Grand Canyon - Saturday - Joel's Mule Ride

I did not post this during the trip, as our Internet access was to be had only in the lobby of the Bright Angel Lodge, and there was really no good place to work there.


Saturday, March 27, 2010 – We set the clock for 7 a.m. so that Joel wouldn’t be late for his appointment with his mule. A few minutes before the alarm went off, I got up and turned on the coffee pot. Joel rolled out of bed a few minutes later, all excited about his excursion. I sat in the bed, drinking coffee and watching the morning news, while he got ready. The TV weather lady said it was 27 degrees at the Grand Canyon. Joel put on two layers of clothes. As I watched him holding his two shirts together under the light to see if they matched perfectly, I wanted to tell him to get on with it, since the mule wouldn’t care if he matched; wisely, I kept silent. Finally, he was ready, and we gathered up all the supplies he’d been told to bring - (1) wide-brimmed hat with a string, (2) sunglasses on a string, (3) a bandanna, (4) chap stick, (5) a canteen full of water, (6) sunscreen (shit, he forgot his sunscreen, I think), (6) gloves; (7) camera on a neck strap (optional).

We grabbed a quick breakfast of coffee and muffins, then hoofed it on over to the mule barn, where the mule guy was lining up the beasts.

Nasty, smelly things, they were. When they weren’t sneezing and blowing from the front end, they were farting and pooping from the back. I did my best to stay upwind of them.

Wondering about those fancy tail-dos?  Here's the deal:  Some mules in the barn do trail rides; others are pack mules that take supplies down to the Phantom Ranch in the bottom of the Canyon.  In the barn in the early mornings, it's hard to tell which mule is which, so the groomers crop the tails of the trail mules so that, in the dark, the handlers can distinguish between trail mules and pack mules.

Norm, one of the trail guides, came out to give a pre-ride talk about do’s and don’ts for the ride.

DO: (1) keep your mule nose-to-tail with the mule in front of you; (2) keep the reins tight; (3) heels down, toes up in the stirrups; (4) whack ‘em good with the crop (a.k.a. the “mule motivator”).

DON’T: (1) let ‘em stop to eat; (2) let ‘em put their heads down; (3) let a big space open up between your mule and the mule in front of you; (5) use a cell phone or I-Pod during the ride.

He said when they get back, their knees, arms, backs, and butts are going to hurt.

If I’d been intending to go on the ride, I’d have backed out after hearing this talk.

With the preliminaries finished, the riders lined up to get their “mule motivators.”

And then it was time to meet their mules. At first, Joel was hoping he’d be given a white mule named Molly…

…but she turned out to be halfway grumpy.

Joel ended up with Milo. Cowboy up!

Yay! He made it!

Time to move ‘em out!

When Joel comes back, if he’s able, we’re going to take a drive and do a little sight-seeing. (Well, I may sight-see; Joel may simply go along for the ride, face-down in the back seat. *snicker*) Rumor has it that down the road a piece, there’s a trading post that sells “Indian Tacos” – something like a pancake rolled around spiced beef, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions. Sounds good to me!

Addendum:  Joel said to tell you all that his butt was not sore after the ride, but his back was.  While on the trail,  he saw an elk, a coyote, and a couple of rock squirrels.