Kaibab Journal - Free Hiking the Grand Canyon - Kibbey Butte


Free Hiking the Grand Canyon - Kibbey Butte May 17 - 18, 1997 by Dennis Foster

For years, I mindlessly accepted the notion that I should get a permit before backpacking in the Grand Canyon. There were two reasons for this - (i) they were free, and (ii) I almost always got exactly what I wanted. Then, the park started to charge a fee for these, and I stopped getting them, with only one exception over the years. I decided to write up a story of my first trip without a permit, and this is it. I had thought to submit it to Backpacker magazine, or some other outlet, but time slips away and not all our projects see the light of day. But, now, with this web site, I can "publish" this story. I wish I had photos to go along with it, but this hike was back in the days of film. Alas, I have many boxes of photos, just waiting to be properly catalogued and scanned into a digital format when necessary. Well, there is another project for another day. Also, the trip totals in the first paragraph are out-of-date, as I still actively hike in the canyon. I am up to 216 hikes, over 484 days, and with 283 nights spent in the backcountry. My split between day hikes and overnight hikes is about 55%/45%, respectively.

It has been exactly 20 years since I first set foot in the Grand Canyon. It was an experience that changed my life. Since then I have made over 130 separate trips into that big ditch, ranging from short day hikes to 24 hour rim-to-rim-to-rim marathons to 12 day wanderings through huge sections of the canyon. Although even the approximate mileage is impossible to gauge, I have spent over 220 nights camped in the canyon during this time. And, until now I have followed the park service’s guidelines to the letter. I am a responsible hiker. I bring back all of my trash. I strive to keep my impact to a minimum. I am content to leave things as I have found them. I have a permit for every overnight hike I have been on. But, no longer. This year the park service decided to impose a $20 fee for overnight permits along with a $4 per night, per person, charge for backcountry use. I have long believed that the park should charge for campers in the developed campgrounds in the canyon (myself included), but am just appalled at the current effort to tax the use of the relatively wild, and little used, backcountry. Most long time hikers that I know have a strong love/hate relationship with the park service. On an individual basis, we can form strong friendships with park service rangers, but the policy of controlling, limiting and regulating leaves us fuming. And, the idea that these fees will, in part, go to enhancing the presence of rangers in the canyon leaves me more than a little uneasy. In twenty years of hiking I have never met a ranger off the major Bright Angel, South Kaibab and North Kaibab trails. Quite frankly, I like it that way. To me, part of the backpacking experience is the exercise of individualism. Beyond the confines of an ordered and regimented urban life, suddenly it is the individual that must persevere in this environment. While some may think this more of a communing with nature, the hardy backpackers that I know take a less romantic view of what is transpiring during these trips. It is more of a mental and physical test of how we interact and deal with nature. It is not so much a competition, as it is a challenge to our own wits and abilities amidst a world where we do so little for ourselves--others built my house, my car, made the clothes I wear, grew the food I eat. So, while I will continue to be a responsible hiker, I have decided that paying the park service for the right to bushwhack my way from point A to point B is immoral. I am now a true believer in “free hiking.” And, what a relief it is. No longer do I need to plan weeks, and months, in advance for an exact itinerary. Now, I can vary my trip by a day, or two, depending on conditions. And, no more 80 mile drives to the backcountry office for a permit when I know that the mail system will be inadequate. To initiate this change in philosophical outlook, I decided on a two day hike in search of a rather obscure route into, and out of, the canyon. I planned to enter the canyon on the little used Nankoweap trail, and exit via a non-trail route.