canyon trips. Those aren't trails, they are scrambles, and I'd find poles to get in my way. Also, pointy things on inflatable rafts? You'd want to stow them carefully. I've hiked down the BA to join a rafting trip. It was a private, 16-day trip and we replaced two people who'd done the upper half, meeting the rafts at Phantom Ranch that morning. Some thoughts on that: Not so much for your benefit going down, but for the benefit of anyone hiking up and out, they should start EARLY in the Summer or Fall. Really early (6 am) with a headlamp is not too early. Hiking up before the heat of the day hits is so much easier. Makes it a little easier for you, too. If you are replacing other people on the trip, can you possibly co-ordinate gear? We shared our tents, camp chairs, sleeping pads, life jackets, etc, which saved a lot of weight and bulk from being in and out of the Canyon that morning. Also, our personal camping gear was already on the boats, as was the group food, beer, wine, etc. So we just had our stuff for a 4-hour day hike going down. Because we had people coming from 6 states and 3 countries, we used a outfitter out of Flagstaff for all the food (you just tell them "10 omnivores, 4 vegetarians, 1 vegan, and a Paleo for 16 days") and they pack all the food, put the menus and recipes in a binder and provide the massive coolers). But if you weren't using an outfitter (who all seem to pack too much food – we could have told them we had 12 people, paid less, force-fed ourselves less leftovers, and still fed all 16 people just fine), I'd have done a mini-resupply via the Bright Angel Trail. Have the personal gear already on the boat, but have the people joining the trip bring in fresh fruits and vegetables (the supermarket on the South Rim is quite well stocked and their backpacking gear supplies have a pretty wide selection at regular in-town, REI-ish prices). I'm UL on most trips, but those boats still float regardless of how much stuff you pack, so a rafting trip can be provisioned very differently than a BPing trip.

[Donna C]

David, This will be with a rafting company and some people will be getting out at BA, while some of us will be getting on for 8 days. They will provide tents, bags, cot, pad and chair. We each get a tent to ourselves. I'm just going pretty minimal and the bulkiest will be my rain gear and a lightweight fleece top. I'm bringing my Paddy down sweater too, for camp and maybe sleeping if I get cold. They also cook, etc. I just plan on showing up and having some fun. I have been busy doing lunges and squats just to help build my knees for the downhill. I have to have my own breakfast together the day before we hike down because we leave at 6am and nothing is open. I will be shopping that supermarket the day before to get whatever I need. They even told us to hire a mule service to schlep our stuff down!! I can't even imagine what I would need to warrant that cost…..

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