Phantom "rehabilitation"

[hikeaz]

National Park Service has informed Xanterra that they are moving forward with the planning and eventual execution of major infrastructure rehabilitation projects and that the project will impact some of our concession operations.
"Hence we are pausing lottery entries/bookings for Phantom Ranch overnight mule rides beginning January 01,2023 and hiker cabins for stays arriving May 01, 2023 onward.
Portions of Bright Angel trail are anticipated to be closed at different times throughout the project.

[big_load]

This gave me a start, but thankfully it's the wrong year. I'm on a permit for the end of March that has us coming out on Bright Angel Trail after the last night at the Bright Angel Campground.

[azbackpackr]

@big_load
I saw that because the two night mule trip is still on my bucket list, (believe it or not), so I was looking at current prices. I wish they gave people who work for other Grand Canyon concessionaires a little break but I'm sure they don't. It's expensive.

[chumley]

Thanks Great American Outdoors Act!

I’d be curious to see details of the planned work.

[big_load]

I don't dispute the necessity, due to the high use. The first time I was at Bright Angel Campground, there were three notable infrastructure issues.

1. Phantom Ranch lost power on a ~20F night, which highlighted the advantages of camping with your own sleeping bag.
2. There were issues with the water supply, and new pipes were being delivered by helicopter on the day we went out. (Again, another advantage for backpackers prepared to process river water.
3. They were doing trail maintenance that involved dumping wheelbarrows full of rocks successively from one switchback to the next, so there were numerous enforced breaks on the way out. These also resulted in the crowds clumping up into tighter bunches. If I had known beforehand, I think we would have gone out on South Kaibab.

[cactuscat]

@big_load
It was -20 at Phantom?!

[big_load]

@big_load
It was -20 at Phantom?!

The tilde doesn't show up well. That's supposed to be around 20, I think it bottomed out in the mid-to-upper teens. We had all the right gear, but the people at the unexpectedly unheated Ranch had a different experience. They were apparently given some old synthetic sleeping bags that Xanterra had in case of emergency, which was better than nothing.

[azbackpackr]

@cactuscat
He said ~20 not -20. To me, that means about 20.