g n i d i R e l u M d n a g Hikin n o y n a C d n a r G e h t in
A Null Family Tradition
By Ronnie Null (75) A Great Hiker!
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ifteen years ago, Perry Null and his wife Sandra organized the first family hike of the Grand Canyon. Fifteen hikes later, the traditional hiking of the Bright Angel trail that leads from the South Rim to Indian Gardens and eventually to the Phantom Ranch has seen its final hike. During this 15-year span, more than 25 family members have hiked the Bright Angel trail and spent the night at the Phantom Ranch and the following morning with sore muscles had breakfast and grabbed a sack lunch and began their 6-7hour ascension to the top of the difficult Kaibab trail. During this 15-year annual visit to the Grand Canyon, many words have been spoken by the 25 family hikers: magical, inspirational, surprising, causes speechlessness, boggles the mind, natural temples, cathedrals, breathtaking, enormous, unfathomable, and then wow, great, holy cow, what a view, look at those 25 switchbacks, 7 and ½ miles of steps—let’s do it. What happened to the huge tree where you fill your water bottles at Indian Gardens? Who brought the best snacks for the picnic at Indian Gardens—dill pickles, jerky, grapes, Cuties, peanut butter sandwiches, trail mix, jelly beans, Granola bars, chocolate candy, Oreos, crackers, Gatorade energy chews; anybody have any baby powder or Desitin, anyone have scissors, I am going to make shorts out of my pants, can you believe the Ranger’s black light at night showed us hundreds of glowing scorpions around the outside base of the cabin, and we will have these memories for the rest of our lives. After the passing of Kate, Perry and Ronnie’s mother in 2004, and the beginning of the Grand Canyon yearly hikes in 2005, the event slowly evolved into an annual family reunion. Some family members rode mules which scared the devil out of them, but most hiked. Perry Null has hiked all 15 years, while others have elected to stay on top and take short hikes to look-out points of interest. Other family hikers have successfully hiked down Bright Angel Trail and walked up South Kaibab eight to ten times. In 2005, 15 hikers started the yearly Grand Canyon hike, and in 2019 seven family members ranging in age from 10 to 75 successfully completed the approximately 20-mile hike. One of the highlights of the adventure is spending the night at Phantom Ranch. Great family dining, hot showers, and a good night’s rest help to prepare for the grueling hike up South Kaibab. Two sets of “three generations” were part of the seven hiking this year. Nine “happy” family members who chose not to hike this year dined at Bright Angel Restaurant, the Arizona Room Steakhouse, drank lattes at El Tovar, and had one more double-decker butter pecan or peanut butter waffle ice cream cone. After 15 years of hiking and mule riding, you can take the miles traveled by each individual and add the total miles together in the Grand Canyon, and the miles would reach from Gallup, New Mexico, to New York City!
20
June 2019
