The Grand Canyon Challenge has been truly an amazing experience that I’ll remember for life! This is my first backpacking trip, and I’ve never carried a 30+lbs pack ever before. Looking back, I cannot believe I completed this challenge and can’t help but feeling so proud of myself. There so many things to remember for this trip – spectacular views, remote and rugged trails, awesome Team 4 Fab 5 members who supported me all the way through, and our guide who ensured my safety all along, cheered me up when I was pushing hard, and cooked awesome meals for all of us. I can’t wait to go out with TSX Challenge again for the next adventure!

I have traveled to about 50 countries and have done things like trekking in Nepal, climbing Kilimanjaro, and hiking in the Swiss Alps, and this trip ranks up there along with those as great experiences. You can read of the beauty of the trip from all the others. Why do this trip with TSX? I didn’t want to hike the route alone and in doing this trip I can say that TSX ran it like “clockwork”. I can’t imagine how much more time I would have had to spend arranging everything myself – ride to the trailhead, a ride back from trails end, permits, meal planning & cooking, and all the water filtering that our guides did for us every day.

The trip was first rate from beginning to end. I hiked the Grand Canyon with a group of women from Over50Outside who were all participating in #52hikechallenge. Several had never camped or backpacked before, a couple were veteran backpackers and there was everything in between. To a person, we all had an awesome time. Great views, challenging terrain and awesome food. Hiking with a backpack that was about 32 lbs did present its challenges-especially on the downhill. The heat also provided some challenges-bring plenty of electrolytes. You really couldn’t find a better organization for a backcountry challenge!