One month ago 4 tired men were trekking the last leg of their ascent up the Bright Angel Trail. I was one of those hikers, and I wanted to make the hike drag out as long as I could, making more stops than usual to gaze down from where we had come, to take photos, but mostly because the air was becoming thinner as we rose in altitude.
I am not used to 5,000 foot altitude; as you recall, I hail from Sitka, Alaska which is at sea level (and yes-- we get tourists asking the altitude of Sitka even as they're disembarking from their cruise ships in the Sitka harbor!). I was in better than "good enough" shape for this hike, and I was glad I took the advise on the FSG website to train in advance. The training DID in fact, increase my enjoyment factor. I loved ever minute!
All of us in our group were in our 50's but everyone was in good physical shape, so you didn't hear anyone complaining. The other two, Steve and Jim, were actually in their late 50's, and came from St. Louis area so they were fairly comfortable with the temperatures and altitude. Our guide was Scott Victor, also born and raised in St. Louis -- remarkably close to the same locale as Steve and Jim.
A good guide can make a world of difference in the quality of a hike, I'm sure. I enjoyed every day in the canyon, thanks to Scott. I would guess all the FSG Guides are as capable, educated and able to make any of their hikes as memorable an experience as mine was for me, however.
