Canyon Hiking & Yoga Adventure with Dave!

Canyon Hiking and Yoga Adventure
with Dave Kuklentz
June 2nd – 9th

If you have ever dreamed about backpacking or doing yoga in the Grand Canyon & surrounding area, then the time is NOW!

If you like to get out there away from the Visitors Center, then this trip is for you. Dave has picked the crème de la crème of easily accessible hikes in the region. You will be hiking, camping, meditating, swimming in waterfalls, and doing yoga in some amazing places!

After meeting in Las Vegas, you’ll drive to the Zion area for a hotel stay on Saturday night. The next day the adventure begins!

Tap into a power and resilience that takes you to a place you never thought possible! The energy and beauty of the Canyons will uplift you and give you what you need to dig deep and literally climb to new heights to come out transformed!

WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE WE GOING?

You’ll be hiking in Zion and Grand Canyon National Parks. There is another hike outside the parks that Dave is keeping a secret, shhhhh!

These hikes are at the top of the list for anyone seeking beauty and adventure in the Canyon region of the southwest. Be ready for anything, you will not be disappointed!

FITNESS AND EXPERIENCE:

All who want to go on this trip are welcome! However if you are a total newbie to backpacking, you will want to take some time and prepare before leaving, because this trip will challenge you from start to finish!

Trying on some longer hikes and even a backpacking weekend or two are a fantastic idea, along with running. Most of the hikes are moderate to strenuous, and you’ll be hiking every day from Sunday to Saturday, covering up to 10 miles per day with some significant elevation changes.

The most challenging days will be in the Grand Canyon where the elevation change is 6000 feet. The group will descend it in one day, and come back up over 2 days.

All camping will be in the wilderness, no restrooms or electricity. But don’t worry, you’ll get to dig holes for going to the bathroom in the wilderness!

For people that live in the Charlotte area, Dave will be hosting some hikes and overnight backpacking trips prior to this trip. This will be a great way to get some backpacking and hiking experience.

Once you sign up for the Canyon Hiking/Yoga trip, you’ll put you on a group mailing list and notified about these pre-trips.

THE $950 TRIP COST WILL COVER THE FOLLOWING:

All ground transportation for the duration of the trip once you leave Las Vegas Airport. Please note, if anyone requires special travel arrangements to leave early, those costs will need to be paid by the attendee.
All Hotel costs during the trip time excluding any stay in Las Vegas.

Dave currently has reservations for double occupancy rooms for the 4 nights that you are in hotels.

All hiking permits.
Trip leadership by Dave Kuklentz including guiding, yoga, meditation, logistics, and more!

ATTENDEES ARE ADDITIONALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR:

Air travel to and from Las Vegas (or any other method you choose to get there).
Any hotel costs prior to the start of the hike on June 2nd and after the hike finishes the following Saturday.

If anyone plans to stay in Vegas, Dave will be able to get participants in touch with each other so that you can collaborate to share hotel costs, (if desired).

Food for the trail and at restaurants. This will greatly simplify matters and then everyone can eat what they want.

There are outfitters near Zion where food items can be purchased for the trail. There are also plenty of restaurants for those times that we will eat off the trail.
For ease of use on the trail, buying freeze dried meals for backpacking/camping days.

All backpacking/hiking gear. Some gear like water filters, tents, and stoves, are easy to be shared. If you have it, plan to bring everything you need to be self sustaining and then we can figure out what to share once we are there.

It will be good to have extra gear in case something breaks.
You can also rent a lot of gear from outdoor retailers like REI if you don’t want to purchase.

A more detailed list of what to bring is on the way!

Those of you that have backpacking experience already know what to bring. Just be aware that you are going to the desert, so pack accordingly.

ITINERARY & SCHEDULE:

The trip will start at 6PM (or earlier) on Saturday, June 2nd. If all attendees are in Las Vegas prior to 6PM, then you can leave for Zion earlier.

Once Dave has received each participant’s itinerary, he can determine the time and change the car rental pickup. Plan to meet at the car rental desk at the Las Vegas Airport. The group will leave from the airport and head directly to Zion.

The trip will end upon our arrival back in Las Vegas on the following Saturday June 9th, somewhere between 4 and 6PM. Plan to fly out late Saturday night or any time after.

Note that the hiking itinerary is subject to change based on permit availability. Once the permits have all been turned in to Dave he will update this schedule if needed. As of now, the schedule looks like this:

Day 1 – Saturday June 2

Drive from Vegas to Hotel. Yoga by the poolside.

Day 2 – Sunday June 3

Backpacking, 10 miles. Deep stretch at end of day. Camping on the trail.

Day 3 – Monday June 4

Backpacking, 5 miles. Vinyasa on the trail. Eat dinner in town. Stay in Hotel.

Day 4 – Tuesday June 5

Day hike, 7 miles. Vinyasa on the trail. Eat dinner in town. Stay in Hotel.

Day 5 – Wednesday June 6

Day hike, 5 miles. Vinyasa on the trail. Eat dinner in town. Stay in Hotel.

Day 6 – Thursday June 7

Backpacking, 11 miles. Deep stretch at end of day. Camping on the trail.

Day 7 – Friday June 8

Backpacking, 7 miles. Vinyasa or Deep stretch at end of day. Camping on the trail.

Day 8 – Saturday June 9

Morning Yoga. Backpacking, 4 miles. Drive back to Vegas.

WATER:

You are going to the desert where it’s very arid and water is scarce. Carrying plenty of water at all times is critical.

Bring enough containers to carry 1 gallon (4 liters) of water.

Using a Camelback or similar bladder drinking system would be a big help. This makes it very easy to drink water and often.
Many backpacks have bladder sleeves built into them, or you can attach a bladder pouch to your pack.
Typical bladders hold 2 or 3 liters and you would need another 1 or 2 liters in bottles.

For one of the hikes there is NO water source until we reach the campground.

You will drop water off on the way in so you will have something to drink on the way out.
Bring 3 extra 1 liter bottles for this “stash”, or you can purchase them at a store before reaching the hike.

FIRES:

There are no fires allowed in any of the locations the group will be hiking. Except the internal fires you’ll be building up on the trip!

CLIMATE:

During the time of year this group is going, nighttime temperatures can be in the low 40s at higher elevations. Daytime temperatures can be in the 90s at the bottom of the canyons.

Bring both summer and winter clothing and we will take what we need for each hike as we go along.
Also, be sure to bring plenty of SUNSCREEEN, as many of these hikes have full sun exposure.

HEIGHTS:

You are going to be hiking in some the most extreme canyons in the world!

This means a lot of big cliffs with shear drops. If you have a severe fear of heights, this trip is not recommended, unless you are ready to OVERCOME that fear…

YOGA GEAR:

To make life easier, bring hiking, waterfall swimming, and doing yoga in the same clothes.

Dave recommends to wash hiking/yoga clothes in the hotel showers and air-dry them. This will cut down on the amount of clothes you need to bring and help prevent your bags from smelling like a dead rat!

A foam block and strap are light, so bring those if you want.

You’ll be doing yoga outside in arid conditions, so you probably won’t need a mat towel.

Definitely don’t bring it on the days you backpack, as every ounce counts.

Bring a lightweight yoga mat. You’ll be ok doing yoga on a cheap mat for a week. Nice yoga mats are heavy and you’ll be cursing it before you’ve hiked one mile.

Also bring some string or a mat strap so you can sling your mat over your back. For one of the hikes, the group will drop off their backpacks and hike to a location to do our yoga practice.