The women are good with the guests and compassionate toward the mules. 
Although it hasn’t been documented, this might be historic. “As far as I know, it’s the first time for an all-woman trail guide team of wranglers. It’s very unique,” said Grand Canyon South Rim Mule Operations Manager John Berry.
“It’s also the first time I’ve been a boss of an all-woman trail guide wrangler crew. It’s very cool and they do a great job. The women are good with the guests and compassionate toward the mules. As one of the biggest mule operations of its kind in the nation, I hope they take pride in their work here.”
Transplanted from New York, Texas, Colorado Michigan, Ohio and California, these wranglers range in age from 18 to 43, and Grand Canyon visitors who have taken the Xanterra Collection’s mule rides to Phantom Ranch or the Canyon Vista Rim have been very impressed with their work.
Remarks such as, “You ladies are amazing,” “Great time with Julia and Kylie, they’re phenomenal guides,” and “Thank you, Harper for such a great mule ride, we enjoyed every step,” and “Tex was the best wrangler ever!” grace the Grand Canyon Mule Riders and Wranglers Appreciation Facebook page that has almost 9,000 members.
Laurie Brieget Burg, who created the Facebook page in 2009, said she started the page right after taking a two-day mule ride to Phantom Ranch. “It’s a very difficult job,” she said. “Also, it was my 50th birthday and an incentive for me to lose weight for the ride. The maximum weight is 200 pounds and I was over that. I managed to get down to 197.”
The mule ride to Phantom Ranch generally leaves the corral near the Bright Angel Trailhead early morning, making stops along the way with a lunch at Havasupai Gardens. The click-clacking of hooves marching down the corridor trails adds a bit of excitement to weary hikers.
“One of my favorite things about riding in the Grand Canyon is the communities that inhabit it, both wildlife and human,” said New York Wrangler Lisa “Tex” Parker, who has come to work at the Grand Canyon on and off since 2019. “We’ve had curious bighorn sheep and mule deer act as roadblocks on the trail, Grand Canyon pink rattlesnakes that warn us of their presence and the majestic California Condors that perch and soar above us. We pass familiar faces, whether they are rangers, hiking guides or locals out exercising. One year, I met [musician] Dave Matthews on the trail, so my partner, Jack, and I got a picture with him. That was so cool!”
“My most memorable experience was riding down to Phantom Ranch for the first time,” said Harper Slusher, who worked at Yellowstone and transferred to the Grand Canyon when the season ended. “I love working for Xanterra Travel Collection because I get to work in National Parks.”
Originally an Army brat, Wrangler Hunter Gilbert decided to quit restaurant work and find work outdoors. “I was working the transportation desk at the South Rim lodges and met John Berry [livery manager for the Xanterra’s South Rim mule operation]. I told him I knew how to ride horses and he gave me a chance to ride mules, which I love. It was wonderful!”
Grand Canyon mule rides have been offered since the 1800s, but Fred Harvey, an entrepreneur who developed restaurants, souvenir shops and hotels that served railroad passengers, became the exclusive provider of mule rides in 1904.
Wranglers say the ride to Phantom Ranch is very rigorous and riders should be able to mount and dismount a mule before attempting it. “I have had people tell me that if they knew how difficult the ride would be, they wouldn’t have done it,” she said.
“Working at the Grand Canyon as a wrangler was my dream job,” said Sherry Baker, who worked as a Grand Canyon wrangler from 1994 to 2005. “Getting to sit in a saddle all day in one of God’s grandest creations was amazing. I loved meeting people from all over the world and to this day keep in touch with some of them. It was on one of the Phantom Ranch rides where I met the most incredible man, Bob Baker, who I had the privilege of marrying!” QCBN
By V. Ronnie Tierney, QCBN
Because of the Grand Canyon National Park Service’s major infrastructure rehabilitation projects, the Bright Angel Trail and the mule ride operation will be closed until April 14, 2024. For more information, visit www.grandcanyonlodges.com.
Courtesy Photo by Jack Rinaldi: Pictured from left to right: Grand Canyon South Rim Mule Operations Trail Guide Wranglers, Kylie Keefer, Harper Slusher, Hunter Gilbert, Abbie Fick, Lisa “Tex” Parker, Tiffany Chandler, Julia Escobedo, Erin Milligan, Nellie Blue.
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