Glen Canyon Kayak, Hike, and Camp on Horseshoe Bend

This is an epic kayak trip and one of the three out of four needed for the Vegas Hikers Kayak Pin.

There is no meetup time as you can just make your way at your convenience. As long as you are there by Saturday morning. If you have a later backhaul time, then driving up very early Saturday morning is feasible. For the earlier time slots, it's a five-hour drive so, my suggestion is to either plan on camping near Lee's Ferry Friday night or finding a room at the Vermillion Cliffs Inn or the Marble Canyon Lodge. The campground at Lee's Ferry is first come, with 51 sites. Unless you get there very early Friday, you likely won't get a site.

The fun begins Saturday morning. We will be using a backhaul service to take us and our kayaks to just below the Glen Canyon dam. The departure times start at 7am and run every hour. Colleen and I are on the 8AM ride up. Each one will take about six people and kayaks and gear. The backhaul service is around $85 per person. Kayak rentals are $35/day for singles and $50/day for tandem. You MUST be at least 15 minutes early for your backhaul. DO NOT BE LATE!

Go to https://kayakthecolorado.com to book your slot. Book soon as they fill up quickly. Same with the rooms.
Vermilion Cliffs Lee's Ferry Lodge at Vermilion Cliffs Arizona
Marble Canyon Lodge Grand Canyon Hotel | Marble Canyon Lodge

The backhaul service takes us up to just below the dam. From there we will go downstream a little bit and do the "Ropes" hike (optional). If you want to do this hike, get on the 7am or 8am backhaul. Otherwise, you can get the later backhauls. Each backhaul boat is about six people.

The Ropes hike is a steep hike with some exposure and 800 feet of elevation gain. It's 3 miles round trip and takes an hour and a half or so. Good hiking shoes or approach shoes are appropriate. There are as the name suggests, ropes involved but most of them are unnecessary for any scrambler. There is cable on one of the slabs so gloves are highly suggested. The cable gets hot sitting in the sun.

After that we will get back on the river and enjoy the sites until we get to Mile 10 where we can check out the petroglyphs. From there, we will make our way past the nose of Horseshoe bend and take out at Mile 8 campsite. This is one of the better sites. Everyone wants to camp on the nose of Horseshoe bend so that gets very crowded. After we set up camp, we will hike to the nose from Mile 8 camp. We will camp out overnight here. There are bathrooms at every campsite and several as we work our way down the river.

In the morning at about 8am, we will start making our way back down to Lee's ferry. There are two side canyons we can explore. The first one is the Waterholes canyon and is only about 1.5 miles before we get to a dry fall that would take some serious climbing to get past. This hike is optional too and only has a couple easy scramble spots where we climb up some pour overs. Otherwise, it's all wash but very scenic.

At the end, you will be back at your cars.

Everyone starts on the waitlist. Once you have booked your backhaul service, let me know and I'll move you to the going list.

Things to do on Friday Afternoon:
The Spencer trail has great views but can be very hot as it's all in the sun.
Cathedral Canyon is a great hike to the river. Some route finding and scrambling is required.

What to bring:
Kayak, if you don't have one, you can rent from the outfitter starting at $35/day.
Camping gear, tent, sleeping bag, etc.
Food for two days. There is a convenience store in Marble Canyon about 3 miles from the campground.
National Park Pass. This area is part of the national parks so you need to pay or have a pass.
The 10 Essentials.
Water shoes/hiking shoes, dry bag to keep your hiking shoes dry.

Kayak Distance: 15 Miles, 7 miles the first day and 8 the next day. The last two miles back to Lee's Ferry is usually the most difficult as the current slows down quite a bit.
Hiking Difficulty: Ropes 3 of 5, slot canyons 2 of 5

Disclaimer: Please be aware that your Meetup organizers are not tour guides and are not park rangers. Expect the same risks and take the same precautions you would take if you were hiking alone. You are solely responsible for your own safety and well-being. By signing up for and/or attending this Meetup event, you acknowledge, understand, accept, and agree that hiking and other outdoor activities can be dangerous and can cause serious bodily injury and possibly death. The organizers of this group and current and former members cannot be held responsible or liable in any way for the actions of any participant - including you - at any event.